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What is the name of the fungus that binds sand grains?
The polypore Laccocephalum basilapiloides is the Australian ‘stone-making fungus’, whose 8 cm-diameter pseudosclerotium binds sand grains, root fragments and other debris, and supports a single fruit body. Pseudosclerotial plates are thin sheets of mycelium that incorporate wood and other organic matter. The hyphae of these structures are highly ...
Where do LPMOs occur?
The cellulose-active AA16 LPMOs occur exclusively in Dikarya, whereas the xylan-active AA14 LPMOs occur predominantly in Dikarya, primarily in the genomes of filamentous ascomycete fungi and basidiomycetous wood decay fungi.
How does pseudosclerotial development help a fungal colony?
Pseudosclerotial development promotes the survival of a fungal colony by incorporating the material on which it is growing. Species of Ophiocordyceps mummify the bodies of the invertebrates that they have killed within pseudosclerotia. Stalked fruit bodies bearing perithecia develop from the pseudosclerotia of these ascomycetes. Pathogenic species of Monilia ( Sclerotinia) produce similar structures around the infected fruits of their host plants. The polypore Laccocephalum basilapiloides is the Australian ‘stone-making fungus’, whose 8 cm-diameter pseudosclerotium binds sand grains, root fragments and other debris, and supports a single fruit body.
Does O. sinensis interact with other drugs?
Not many evidences are available on the toxicity and/or interactions of O. sinensis with other drugs and food supplements. When streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic rat treated with Ophiocordyceps and Vanadium (imitate the action of insulin) together, results in co-effect with the reduction in blood glucose level and improvement in swimming and climbing behavior ( Guo et al., 2011 ). Evidences indicate that the Ophiocordyceps consumption results in neprotoxicity induction in rats, which may be due to increased level of oxidative stress markers such as GSSG/GSH ratio and also a reduction in antioxidant enzyme activity ( Zhou and Yao, 2013 ).
Does ophiocordyceps cause neprotoxicity?
Evidences indicate that the Ophiocordyceps consumption results in neprotoxicity induction in rats, which may be due to increased level of oxidative stress markers such as GSSG/GSH ratio and also a reduction in antioxidant enzyme activity ( Zhou and Yao, 2013 ).
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Definitions & Translations
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What does "ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato" mean?
The scientific name is sometimes written Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato, which means “in the broad sense”. This is because the species is actually a complex of many species within O. unilateralis.
What is the color of naphthoquinone?
There has also been research into the use of red naphthoquinone pigments made by O. unilateralis as a dye for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. O. unilaterlis produces naphthoquinone, which under acidic conditions shows a red color and under basic conditions shows a purple color.
Is O. unilateralis a fungus?
unilateralis is very virulent, only about 6.5% of all fruiting bodies are viable spore-producers. This is caused by the castration of the fungus by the hyperparasite, which may cause the limiting of the viable infectious spores.
Is O. unilateralis a fungal hyperparasite?
O. unilateralis suffers from an unidentified fungal hyperparasite, reported in the lay press as the “anti-zombie-fungus fungus”, that results in only 6–7% of sporangia being viable, limiting the damage O. unilateralis inflicts on ant colonies.
What is the O. sinensis?
9. The O. sinensis (another fungus of the same class as the O. unilateralis) is used as a type of traditional medicine in China. There has been research into whether the O. unilateralis can also be used for medicinal purposes (Kumlien & Carlson, 2006).
What is the name of the parasite that infects and manipulates formicine ants?
Written by: Daksh Verma, Richard Xu, Caleb Ng, Jeffrey Lu, Carmen Chau. 1. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis ( also known as the “zombie ant fungus”) is a fungal parasite that infects and manipulates formicine ants to achieve its only goal: Reproduction by dispersal (Lu, 2019). This fungus usually infects ants of the Camponotini tribe.
What tribe is the orange bulb from?
