Cultivation of Agaricus blazei ss. Heinemann using different soils as source of casing materials

A produtividade do cogumelo Agaricus blazei depende da qualidade do composto e da terra de cobertura. Avaliou-se a produtividade deste cogumelo utilizando-se duas formulações de composto e materiais retirados de três tipos de solo usados como camada de cobertura. As duas formulações de composto consistiram em (i) bagaço de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum officinarum (L.)) e capim Coastcross (Cynidon dactylon (L.) Pers.), e (ii) bagaço de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum officinarum (L.)) e palha de milho (Zea mays L.). As duas formulações foram suplementadas com farelo de trigo, calcário, gesso, superfosfato simples e uréia. Como camadas de cobertura foram usadas materiais retirados de um Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico (LVdf), um Latossolo Amarelo distrófico (LAdi) e um Gleissolo melânico (GSm). O material retirado do LVdf foi misturado com carvão vegetal na proporção de 4:1. O composto foi preparado durante seis semanas e pasteurizado com vapor d'água por 48 h ao final do processo de compostagem. O composto bagaço de cana:capim Coastcross foi superior ao composto bagaço de cana: palha de milho, enquanto que o material retirado do LVdf e misturado com carvão vegetal foi melhor como camada de cobertura, em comparação ao LAdi e GSm. A escolha do solo onde será retirado o material a ser utilizado como camada de cobertura pode ser fator determinante no sucesso do cultivo do cogumelo Agaricus blazei.Commercial productivity of the Agaricus blazei mushroom is closely related to both the quality of the compost and the choice of soil to be used as a casing material. This study aims to evaluate Agaricus blazei's productivity using two compost formulations and three soils. The two compost formulations were (i) crushed sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum officinarum (L.)) and Coastcross hay (Cynidon dactylon (L.) Pers.), and (ii) crushed sugarcane bagasse (Saccharum officinarum (L.)) and corn husk (Zea mays L.); they were amended with wheat bran, lime, gypsum, superphosphate and urea. The casing materials were extracted from three soils classed as Rhodic Hapludox, Xanthic Hapludox, and Humic Haplaquox. The Rhodic Hapludox soil material was mixed with fragments of Eucalyptus charcoal in the proportion of 4:1. The compost was prepared during six weeks and thereafter heat treated during 48 h at the end of the composting period. The sugarcane bagasse:coast-hay compost was superior to the sugarcane bagasse: corn husk compost. The Rhodic Hapludox plus charcoal casing material showed to be a better casing material than either the Xanthic Hapludox and Humic Haplaquox soil materials. The choice of the soils where the casing material is taken is an important factor to the success of the Agaricus blazei mushroom cultivation

Metastasis Suppressors and the Tumor Microenvironment

The most dangerous attribute of cancer cells is their ability to metastasize. Throughout the process of metastasis, tumor cells interact with other tumor cells, host cells and extracellular molecules. This brief review explores how a new class of molecules – metastasis suppressors – regulate tumor cell–microenvironmental interactions. Data are presented which demonstrate that metastasis suppressors act at multiple steps of the metastatic cascade. A brief discussion for how metastasis suppressor regulation of cellular interactions might be exploited is presented

Nutritional Requirements for Growth of Agaricus brasiliensis - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v33i1.7010

