''Cantharocybe virosa'' is a member of the fungal

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Hygrophoraceae The Hygrophoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally conceived as containing white-spored, thick-gilled agarics (gilled mushrooms), including '' Hygrophorus'' and '' Hygrocybe'' species (the waxcaps or waxy caps), DNA evi ...

'' that has been identified in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. It is an

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycob ...

l fungus that is

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

for consumption and has no know uses in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

. ''C. virosa'' is a gray to gray-brown fungus with white to yellowish-white

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

that can be found in

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

or on mud walls near ''

Cocos nucifera The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

.''

Taxonomy

The species ''

Cantharocybe ''Cantharocybe'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. The genus was described by American mycologists Howard E. Bigelow and Alexander H. Smith in 1973. ''Cantharocybe'' contains three species: the type '' C.&nb ...

'' ''virosa'' was initially described by a group of

mycologists Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as w ...

at the

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in nor ...

as '' Megacollybia'' ''virosa'' in 2010 using a cladistic approach. It was transferred from the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

'' Megacollybia'' to the

'' in 2013 by Kumar and Manimohan using

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

Description

Macroscopic

''C.'' ''virosa'' has a gray to gray-brown pileus, ranging from 4.5 cm to 10 cm in diameter, with a striped surface and straight margins at maturity. The

are up to 9mm thick and yellowish white to whitish, either adnate or decurrent, forming between four and eight tiers . The stipe is terete or compressed and typically central, but it can be excentric. It is moist, solid, with a dilated apex and white basal

mycelium Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates in ...

. The spore print is white, and the

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

produces a strong and unpleasant, but undescribed odor.

Microscopic

''C. virosa'' has smooth ellipsoid

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are p ...

s and elongated, necked lecythiform

cheilocystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

. Also notable is the presence of cutis

pileipellis The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fruit body. It covers the trama, the fleshy tissue of the fruit body. The pileipellis is more or less synonymous with the cuticle, but the cuticle generally describes t ...

forming trichodermal patches, and abundant

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

Distribution and habitat

''C''. ''virosa'' can be found both as solitary individuals or in clusters in a substrate of

or mud walls. It is

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

and often found near the roots of ''Cocos'' ''nucifera'' due to its

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

with it. ''C''. ''virosa'' inhabits

tropical regions The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred t ...

, originally identified in

in 2010, but has since been identified in

as well as

. ''C. virosa'' was identified in

in 2016 and in

in 2018. It is assumed to have been present in

, but not described before this point due to the large number of unidentified

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

in the country.

Root symbiosis

''C''. ''virosa'' is believed to have an

l association with C. nucifera, the

coconut tree The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

. This

is unusual as the

'' Arecaceae'', in which C. nucifera is classified, typically doesn't form fungal

associations Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. Recent studies have shown the closely related

Cuphophyllus ''Cuphophyllus'' is a genus of agaric fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. ''Cuphophyllus'' species belong to a group known as waxcaps in English, sometimes also waxy caps in North America or waxgills in New Zealand. In Europe, ''Cuphophyllus'' s ...

'' as having

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

endophyte An endophyte is an endosymbiont, often a bacterium or fungus, that lives within a plant for at least part of its life cycle without causing apparent disease. Endophytes are ubiquitous and have been found in all species of plants studied to date; h ...

s in plant roots, with Hosen hypothesizing the C. ''virosa'' and '' C. nucifera''

might be of this form instead.

Toxicity

When consumed, ''C.'' ''virosa'' causes gastrointestinal (GI) issues, a result of the

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξίνη , "toxin") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of kingdom Fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' ...

coprine Coprine is a mycotoxin. It was first isolated from common inkcap (''Coprinopsis atramentaria''). It occurs in mushrooms in the genera ''Coprinopsis'' When combined with alcohol, it causes "Coprinus syndrome". It inhibits the enzyme acetaldehyde ...

, but it is not fatal. Because it is not edible, it is not cultivated and has no know current or historical medicinal uses or known ties to any historical events. Wild specimens of ''C. virosa'' are occasionally mistaken for other mushrooms and ingested, leading to its

description Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and na ...

and identification in

. The first known

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

occurred in 2006 in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

when a family of four used it in cooking, but at this time ''C. virosa'' had not been described. In 2018 a large

of 39 cases occurred during the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

, found to be caused by ''C. virosa''.

Coprine

The

is believed to be responsible for causing a number of

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showi ...

when ingested, including GI system effects,

rash A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...

sweating Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distri ...

and

arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

s. These symptoms fall under the group 4b toxins, described as

disulfiram Disulfiram is a medication used to support the treatment of chronic alcoholism by producing an acute sensitivity to ethanol (drinking alcohol). Disulfiram works by inhibiting the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, causing many of the effects of ...

-like.

Use in research

In 2022 the genomic data gathered from ''C. virosa'' has been used as an

out group In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example ide ...

to identify two new

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in the

Volvariella ''Volvariella'' is a genus of mushrooms with deep salmon pink gills and spore prints. Description They lack a ring, and have an Amanita-like volva at the stem base. Some species of Amanita look similar, but Amanita has white spores and often ...

, V. neovolvacea'' and '' V. thailandensis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q26816938 Fungi of Bangladesh Fungi of India Hygrophoraceae Fungi described in 2011