Fungal Species: Amanita strobiliformis

Silver Chloride Precipitation-limiting Factor for Accurate Silver Determination in Ag-accumulating Mushrooms After Nitric Acid Digestion

This research addresses a critical problem in measuring silver content in certain mushrooms, particularly silver-accumulating Amanita species. Scientists discovered that standard laboratory digestion procedures using nitric acid can cause silver to precipitate as silver chloride, making it invisible to measurement instruments and leading to false low results. The study demonstrates that neutron activation analysis is more accurate for measuring silver in these mushrooms, or alternatively, specialized multi-step digestion procedures can dissolve the precipitated silver chloride to obtain accurate measurements.

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Identification of two metallothioneins in Agaricus crocodilinus reveals gene duplication and domain expansion, a pattern conserved across fungal species

A common edible mushroom called A. crocodilinus can accumulate dangerous levels of cadmium from soil without being harmed. Scientists discovered this mushroom produces two different proteins called metallothioneins that work together to safely trap and store the toxic cadmium. One protein handles constant, everyday cadmium storage in the mushroom fruiting body, while the other activates quickly when the roots encounter sudden heavy metal stress. This same protective strategy appears in other mushroom species, showing it’s an important evolutionary adaptation.

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