This fungus usually infects ants of the Camponotini tribe. There are approximately 1.5 million species of this fungus, however less than 100,000 have been described (Evans, Elliot, & Hughes, 2011). Image of a dead ant with O. unilateralis growing out of the base of its head. The orange bulb contains spores that are released to infect more ants.
What is the parasitic fungus in The Last of Us?
In the The Last of Us video game series, the parasitic fungus that causes the infection that turns the United States into a post-apocalyptic world is a fictional mutant strain of O. unilateralis (Kumlien & Carlson, 2006).
What is a cordyceps?
Cordyceps / ˈkɔːrdɪsɛps / is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 600 species. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi ); a few are parasitic on other fungi. The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the Greek word κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Greek word κεφαλή cephali, meaning "head".
Where does the name Cordyceps come from?
The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the Greek word κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Greek word κεφαλή cephali, meaning "head". The genus has a worldwide distribution and most of the approximately 600 species that have been described are from Asia (notably Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand ).
What is the shape of a cordyceps fungus?
When a Cordyceps fungus attacks a host, the mycelium invades and eventually replaces the host tissue, while the elongated fruit body ( ascocarp) may be cylindrical, branched, or of complex shape. The ascocarp bears many small, flask-shaped perithecia containing asci. These, in turn, contain thread-like ascospores, which usually break into fragments and are presumably infective.
What is cordycepin isolated from?
Polysaccharide components and cordycepin are under basic research and have been isolated from C. militaris. Additionally, in 2021, it was discovered that a Cordyceps- derived small molecule compound called cordyheptapeptide A reduces eukaryotic protein synthesis by inhibiting the eukaryotic translation elongation factor eEF1A.
Is Cordyceps a teleomorph?
Other species previously included in the genus Cordyceps have now been placed in the genus Tolypocladium. Cordyceps and Metacordyceps spp. are now thought to be the teleomorphs of a number of anamorphic, entomopathogenic fungus "genera" such as: Beauveria ( Cordyceps bassiana ), Lecanicillium, Metarhizium and Nomuraea.
Is Epichloe a subgenus?
Cordyceps subgen. Epichloe was at one time a subgenus, but is now regarded as a separate genus, Epichloë.
Is cordyceps a Chinese medicine?
Cordyceps are used in traditional Chinese medicine, but there is no scientific evidence that their use has any clinical effect on human diseases.
Morphology
Life Cycle
- Like other fungi pathogenic to insects in the Ophiocordyceps genus, O. unilateralis targets a specific host species, the Camponotus leonardiant. However, the fungus may parasitize other closely related species of ants with lesser degrees of host manipulation and reproductive success. The spores of the fungus attach to the ant, eventually breaking through the exoskeleto…
Host Impact
- O. unilateralishas been known to destroy entire ant colonies. In response, ants have evolved the ability to sense that a member of the colony is infected; healthy ants will carry the dying one far away from the colony in order to avoid fungal spore exposure. Throughout the life cycle, there are unique challenges that must be met by equally unique metabolic activities. The fungal pathogen …
Medicinal Potential
- The Ophiocordycepsfungus contains various known metabolites, as well as a number of structurally uncharacterized substances; these natural products are reportedly being investigated as potential leads in discovery efforts toward immunomodulatory, antitumor, hypoglycemic, and hypocholesterolemic targets. Six known naphthoquinone derivatives have been isolated from O. …
Fungal Hyperparasite
- O. unilateralis suffers from an unidentified fungal hyperparasite, reported in the lay press as the “anti-zombie-fungus fungus”, that results in only 6–7% of sporangia being viable, limiting the damage O. unilateralis inflicts on ant colonies. The hyperparasite moves in to attack Ophiocordyceps unilateralisas the fungal stalk emerges from the ant’s cadaver, which ca…
External Links
- Ophiocordyceps unilateralis at UniProt.org. Accessed on 2010-08-22.
- An Electronic Monograph of Cordyceps and Related Fungi
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis