Detecting night glowing mushrooms in Brazil

Researchers at San Francisco State University, USA, have found bioluminescent fungi that have never been seen since 1840. In 1840, the famous British botanist, George Gardner, reported a scene. strange statues in the streets of Vila de Natividade, Brazil: A group of boys playing with a luminous object turned out to be a luminescent mushroom.

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Boys call this glowing mushroom " flor-de-coco ", and show Gardner where the mushroom grows on the leaves at the base of a dwarf palm tree. Gardner sent the mushroom to Kew, UK, where the luminescent mushroom was described and named Mushroomi gardneri to pay homage to the person who found it. This glowing mushroom was not seen again until 2009.

Researcher Dennis Desjardin, San Francisco State University, USA and colleagues collected a new specimen of the luminescent fungus that was forgotten and reclassified under the name Neonothopanus gardneri . This discovery has been posted online and is expected to be published in Mycologia , November / December 2011 issue.

Neonothopanus gardneri Mushroom. (Photo: Cassius V. Stevani / IQ-USP, Brazil)

Scientists hope that detailed research on Neonothopanus gardneri luminescent fungus in Brazil will help answer the general question: What is the mechanism of the formation and development of bio-luminous fungi on a global scale? .

Desjardin, professor of ecology and evolution at the San Francisco State Biology Agency, and colleagues decided that this luminescent fungus should be placed in the genus Neonothopanus, after carefully examining anatomy, Physiology and genetic lineage of fungi. But to get a sample of the new fungus to test is hard work, Desjardin said, requiring a different method than picking mushrooms.

To find the green light of this bioluminescent mushroom, Desjardin and his long-time partners in Brazil, Dr. Cassius Stevani, " went out on new moon nights and stumbled. in the forest, "he recalls, while being wary of poisonous snakes and the South American jaguar nearby.

However, thanks to digital cameras, it is easier to monitor biochemical fungi. The new camera allows researchers to photograph the suspected fungi that can be bioluminescent in a dark room and analyze photos in light (sometimes invisible to the human eye) within. A few minutes, compared to work, previously had to be in constant contact with 30-40 minutes of film rolls.

Bioluminescence is the ability of an organism to produce its own light , and is a common phenomenon. Jellyfish and fireflies are the most familiar bioluminescent creatures, but luminescent organisms from bacteria, fungi and insects and fish all glow in their own unique way through a variety of processes. chemistry.

Bio-luminescent mushrooms have been known for centuries, from bright orange poisonous mushrooms to lanterns, the phenomenon known as " FoxFire ", where the nutrients of mushrooms flow from a wound in The faint light of the log is rotting. The luminescent fungus has dominated the imagination of cultures around the world, Desjardin said. "Most people are afraid, and call them" ghost mushrooms. "

But how does a fungus glow and why and the first place will glow? That's a question that has attracted Desjardin for a long time.

The researchers believe that the fungus glows in the same way that fireflies did, through a chemical combination of a luciferin and luciferase compound . Luciferase is an enzyme that supports the interaction between oxygen, luciferin and water to produce a new compound that emits light.

However, scientists have not identified luciferin and luciferase in fungi. " They shine 24 hours a day, as long as water and oxygen are available, " Desjardin explains. " However, animals often glow exertively, which tells us that chemicals made by enzymes in fungi may be available and very rich ."

The reason why behind the glow of mushrooms is still a mystery.In mushrooms containing glowing spores , some scientists believe that light can help attract insects to disperse spores that help form new fungi.

But in the case of " FoxFire ", it is the filamentous fungus, which contains nutrients for the fungus, which also emits light. Insects are attracted by mushroom mycelium, which may be more harmful to mushrooms if insects eat attractive structures of light.

" We have no idea why this happens ," Desjardin admitted. " Maybe the mycelium glows to attract the enemies of these insects, and will eat them before they can eat the mycelium, but we don't have any data to support this ."

Desjardin has collected and analyzed biochemical fungi from around the world, hoping to answer some questions. " We want to know how this happens, how the luminescent fungus evolves, and if it has evolved many times. Each of these questions is equally interesting that we need to find. answer . "

Desjardin is the director of the collection of Thiers HD hay in San Francisco, USA, and has been teaching at the Department of Biology since 1990. His work focuses on fungal species from tropical habitats above. global scope, with fungi that have never been discovered: Desjardin will study, describe and name new or less known fungi. He is currently conducting research in West Africa, Brazil, Micronesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Hawaiian Islands and the state of California.