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- Carnivorous mushrooms + the beetle invasion
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This week’s highlights include mushrooms that hunt with their hyphae, the benefits of cordyceps for workout recovery, and how fungi can help manage invasive beetles.
An example of parasitic Hirsutella fungi. Wikimedia Commons: Bugwood.org. CC BY 3.0. Cropped.
Break it down 🍄 Most fungi are passive decomposers and absorb nutrients from decaying matter. Yet some species are more aggressive, trapping and eating live organisms like nematodes and single-celled protozoa.
Digestion network 🕸 Mushrooms secrete enzymes that break down organic material while taking in nutrients. Fungal hyphae function as a network to digest and absorb nutrients from the surrounding environment.
It’s tough out there 🌋 Carnivorous fungi evolved to adapt to nutrient-poor environments. For example, fungi need nitrogen to produce proteins and survive. When there’s not enough nitrogen in the soil, fungi start to capture other organisms for their nutrients. This way, the fungi can thrive in otherwise inhospitable conditions.
How do they “hunt”? ⚔ Carnivorous fungi still use their hyphae, but instead of seeking decaying organic matter, these fungi wrap their hyphae around live prey and penetrate the victim to inject enzymes that break down the meal.
From inside out 🤢 Endoparasitism is when a fungus creates spores that infect a host organism through ingestion or bodily contact. The spores germinate within the body and develop hyphae, which spread throughout the host while consuming its internal tissues. The fungi keep the host alive long enough to produce more spores and restart the cycle.
Types of carnivorous fungi 🔎 There are over 200 carnivorous fungi species! Cordyceps militaris mushrooms are known parasitic predators for caterpillars, ants, spiders, and locusts. Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are a popular gourmet choice for many shroomers. While they typically thrive on decaying wood, oyster mushrooms won’t turn down a nematode…
Cordyceps sinensis mushrooms
Fungi are friends for fitness fiends 🚴♂️ Cordyceps sinensis mushrooms have been long respected as an athletic booster — increasing energy levels, reducing inflammation, and improving overall endurance. A recent study explored those potential athletic benefits further and uncovered how cordyceps mushrooms are a phenomenal aid for muscle recovery.
Faster muscle recovery ⌚ Inflammation is a common response to muscle damage. The natural anti-inflammatory properties of cordyceps can help reduce damage, leading to quicker recovery and less soreness.
New research 👩🔬 A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study found that people treated with cordyceps before exercise had significantly faster healing times than the control group.
How does it work? 🤔 Cordyceps sinensis increases the activity and quantity of stem cells. These stem cells are responsible for muscle repair and regeneration.
Not just speed 🏃♀️ Researchers also discovered that cordyceps strengthened the structural integrity of the muscle fibers, thereby helping protect the muscles against future stress or injury.
Optimization 🔥 While this recent study’s findings are preliminary, the evidence is stacking up about cordyceps’ beneficial properties for workout recovery. Future targeted studies could help us find how to optimize cordyceps dosage and timing for the best effect on workout recovery.
The eucalyptus snout beetle. Wikimedia Commons: Jose Ramon Pato. CC BY-SA 2.0. No changes made.
Not-so-fab beetles 🐞 The eucalyptus snout beetle is a kind of weevil that survives off of, you guessed it, eucalyptus foliage. Native to Eastern Australia, Eucalyptus snout beetles have spread worldwide in recent decades … and threatened ecosystems wherever they landed.
Worldwide tour 🌎 In 2016, the species was reported in Colombia for the first time. Today, it threatens over 115,000 hectares of land used for eucalyptus production.
Biopesticides 🐜 Fungi are a tremendous, sustainable means of pest control. A fungus species called Anaphes has been used to combat eucalyptus snout beetles in various parts of the world. However, this method isn’t available in Colombia, which makes dealing with this invasive species tricky.
DNA analysis 🧬 Researchers analyzed the DNA of the eucalyptus snout beetles found in Colombia and isolated the fungi that naturally infected the pests. These fungi were then tested for their effectiveness and durability as mass-produced biopesticides.
Biopesticide benefits 👨🌾 Fungi from the Beauveria and Metarhizium genera were highly effective in killing the weevils with minimal environmental effect. The fungi were target-specific and didn’t harm any other species besides the intended beetles.
The big picture 🖼 Researchers hope the fungi can be used as a targeted method of controlling the beetles in Colombia. As an alternative to traditional pesticides, biopesticides are a potential long-term solution for sustainable pest control in agriculture.
Featured artist: adoraspora
Check out this beautiful bird’s nest mushroom (part of the Nidulariaceae family) from @adoraspora on Instagram! Each of those tiny “eggs” is a peridiole — a mass of spores with sometimes as many as 30 million in a single peridiole.
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Thank you for reading!
shroom on,
Shannon Ratliff & Patrick Calderale
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