Interactions
Fungi interact with many organisms. Along with bacteria they
have an important role in the ecosystem. Fungi are decomposers
of dead plants, animals, and other organic matter. They also
release large amounts of carbon dioxide and recycle nitrogen and
other nutrients used by plants and other organisms.
There are four ways that Fungi affect humans directly:
1. Mycosis- growing on humans like
Aspergillus fumigatus or a yeast infection.
2. Mycetismus- Mushroom poisoning
when eaten. In this case the Deadly Parasol is a great example
of this because it is toxic once ingested.
3. Mycotoxicosis- Eating the
byproducts of a fungus that are toxic. An example is when you
have cheese that is moldy, well most people just cut off the
part that had mold on it but little do they know that fungi
produce spores which are released all over the cheese and can be
toxic.
4. Mycoallergies- Mold allergies.
The Lepiota josserandii has a major interaction with
humans. It is one of the many smaller species of the Lepiota
genus to cause protoplasmic poisons. Amatoxin syndrome is a
fungal toxin that is developed six to twenty four hours
after eating the mushroom. Amatoxin is a poison located in the
cap and causes low arterial pressure, hepatic coma, and
internal bleeding in humans. There also may be a decrease in
urine which may be a sign of dehydration or renal failure. You
may also be lacking glycogen storage in your blood. People
usually die from amatoxin poisoning. Many survive by liver
transplants and blood transfers, but for some it's too late.
There is no therapy for poisoning.
Symptoms:
Abdominal Cramping
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Below
is the Amatoxin Generic Structure. Amatoxins are oligopeptides synthesized
as 35 amino-acids long. The backbone structure is in black and the five
group structure is in red. The amatoxins, alpha-, beta-, and gamma-amanitins
bind irreversibly to RNA polymerase 2 preventing the transcription of DNA
and RNA.
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