Mushroom Enthusiasts: Wsu's Promotion Of Fungi

Washington State University (WSU) has a strong relationship with mushrooms and fungi. WSU researchers are exploring the unique properties of mushrooms and fungi, including their ability to break down plant waste, enhance bee health, and provide medicinal benefits. WSU also offers educational workshops on forest farming and mushroom cultivation, teaching participants about growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and how to start their own fungi farm. WSU professors provide advice on safe mushroom hunting and identification, while WSU Extension programs teach aspiring mushroom producers how to grow shiitake mushrooms on logs for market. WSU's mycology expertise and initiatives promote the diverse potential of mushrooms and fungi in areas ranging from gastronomy to environmental sustainability and healthcare.

WSU's mycology professor Lori Carris provides advice on safe mushroom hunting

WSU's mycology professor Lori Carris provides advice and tips on safe hunting for mushrooms. Carris, along with scientist Jack Rogers, has made a career out of studying the secret lives of fungi and their roles in nature.

• Learn the rules and regulations for your area.
• Learn to recognize common edible mushrooms and poisonous mushrooms.
• Eat mushrooms in moderation, even when you are confident of their identification.
• Always cook mushrooms thoroughly before eating.
• When in doubt, throw it out.

WSU offers workshops on forest farming for fun and profit, including growing mushrooms outdoors on logs or stumps, and indoors using sawdust culture. The workshops cover different species that grow well in the local climate and forests, as well as marketing techniques for those interested in selling their mushrooms.

WSU researchers are using fungi to combat viruses in bees

Bees play a crucial role in pollination, and their health is of utmost importance. However, bee colonies have been facing significant threats from viruses and parasites, such as the Lake Sinai virus and parasitic Varroa mites, which have detrimental effects on bee health. To address this issue, researchers from Washington State University (WSU) have turned to an unlikely source—fungi—to combat viruses in bees.

The WSU research team, led by Steve Sheppard, Jennifer Han, Nicholas Naeger, and Brandon Hopkins, collaborated with Fungi Perfecti, an Olympia-based company specializing in mushroom cultivation and mycelium products. Together, they explored the potential of using fungi to combat viruses in bees. In their experiments, the researchers provided bee colonies infested with varroa mites with an oral treatment of mycelial extracts from amadou and reishi fungi.

The results were promising. The bees that received the mushroom extract showed significant declines in viral infections within days. The treated colonies exhibited a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a remarkable 45,000-fold decrease in Lake Sinai virus levels compared to untreated colonies. This research highlights the potential of fungi as a powerful tool in bee healthcare.

One of the primary ways varroa mites harm bees is by transmitting viruses and suppressing their immune systems. The mycelium extract developed by the WSU researchers helps bee immune systems fight off these viruses. Additionally, the team focused on Metarhizium, a common mold-like fungus, as a potential mite biocontrol agent. Through selective breeding, they developed a strain of Metarhizium that could withstand the high temperatures inside beehives, providing a chemical-free method to eradicate mites.

The collaboration between WSU and Fungi Perfecti has yielded encouraging results, showcasing the potential of fungi in bee healthcare and mite control. While the mycelium extract is not yet available for beekeepers to purchase on a large scale, the researchers are working to ramp up production and refine their results. This research opens up new possibilities for using fungi to protect bee health and ensure the vital role they play in our ecosystems.

WSU researchers are making jet fuel compounds from fungi

Researchers from Washington State University (WSU) have discovered a method to produce jet fuel from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil, and rotting fruit. The process involves using Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 to create hydrocarbons, which are the primary components of petroleum and similar to those found in aviation fuels. The research, led by Birgitte Ahring, a professor at WSU Tri-cities, was published in the April 2015 edition of Fungal Biology.

Fungi have been of interest for over a decade in biofuel production due to their ability to produce the enzymes necessary for converting biomass to sugars. While previous research had indicated that certain fungi could create hydrocarbons, it was limited to a specific fungus in a rainforest, and actual hydrocarbon concentrations were not reported. Ahring's group built upon this knowledge, having previously used standard Aspergillus fungi to produce enzymes and other useful, patented products.

The WSU researchers found that the fungus produced the most hydrocarbons when fed a diet of oatmeal, but it also created hydrocarbons when fed wheat straw or the non-edible leftovers from corn production. The team was assisted by Kenneth Bruno from the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who contributed a method for the genetic manipulation of A. carbonarius.

The use of fungi for hydrocarbon and biofuel production offers advantages over other methods. Fungi can produce biofuels independently, bypassing the complex chemical processes required by other biofuel production techniques. Additionally, fungi have the potential to create fuel at a low cost. According to Ahring, fungi likely produce hydrocarbons as a protective mechanism, increasing their production in response to bacterial attacks.

The researchers aim to optimize the fungi's hydrocarbon production and improve biochemical pathways through genetic engineering. They are working with mutants that have higher production levels and are exploring the use of gene coding from blue-green bacteria and algae to further enhance these strains. The team hopes that their research will lead to the economically viable production of aviation biofuels within the next five years.

WSU researchers are using fungi to break down plant waste

Fungi are not just delicious mushrooms; they have powerful abilities to break down plant waste, or even polyurethane and petroleum by-products. They can grow into strong materials at a tremendous rate, have medicinal properties, and keep ecosystems functioning. Washington State University (WSU) researchers are taking full advantage of these unique properties.

A team of WSU Tri-Cities researchers is studying the ability of fungi to restore native plant environments. Mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic relationship with many plant roots, helping to stabilize the soil, conserve water, and provide a habitat for birds and insects. Undergraduate and graduate students are working with Assistant Professor of Biology, Tanya Cheeke, to analyze the spread of fungi from an inoculated soil environment. The results will inform ecological restoration efforts to improve the survival and growth of native plants in disturbed ecosystems.

In another project, entomologists have developed Metarhizium, which can survive beehive temperatures and wipe out Varroa mites. Researchers are experimenting with feeding fungal extracts to bees, and one WSU student is constructing biodegradable bee hotels from mycelium.

In partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), WSU engineers are also looking to mimic and improve on rot fungi that break down wood, with the goal of increasing biofuel production. This research involves the use of peptoids, which mimic the function of proteins and self-assemble into nanoscale tubes, providing more stability and active surfaces than natural enzymes.

WSU researchers are also working to increase resistance to fungal infections in plants. They have discovered that the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fungus uses a protein called SsPINE1 to bypass natural plant defenses and cause extensive rot in hundreds of plant species. The current best way to fight this fungus is by spraying fungicides, but breeding resistance is a more environmentally friendly approach.

WSU offers workshops on how to grow your own mushrooms

WSU Extension Forester Jim Freed and Julia Coffey from Fungi Perfecti, a company that supplies home and commercial mushroom growers, taught the workshop. Coffey, an experienced teacher of fungi-growing techniques, is well-versed in growing mushrooms on her own forestlands.

WSU also offers a program teaching aspiring mushroom producers how to grow shiitake on logs for market. Outdoor log-cultivated mushrooms are generally considered to be of higher quality and worth more than those grown indoors. They also have nearly twice as many health-promoting polysaccharides as indoor-grown mushrooms. WSU mycologist Lori Carris offers advice and tips on safe mushroom hunting, including how to recognize common edible and poisonous mushrooms.

WSU researchers are also taking advantage of fungi's unique abilities to break down plant waste, polyurethane, and petroleum by-products, as well as their potential for use in alternative leather, biodegradable bee hotels, and jet fuel.

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