Wild mushrooms have gained great importance for being a source of biologically active compounds. In this work, we evaluate the anticancer and antioxidant activity of a water-soluble crude polysaccharide extract isolated from the fruiting bodies of the Ganoderma aff. australe (GACP). This mushroom was collected in San Mateo (Boyacá, Colombia) and identified based on macroscopic and microscopic characterization. GACP was characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The antiradical and antioxidant activity were evaluated by different methods and its anticancer activity was verified in the osteosarcoma MG-63 human cell line. Chemical and spectroscopic analysis indicated that GACP consisted of β-D-Glcp-(1→, →3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ and α-D-Glcp-(1→ residues. The results of the biological activity showed that GACP exhibited high antioxidant activity in the different methods and models studied. Moreover, the results showed that GACP impaired cell viability (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay) and cell proliferation (clonogenic assay) in a dose–response manner on MG-63 cells. The findings of this work promote the use of mushroom-derived compounds as anticancer and antioxidant agents for potential use in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

In this study, the organelle genomes of Polytrichum juniperinum Hedw. and Polytrichum strictum Menzies ex Brid. (Polytrichaceae, Bryophyta) from Antarctica were sequenced and compared with the plastomes of the model moss species Physcomitrella patens Brid. The sizes of the cpDNA in P. juniperinum and P. strictum were estimated to be 55,168 and 20,183 bp, respectively; the sizes of the mtDNA were 88,021 and 58,896 bp, respectively. The genomes are very similar to each other, with the possible loss of petN in the cpDNA, which also showed some gene inversions when compared with the cpDNAs of P. patens Brid. In the mtDNA, it is possible that rps10 was lost. In contrast, Antarctic Polytrichaceae species have nad7 and orf187, without the occurrence of rearrangement events. Phylogenomic analyses of the plastid and mitochondria revealed that the majority-rule tree suggests some differences in the plastids ancestry, however, P. juniperinum and P. strictum were grouped in the same clade in chloroplast, but in mitochondria P. strictum was grouped with Atrichum angustatum (Brid.) Bruch & Schimp. This study helped us understand the evolution of plastomes and chondriosomes in the family Polytrichaceae, and suggest a hybridization event with relation to the mitochondrial data.

Endophyte biology is a branch of science that contributes to the understanding of the diversity and ecology of microorganisms that live inside plants, fungi, and lichen. Considering that the diversity of endolichenic fungi is little explored, and its phylogenetic relationship with other lifestyles (endophytism and saprotrophism) is still to be explored in detail, this paper presents data on axenic cultures and phylogenetic relationships of three endolichenic fungi, isolated in laboratory. Cladonia curta Ahti & Marcelli, a species of lichen described in Brazil, is distributed at three sites in the Southeast of the country, in mesophilous forests and the Cerrado. Initial hyphal growth of Xylaria spp. on C. curta podetia started four days after inoculation and continued for the next 13 days until the hyphae completely covered the podetia. Stromata formation and differentiation was observed, occurring approximately after one year of isolation and consecutive subculture of lineages. Phylogenetic analyses indicate lineages of endolichenic fungi in the genus Xylaria, even as the morphological characteristics of the colonies and anamorphous stromata confirm this classification. Our preliminary results provide evidence that these endolichenic fungi are closely related to endophytic fungi, suggesting that the associations are not purely incidental. Further studies, especially phylogenetic analyses using robust multi-locus datasets, are needed to accept or reject the hypothesis that endolichenic fungi isolated from Xylaria spp. and X. berteri are conspecific.

The study of Colombian agaricobiota is relatively recent. The training of new researchers has allowed more taxonomic surveys, increasing the literature on the subject and indicating the relevance of ecological and conservation studies. During a field survey conducted in the oak forests (Quercus humboldtii) in the Madre Monte Nature Reserve, municipality of Arcabuco - Colombia, in October 2018, about 40 specimens of Agaricales mushrooms were collected. The species were identified following the usual methods in Agaricology of the Laboratorio del Grupo de Investigación Biología para la Conservación de la Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnológica de Colombia. We identified a few species: Campanella elongatispora Singer, Cheimonophyllum candidissimum (Berk. and Curt.) Singer, Marasmiellus bolivarianus Singer, and Pluteus chrysophlebius (Berk. and Curt.) Sacc., which were added as new citations to Colombia. An increase in the area of occurrence of certain species of Agaricales-mushrooms was also reported.

Colombia es el segundo país más rico del mundo en biodiversidad después de Brasil, y los hongos son componentes importantes de esta biodiversidad. Hoy en día se conocen cerca de 7650 especies de hongos para el país, de las cuales 382 han sido usadas en diversas áreas, destacando su potencial alimentario dado a sus características nutricionales y organolépticas. La utilización de hongos comestibles ha sido parte de la tradición de grupos étnicos y comunidades campesinas del país que hasta hoy día han preservado los conocimientos y prácticas de uso tradicionales de este recurso biológico y genético. Adicionalmente, durante los últimos años ha aumentado el aprovechamiento comercial de hongos comestibles generando diferentes bioproductos entre los que se destacan la obtención de basidiomas y ascomas, generación de productos funcionales u obtención de compuestos bioactivos para ser usados como aditivos alimentarios, ingredientes, entre otros usos. Diversos hongos silvestres podrían ser aprovechados para fines alimentarios, en especial porque muchas de las especies reportadas en trabajos de diversidad tienen un potencial uso biotecnológico a nivel mundial, además, una de las mejores formas de proteger esa biodiversidad es a través de su uso sostenible. En este sentido, este capítulo expone el uso tradicional, el valor nutricional, el estado de comercialización, la legislación asociada y patentes relacionadas con hongos comestibles colombianos. Adicionalmente, se presentan las oportunidades y perspectivas de los hongos alimenticios colombianos en el marco de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible para Colombia.

La importancia cultural de un organismo está determinada por su valor para un grupo de individuos. En el caso de los hongos, se ha evaluado utilizando indicadores precisos que permiten comparar el conocimiento etnomicológico entre comunidades. En Colombia el conocimiento etnomicológico es cobijado por las comunidades campesinas e indígenas y se estima que 70 especies son consumidas. En este trabajo se estimó la importancia cultural de los hongos silvestres comestibles (EMCSI) en cuatro municipios de Boyacá (San Mateo, Miraflores, Togüí y Pauna). Los hongos se utilizan como alimento y raramente como medicina; de un total de 20 especies reportadas, se evidencia el uso local de 12 especies. Los hongos con mayor EMCSI fueron Crepidotus palmarum, Auricularia fuscosuccinea, Ramaria spp., Agaricus aff. trinitatensis y Pleurotus sp.1. Las variables culturales que describen el conocimiento tradicional incluyen ocho de las consideradas en el EMCSI, a excepción del índice económico. Este trabajo construye una relación de conocimiento de forma dinámica; la participación de la comunidad involucra un intercambio de saberes que debe verse reflejado en la conservación de los bosques, la apropiación de este servicio ecosistémico de provisión y el fortalecimiento del interés por el conocimiento tradicional en los jóvenes y niños.