Recently, Zhejiang netizens sent an apple with mushrooms at home to researchers at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. On July 12, the upstream news (report mailbox [email protected]) reporter learned from relevant plant experts that the "apples with long mushrooms" have been dried and properly preserved, and follow-up research is underway.
Experts also reminded netizens that if they find that this kind of fungus grows in strange places, they should not eat it, and they can contact scientific researchers in time to identify it to see if it has scientific research value.
"Fruit King" has been dried and properly preserved
Recently, during the rainy season, Ms. Deng from Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, noticed that a "white mushroom" had grown from one of her apples, and she thought it was funny so she took a photo and posted it on social media. On the 6th, Xu Rongju, a doctoral student at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, sent a private message to Ms. Deng after seeing the relevant photos, asking to buy this apple for research.
Ms. Deng decided to send it to Xu Rongju for free, and according to Xu Rongju's explanation, she wrapped the apples in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator, put them in a foam box with ice packs the next day, and flew them to Kunming on the 8th.
On the 11th, Zhao Qi of the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the story of the "King of Fruit Fungi". Photo courtesy of the interviewee
It has been identified that the "white mushroom" is a schizophyllum (white ginseng), a well-known edible fungus widely distributed around the world, which generally grows on rotting wood and also exists as a plant pathogenic fungus, which has previously appeared on peaches, persimmons, and coconut shells, and Xu Rongju is also the first time to see it on apples.
This mushroom-growing apple has not only attracted the attention of many netizens, but also attracted the attention of industry insiders. Zhang Quanxing, a distinguished expert in popular science in China and a member of the Science Popularization Working Committee of the Yunnan Botanical Society, and Xu Rongju's mentor, Zhao Qi, a professor-level engineer of the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are very familiar with each other, and rushed to the Kunming Institute of Botany on the 11th to understand the relevant situation and meet this Internet celebrity "Fruit King".
"At present, the mycelium of white ginseng is growing well." Xu Rongju said that on July 10, he and his colleagues had extracted the DNA sequence of the fruiting body of the white ginseng fungus and successfully identified the strain as belonging to the model species of Schizophyllum commune. In addition, the research team also separated the rotten and non-rotten parts of the apples into the culture medium to observe the growth of mycelium.
Zhang Quanxing told upstream news reporters that at present, in order to preserve it for a long time, researchers have dried the "Fruit Fungus King" and preserved it properly.
The name of the white ginseng fungus is different in various places, because the fruiting body is tough, the fungus is not rotten for a long time, it is said that it is necessary to burn eight loads of firewood, so it is named "eight loads of firewood" in Yunnan. White ginseng mushroom is called tree flower in Shaanxi, chicken hair fungus in Hubei, and cockscomb fungus in Hunan. It is a large fungus that is used both food and medicine, and is rich in nutrients such as amino acids and minerals that are essential for the human body. According to the records of "Medicinal Fungi", the fungus is flat, sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic, and has the effect of clearing the liver and eyes, nourishing and strengthening the body.
Due to the shortcomings of many spores and fast reproduction, since the successful domestication and cultivation in the 80s of the 20th century, the cultivation area and market of white ginseng mushroom have not continued to expand.
Comparison of white ginseng mycelial growth on apples on July 10 (left) and July 11 (right). Photo courtesy of Dr. Xu Yungju
So what is the scientific value of this "king of fruit mushrooms"? Zhao Qi introduced, first of all, the growth of mushrooms on apples is a reminder to fruit farmers, "The vitality of this white ginseng fungus is very strong, parasitic on apples may cause damage to apples, affecting quality and yield, fruit farmers should take precautions in the process of planting." ”
White ginseng mushrooms are expected to become space food
Zhang Quanxing introduced that white ginseng is a relatively common mushroom in Yunnan, and it is a special favorite ingredient for everyone.
Many people are also curious, will the white ginseng mushrooms grown on apples have an apple flavor? Xu Rongju said that he had tasted it and had no special taste. Zhao Qi said: "This kind of white ginseng (fungus) does not have an apple flavor, but the white ginseng (bacteria) itself produces malic acid, and we used to ferment the strain to make yogurt. However, the researchers are very curious about why the white ginseng fungus grows on apples and grows so well, and wants to compare it with the white ginseng fungus bred by aerospace to provide a reference for the next step of the breeding of the white ginseng fungus.
