Fungal Species:  Lentinula edodes (Shiitake)

Sustainable memristors from shiitake mycelium for high-frequency bioelectronics

Scientists have discovered that shiitake mushrooms can be grown into computer memory devices called memristors. These fungal memristors work similarly to brain neurons, can be dried and stored for later use, and operate reliably at high speeds. Because they use common, biodegradable mushrooms instead of rare minerals, they offer an environmentally friendly alternative for computing that could be used in spacecraft and other advanced applications.

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Edible Mushrooms and Beta-Glucans: Impact on Human Health

Mushrooms contain compounds called β-glucans that can help boost your immune system and reduce inflammation. These compounds show promise in cancer treatment when combined with conventional therapies and may help fight infections. While mushrooms have long been used in traditional medicine, modern research is confirming their health benefits and understanding how they work in the body.

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Seasonal discrepancy of airborne fungal diversity and community structure in Lentinula edodes factory

This study examined how fungal spores in the air of shiitake mushroom factories change with the seasons and relate to a disease called shiitake artificial log rot disease (SLRD). Researchers found that when temperatures drop and humidity rises in autumn and winter, a harmful fungus called Trichoderma thrives in the air and causes more disease. By keeping the growing areas warmer, growers can significantly reduce disease occurrence and protect both their crops and workers’ health.

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Flagellate Dermatitis by Shiitake Mushroom

This case study describes a young man who developed whip-like linear rashes on his skin a few days after eating shiitake mushrooms. The rash, called flagellate dermatitis, is caused by a heat-sensitive substance in undercooked shiitake called lentinan. The condition is harmless and disappeared completely within a week after applying a steroid cream, highlighting the importance of cooking shiitake thoroughly to prevent this reaction.

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Biorefining spent substrates of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) and oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus): enzymatic saccharification of cellulose and xylan, with lignin recovery from residues

This research explores how to turn leftover mushroom growing material into useful products. After mushrooms are harvested, significant waste remains that contains valuable sugars and lignin. The study found that shiitake mushroom waste is naturally easier to break down into sugars than oyster mushroom waste, and they developed methods to extract high-purity lignin from the leftovers. This approach could help mushroom farmers reduce waste while creating valuable materials for biofuels and other products.

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Structural and Functional Analysis of Peptides Derived from KEX2-Processed Repeat Proteins in Agaricomycetes Using Reverse Genetics and Peptidomics

Scientists studied special proteins in mushrooms that get cut up into small functional peptides by fungal enzymes. They created a method to find and identify these peptides in mushroom fruiting bodies and growth materials. When they removed the enzymes that cut these proteins, the mushrooms had problems growing and forming fruiting bodies, suggesting these enzymes are important for normal development.

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The rise of Stropharia rugosoannulata industry in China: current state and prospects

The wine-cap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) is becoming a major agricultural industry in China with over 494,000 tons produced annually. This large, meaty mushroom is rich in proteins, minerals, and healing compounds that may help fight diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. It grows easily on agricultural waste materials, making it an environmentally friendly crop that’s being used to help rural communities and reduce farming pollution.

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Biochar from fungiculture waste for adsorption of endocrine disruptors in water

Researchers developed a new material called biochar from leftover mushroom growing waste that can effectively remove harmful hormones from water. By heating the mushroom waste to 600°C, they created a porous material with a large surface area that can trap and remove synthetic estrogen and progesterone from contaminated water. Testing showed this biochar removed over 95% of these hormones, making it a promising sustainable solution for cleaning water supplies.

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New insights into temperature-impacted mycovirus-fungus interactions regulated by a microRNA in Lentinula edodes

When shiitake mushrooms are infected with a virus and exposed to heat stress, the virus replicates more aggressively, which makes the mushrooms more susceptible to heat damage and competitive fungi. Researchers discovered that a small regulatory RNA molecule called led-milR-21 plays a key role in this process by suppressing the mushroom’s heat defense mechanisms when the virus is present. This discovery is important because it shows how viruses can exploit heat stress to overcome fungal defenses, with implications for mushroom cultivation in a warming climate.

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