The nutritional requirements of A. brasiliensis in culture media were assessed by supplementing a basal medium (g L-1): (glucose, 10, KH2PO4, 1, MgSO4.7H2O, 0.5, [NH4]2SO4, 1, pH 5.5) with CaCl2, trace elements (FeSO4.7H2O; MnCl2.4H2O; ZnSO4.7H2O; CuSO4.5H2O), casein, yeast extract, peptone, B-vitamins or amino acids. Evaluations were based on the mycelial growth in solid or liquid culture (mm day-1 or mg day-1) and visual analysis of the colony. The addition of CaCl2 and trace elements was very important for the major mycelial growth of the fungi. The addition of casein and inositol to the medium did not have a significant effect on growth. The best growth result in solid medium was obtained with the basal medium plus the addition of yeast extract and peptone. In relation to the other nutrient sources, the mycelial growth in the presence of amino acids darkened the medium after two weeks. The addition of B-vitamins to the basal medium lead to slower mycelial growth; however, growth was more visually dense when compared to other nutritional sources. B-vitamins added separately did not have the same result, suggesting that the fungus requires two or more vitamins at the same time for better mycelial growth.The nutritional requirements of A. brasiliensis in culture media were assessed by supplementing a basal medium (g L-1): (glucose, 10, KH2PO4, 1, MgSO4.7H2O, 0.5, [NH4]2SO4, 1, pH 5.5) with CaCl2, trace elements (FeSO4.7H2O; MnCl2.4H2O; ZnSO4.7H2O; CuSO4.5H2O), casein, yeast extract, peptone, B-vitamins or amino acids. Evaluations were based on the mycelial growth in solid or liquid culture (mm day-1 or mg day-1) and visual analysis of the colony. The addition of CaCl2 and trace elements was very important for the major mycelial growth of the fungi. The addition of casein and inositol to the medium did not have a significant effect on growth. The best growth result in solid medium was obtained with the basal medium plus the addition of yeast extract and peptone. In relation to the other nutrient sources, the mycelial growth in the presence of amino acids darkened the medium after two weeks. The addition of B-vitamins to the basal medium lead to slower mycelial growth; however, growth was more visually dense when compared to other nutritional sources. B-vitamins added separately did not have the same result, suggesting that the fungus requires two or more vitamins at the same time for better mycelial growth

Tolerance to Lecanicillium fungicola and yield of Agaricus bisporus strains used in Brazil

Dry bubble disease is a major problem in the commercial cultivation of Agaricus bisporus. In Brazil, there are no fungicides registered by the Ministry of Agriculture for control of disease in the cultivation of A. bisporus, nevertheless growers use daily fungicide on crops. The selection of strains more adapted to rustic conditions and tolerant to Lecanicillium fungicola is another alternative to avoid yield losses. Thereunto four experiments were conducted. Two cropping trials were set up in mushroom growing rooms (with and without the presence of the pathogen), and two in vitro trials with varying dilutions and active ingredient (iprodione and difenoconazole) of products were performed in lab. Our results suggest that some commercial strains of A. bisporus are more tolerant to the pathogen than others. Up to 76.5% yield loss may be caused by the pathogen under experimental conditions. Among the 15 strains studied, only one strain, ABI 11/16 was the more productive in the presence of the pathogen, even with unmarketable diseased mushrooms. The only strain that showed "in vitro" mycelial growth similar to L fungi cola was ABI 09/10; however, its yield is not high and the experimental conditions resulted in a 64% reduction in yield due to the presence of the pathogen. Difenoconazole more strongly inhibited the mycelial growth of L. fungicola than did iprodione; however, neither fungicide was selective against L. fungicola. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Enzyme activity and biochemical changes during production of Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler

Abstract Shiitake is an important edible and medicinal mushroom cultivated worldwide. Its cultivation involves a complex process of browning that precedes the primordia initiation. The present work through the evaluation of enzymes, lectin and β-glucan during the cultivation cycle of Lentinula edodes, the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, attempted to correlate these with mushroom yield. Strains UFLA-LE1, UFLA-LE2 and UFLA-LE6 consumed significantly more hemicelluloses than the other three strains with strain LE5 consuming significantly the most lignin of all six strains. Strains UFLA-LE4 and UFLA-LE6 were significantly the most productive. The laccase activity increased continuously until the end of the cultivation for all strains. Manganese peroxidase activities, except for UFLA-LE3, remained relatively stable. On the other hand, lignin peroxidase was the main lignin-modifying enzyme with much higher activity compared to laccase and manganese peroxidase. Tyrosinase activity was stable at an elevated level during the cultivation cycle, dramatically reaching the highest activity at the end of the cultivation period. The amounts of lectin and β-glucan varied greatly depending on the strain and the time of cultivation. Despite the many differences between strains in all evaluated parameters no direct association to the browning process was observed