Indoor cultivation and cultural characteristics of Wolfiporia cocos sclerotia using mushroom culture bottles.
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We newly developed an indoor cultivation technique for Wolfiporia cocos (Wolf) Ryvarden et Gilbertson (Syn. Poria cocos Wolf), not with soil, but using mushroom culture bottles with pine logs, and clarified some cultural characteristics of sclerotia in the laboratory. To determine the optimum conditions for sclerotia growth, the weight of sclerotia and concentration of CO2 in three different air filters; cloth, paper and urethane resin, and closed bottles were tested. When the cloth air filter was used, the growth rate was the fastest and the yield was maximal. These results suggested that the aeration was an important environmental factor for cultivation. To clarify the characteristics of culture in the cloth air filtered and closed bottles, the weight of sclerotia, the compositions of pine logs and the contents of pachymic acid and dehydropachymic acid were examined during 24 weeks. The growth of scleroia and the wood decaying efficiency in the cloth air filtered bottles were better than those in the closed bottles. Also, it was found that W. cocos was a brown rot fungus due to the alkaline solubility of pine logs in the wood decay process. In addition, the contents of pachymic acid and dehydropachymic acid and the TLC pattern between the cultivated and commercial sclerotia did not differ remarkably. (+info)
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis and bronchial asthma attacks caused by environmental fungi.
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Daedalin A, a metabolite of Daedalea dickinsii, inhibits melanin synthesis in an in vitro human skin model.
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The culture broth of Daedalea dickinsii was found to predominantly contain the tyrosinase inhibitor, (2R)-6-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-2-methyl-2H-chromene, daedalin A (1). Ongoing research into bioactive metabolites resulted in the identification of two new 2H-chromenes, 6-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene (3) and 6-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-5-methoxy-2-methyl-2H-chromene (4), together with 6-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene (2). Comparative studies of isolated compounds 1-4 and related compounds (+/-)-1 and 1a-1c showed 1 to have the strongest tyrosinase inhibitory activity. These results suggest that the hydroxyl groups at positions 6 and 9 of 1 were important for the potent activity. A Lineweaver-Burk plot for a kinetic analysis indicates that 1 competed with L-tyrosine for tyrosinase. Compound 1 also suppressed melanogenesis in a human skin model (up to 49% at 2.8 micromol/tissue application) without affecting the cell viability. Compounds 1, 1b and 1c also showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity comparable to that of alpha-tocopherol. (+info)
Purification and characterization of a thermostable beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase from Laetiporus sulphureus var. miniatus.
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A beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase from the fungus Laetiporus sulphureus var. miniatus was purified as a single 26 kDa band by ammonium sulfate precipitation, HiTrap Q HP, and UNO Q ion-exchange chromatography, with a specific activity of 29 U/mg. The molecular mass of the native enzyme was 52 kDa as a dimer by gel filtration. beta-1,3-1,4-Glucanase showed optimum activity at pH 4.0 and 75 degrees . The half-lives of the enzyme at 70 degrees and 75 degrees were 152 h and 22 h, respectively. The enzyme showed the highest activity for barley beta- glucan as beta-1,3-1,4-glucan among the tested polysaccharides and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glycosides with a K(m) of 0.67 mg/ml, a k(cat) of 13.5 s(-1) and a k(cat)/K(m) of 20 mg/ml/s. (+info)
Laccase and its role in production of extracellular reactive oxygen species during wood decay by the brown rot basidiomycete Postia placenta.
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