Fertile sporophore production of Typhula phacorrhiza in the field is related to temperatures near freezing.
Two field tests and one lab test were conducted to examine the environmental factors affecting sporophore production in Typhula phacorrhiza and to compare these results with those documented for T. ishikariensis and T. incarnata. In the 2001 lab test where lighting, soil moisture, and soil-sand media were tested in 50 mL screw-cap tubes incubated at 4 degrees C, the limiting factor for Typhula sporophore production was found to be moisture. In the fall 2001 field test, 100 sclerotia of six isolates from three Typhula spp. were placed into pots filled with a sand and soil mixture. The pots were monitored weekly, and maximum sporophore production for all six isolates and for watered and unwatered pots was observed at 11 weeks, which was soon after mean daily temperatures fell below 0 degrees C. In the second field test in fall 2003, five isolates of the three species were tested with similar procedures, but peak sporophore production was observed after 6 weeks, and again only after mean daily temperatures fell below 0 degrees C. In the field, sporophore production of T. phacorrhiza seems to require the same environmental cues as those of T. ishikariensis or T. incarnata, namely high moisture and temperatures near freezing.
SYNCHRONOUS INITIATION AND SPORULATION OF FRUIT BODIES BY COPRINUS CINEREUS ON A DEFINED MEDIUM
As in many Basidiomycetes, dikaryotic mycelia of Coprinus cinereus neither initiates nor produces normal fruit bodies in the absence of light. However, once light-dependent fruit body initiation takes place, alternating periods of light and dark are required for normal fruit body development. Cultures grown on a defined medium designated as Coprinus Fruiting Medium (CFM) at 25 C and exposed to continuous light or alternating 12-h periods of light and dark, invariably produced fruit body primordia at the point of inoculation. Cultures kept in the light following fruit body initiation gave rise to abortive fruit bodies. Cultures grown in alternating light and dark periods produced fruit body initials after 140 to 144 hours of incubation. If these incubation conditions were continued, 4-5 fruit bodies per culture sporulated synchronously during the 5th 12-h dark period following fruit body initiation. Cultures incubated in the dark did not produce fruit body initials. The presence of both DL-alanine and L-asparagine in CFM was essential for both fruit body initiation and fruit body maturation given the appropriate light and dark regimes. The synchronous nature of both fruit body initiation and fruit body maturation exhibited by C. cinereus grown on CFM under the conditions described here make this procedure useful for a variety of developmental studies.
Poisoning by Coprinus atramentarius.
The ink cap--Coprinus atramentarius (Bulliard ex Fries) Fries--is responsible for poisoning when ingested with alcohol. The investigation of the "Coprinus syndrome," although a minor poisoning incident, stimulated numerous research programs because the results were expected to yield a novel drug useful during the treatment of alcoholism. This work led to the identification of the active principle--coprine--and to an explanation of its mode of action; nevertheless, detailed toxicology investigations have shown that the mutagenic and gonadotoxic properties of this compound made it unsuitable for therapeutic use. Our current knowledge of the poisoning, the chemistry of the toxin, and its mode of action are here reviewed.