Zhang Quanxing introduced that in the European Union and North America, white ginseng is still defined as a pathogenic bacteria, and some netizens are also a little panicked about it, "In fact, only when the human body's immunity is reduced or the concentration is too high, the spores of white ginseng (bacteria) will have an impact on the human lungs. ”
"At present, the number of spores produced by white ginseng (bacteria) is relatively high in the production stage, and there is indeed a risk of large inhalation, and at the stage of serving to the table, it is basically negligible for consumers, so the research done by Professor Zhao and his colleagues is very meaningful for mushroom farmers." Zhang Quanxing said.
White ginseng fungus that has been selected for space breeding. Network diagram
Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences is an important comprehensive research institution in the field of botany and phytochemistry in the mainland, and the fungal diversity and molecular evolution research group of Zhao Qi and Xu Rongju is mainly engaged in the research of fungal germplasm resources and aerospace breeding.
Zhang Quanxing introduced that Zhao Qi and Xu Rongju have been engaged in related research since more than 20 years ago, but the outside world does not know much, "I also hope that through the 'Fruit King', more people will know their work." ”
Zhao Qi introduced that among the 264 strains carried by the "Shenzhou 12" manned spacecraft in 2021, morels were the main ones, with more than 200 morels, and 2 white ginseng mushrooms, and there were also white ginseng mushrooms on "Shenzhou 14". After these strains sent to space are returned to Earth, researchers cultivate them in the laboratory, dig up some mutants from them, and find the excellent traits needed for industrial development.
"Now the taste of white (ginseng) fungus is still a little hard and woody, and it has not been popularized throughout the country, and I have also tasted space white (ginseng) fungus, and some of these excellent traits taste better, the individual is larger, and the fragrance is more sufficient." Zhang Quanxing said.
Zhang Quanxing also introduced that in the future, the selected white ginseng fungus can not only enrich the people's table, but also have the potential to become space food, and can even be used as a building material to fly to the sea of stars.
Do not eat the mushrooms that grow in strange places
Recently, because of the rainy season, many netizens have found that mushrooms have also grown in some strange places. On the 12th, Xiao Nie (pseudonym), a college student studying in Guizhou, told upstream news reporters that they found two mushrooms growing on the mop in the bathroom of the dormitory that morning, "I thought it was strange, so I posted it on the Internet to ask everyone, and there were some mushroom dingding (small mushrooms), we threw away the two big mushrooms, leaving the small mushrooms, to see if they would grow." ”
Upstream news reporters saw on social media that in addition to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, many netizens in Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi and other places also posted photos, telling that they found fungi on wooden boards, furniture, mops, and even iron doors.
Recently, netizens posted a post about mop long mushrooms. Network diagram
Zhang Quanxing introduced that he has also seen a lot of photos on the Internet, including both white ginseng fungus and the grain ghost umbrella commonly known as "dog urine moss", "The growth mechanism of these fungi is different, some woody fungi grow on wood, and some are dung fungi that grow on the dung grass pile, for example, in the schizophyll, there is a family that likes to grow on the rotten wood of the coniferous forest." ”
Many netizens are also concerned, can the fungi grown in these strange places be edible? Zhang Quanxing said: "It is not recommended to eat them, these bacteria themselves may not be poisonous, but they may be dangerous with environmental toxins. ”
The discovery of research samples on the Internet is not unusual for people working in fungal research.
"Our research team went out to collect and now has discovered hundreds of new strains, and the discovery of new strains has become a daily routine in our work." Xu Rongju said that he sometimes finds some samples that may be used for research work on the Internet, and will make a request to buy them, "Generally, netizens will give it to us for free when they hear that it is used in research experiments, and we are especially grateful for everyone's support and help in fungal research." ”
Zhang Quanxing also suggested that if netizens find similar strains that they don't know, they can take photos and post them on the Internet, in fact, many researchers have this habit and will go to the Internet to discover new strains, and will also help netizens identify these strains.
"Wow, this is the first scientific research project in my life", "This is the scientific research project I have participated in the most", "It is an honor to participate in the birth of a SCI paper", ...... Many netizens commented on Xu Rongju's post. Zhang Quanxing also said: "I am very happy that the 'King of Fruit Mushrooms' has become popular, which has made netizens realize that our scientists are not closed in the ivory tower to engage in scientific research on their own, and ordinary people can also participate in scientific research projects, generating a sense of participation and pride, and I hope that in the future, in various scientific fields including fungi, a good atmosphere will be created for everyone to participate." ”
Upstream news reporter Tang Hao intern Wu Ruijie