chemical ecology – mycolab.ai

Injury-Triggered Blueing Reactions of Psilocybe “Magic” Mushrooms

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When magic mushrooms are injured or bruised, they turn blue—a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists for decades. Researchers discovered that two enzymes work together in a two-step process: first, an enzyme removes a protective chemical tag from psilocybin, converting it to psilocin; then, a second enzyme oxidizes this molecule, causing it to link together into larger chains that appear blue. This blue color appears to be a defense mechanism that protects the mushroom from insects.

Antifungal and other bioactive properties of the volatilome of Streptomyces scabiei

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Researchers discovered that Streptomyces scabiei, a bacterium known for causing common scab disease on potatoes and other root vegetables, produces various airborne chemicals with surprising benefits. Using advanced laboratory techniques, scientists identified 36 different volatile compounds from this bacterium, many of which can kill harmful fungi and potentially help plants grow better. While traditionally viewed as purely harmful, these findings suggest the bacterium may actually serve a more complex role in soil, sometimes protecting crops from more dangerous diseases.

Strain and contact-dependent metabolomic reprogramming reveals distinct interaction strategies between Laccaria bicolor and Trichoderma

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This research explores how two types of soil fungi interact with each other through chemical signals. When Trichoderma (a beneficial biocontrol fungus) encounters Laccaria bicolor (a helpful fungus that aids plant growth), they communicate through airborne volatile compounds and secreted chemicals. The study found that these fungi employ different strategies depending on how close they are to each other, changing their chemical production to either compete or coexist, which has implications for improving agricultural biocontrol applications.

A Fungal Endophyte Alters Poplar Leaf Chemistry, Deters Insect Feeding and Shapes Insect Community Assembly

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A fungus that lives inside poplar trees helps protect them from insects by changing the tree’s chemical makeup and producing its own insect-repelling compound. Scientists found that this endophytic fungus makes poplar leaves taste worse to leaf-eating insects like gypsy moth caterpillars. However, in field conditions, the fungus unexpectedly attracts more aphids while keeping beetles and ants away, showing that endophytes can have complex effects on insect communities depending on the type of insect.

Plants, fungi, and antifungals: A little less talk, a little more action

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Plants and fungi communicate through small chemical molecules, and scientists are discovering that understanding this dialogue could lead to new antifungal medicines. Researchers found that a plant hormone called strigolactone affects a specific fungal protein involved in nutrient uptake, suggesting this could be a target for new drugs. By using baker’s yeast as a laboratory model, scientists can study how fungal cells respond to plant chemicals and identify new ways to fight dangerous fungal infections that are becoming resistant to current treatments.

Strain and contact-dependent metabolomic reprogramming reveals distinct interaction strategies between Laccaria bicolor and Trichoderma

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Scientists studied how two types of fungi interact with each other when grown together. One fungus (Trichoderma) is used as a biocontrol agent to fight harmful fungi, while the other (Laccaria) helps trees grow. By analyzing the chemicals these fungi release both as gases and through their growth medium, researchers found that the fungi communicate and compete with each other differently depending on how close they are. These findings help us understand how fungi interact in soil and could improve the use of biocontrol agents in agriculture.

Alliance Between Conifer Trees and Endophytic Fungi Against Insect Defoliators

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Researchers discovered that helpful fungi living inside white spruce needles protect the trees from damaging budworm insects. These fungi work in two ways: they directly poison the insects that try to eat the needles, and they also encourage the trees to produce more of their own chemical defenses. This partnership between fungi and trees demonstrates an important co-evolutionary relationship where all three organisms—fungi, trees, and insects—influence each other over time.

Strain and contact-dependent metabolomic reprogramming reveals distinct interaction strategies between Laccaria bicolor and Trichoderma

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Scientists studied how two types of soil fungi interact with each other when grown together in laboratory conditions. By analyzing the chemicals these fungi produce and release, they discovered that the fungi actively communicate and compete with each other in different ways depending on how close they are to each other. The findings show that both airborne chemicals and chemicals released into the soil play important roles in how fungi recognize friends from foes, which could help improve the use of beneficial fungi in agriculture.

Volatile Semiochemicals Emitted by Beauveria bassiana Modulate Larval Feeding Behavior and Food Choice Preference in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

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Researchers discovered that a beneficial fungus called Beauveria bassiana produces odorous chemicals that can discourage pest insects from eating crops. When certain strains of this fungus release their characteristic smell (particularly a compound called 3-methylbutanol), larvae of the fall armyworm pest eat less and avoid treated plants. Interestingly, the plants themselves respond by producing defensive compounds when exposed to these fungal odors. This finding suggests a new approach to pest control that harnesses the natural chemical communication between fungi, plants, and insects.

Isolation, (bio)synthetic studies and evaluation of antimicrobial properties of drimenol-type sesquiterpenes of Termitomyces fungi

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Termite colonies farm a fungus called Termitomyces for food in an ancient partnership. Scientists discovered that the mushrooms produced by this fungus release distinctive chemical signals, particularly a compound called drimenol. By isolating and synthesizing these compounds, researchers found they have antimicrobial properties and may play a role in communicating between termites and their fungal crop or protecting mushrooms from infection.

Research Keyword: chemical ecology