Mushroom bodies in the Drosophila brain are centers for olfactory learning and memory. We have previously shown that the mushroom bodies comprise three types of neurons with distinct axonal projections. These three types of neurons are generated sequentially from common neuroblasts. We report here the identification of a gene that we have named enoki mushroom (enok), which when it is mutated gi...

The purpose of this study was to assess the cytotoxic effect of the non-fractionated aqueous extract of A. sylvaticus mushroom in cultures of non-tumor cells (NIH3T3) and tumor cells (OSCC-3). The cells were maintained in DMEN cell culture medium added of 10% of fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotic. For the cytotoxicity test we prepared the aqueous mushroom extract at concentrations of 0.01 mg....

Mushroom β-glucan has the ability to affect many cellular functions, including cellular glucose uptake. Although cumulative evidence in literature suggests a connection between β-glucan and reduction of blood glucose concentration, a mechanism of how β-glucan affects cellular glucose uptake has not been demonstrated. In this study, we analyzed the effect of β-glucan containing polysaccharide ex...

We explored the transformations accompanying the transmission of odor information from the first-order processing area, the antennal lobe, to the mushroom body, a higher-order integration center in the insect brain. Using Ca 2+ imaging, we recorded activity in the dendrites of the projection neurons that connect the antennal lobe with the mushroom body. Next, we recorded the presynaptic termina...

Gender is one of the main variables that influence the distribution of local knowledge. We carried out a literature review concerning local mycological knowledge, paying special attention to data concerning women's knowledge and comparative gender data. We found that unique features of local mycological knowledge allow people to successfully manage mushrooms. Women are involved in every stage o...

The insect mushroom bodies are sensory integration and learning and memory centers that display morphological plasticity on both individual and evolutionary timescales; mushroom bodies and their intrinsic neurons restructure in response to individual behavioral experience [Withers et al., 1993; Seid and Wehner, 2009], while across the insects particular mushroom body morphologies are linked to ...