From a cDNA library, constructed from mushroom primordia, nine cDNAs were isolated which were either induced or specifically expressed during fruit body development and maturation of the basidiomycete Agaricus bisporus. These cDNAs varied in size from 372 to 1019 bp and hybridized to transcripts of 400-1600 nt. Four of the cDNAs were only expressed in the generative phase of the life cycle whil...

Agaricus subrufescens is a basidiomycete which is studied because of its medicinal and gastronomic importance; however, less attention has been paid to its preservation. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sucrose addition to substrate and cryotube on the viability of Agaricus subrufescens cryopreserved at -20°C and at -75°C for one and two years. Zero, 10% or 20% sucrose was added to po...

The edible mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill is known to induce protective immunomodulatory action against a variety of infectious diseases. In the present study we report potential anti-quorum sensing properties of A. blazei hot water extract. Quorum sensing (QS) plays an important role in virulence, biofilm formation and survival of many pathogenic bacteria, including the Gram negative Pseudomo...

The present study was designed to evaluate the oxidative stress as well as the therapeutic effect of Agaricus blazei Muril (A. Blazei) in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. We used 25 Wistar rats, and DM was induced by injecting streptozotocin (70 mg/Kg i.p.). Agaricus blazei Muril was administered daily starting 40 days after disease onset. A. Blazei was tested as an aqueous extract fo...

Forty patients with multiple myeloma scheduled to undergo high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support were randomized in a double blinded fashion to receive adjuvant treatment with the mushroom extract AndoSan, containing 82% of Agaricus blazei Murrill (19 patients) or placebo (21 patients). Intake of the study product started on the day of stem cell mobilizing chemotherapy and con...

The biological activities of the lipodepsipeptides (LDP) white line-inducing principle (WLIP), produced by Pseudomonas reactans NCPPB1311, and tolaasin I, produced by R tolaasii NCPPB2192, were compared. Antimicrobial assays showed that both LDP inhibited the growth of fungi-including the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus, Lentinus edodes, and Pleurotus spp.--chromista, and gram-positive b...

During the past several years, reports have appeared concerning the separation and characterization of a variety of newly recognized nonprotein amino acids of plant origin (2-6). A number of these substances have been identified as derivatives of glutamine in which substitution by residues other than those represented by the common a-amino acids has occurred at the amide nitrogen atom (6-13). I...