Radioactive Contamination of Wild Mushrooms from Ukraine under Conditions of Contrasting Radiation Loads: 36 Years after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Catastrophe.

It has been 36 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant catastrophe, but the consumption of wild mushrooms in Ukrainian Polissya is still dangerous since its territory is heavily contaminated by radionuclides. The aim of this study was to estimate 137Cs and 90Sr uptake in wild mushrooms from locations with contrast radioactive loads (Zhytomyr Polissya, Ukraine). In mushroom samples collected from Drevlyanskyi Nature Reserve since 2013 (average levels of soil surface contamination with 137Cs are 555-1480 kBq m-2), the highest levels of 137Cs were observed in symbiotroph species - Imleria badia (≤ 2680 kBq kg-1 dry mass [dm]), Tricholoma equestre (≤ 1420 kBq kg-1 dm), Lactarius rufus (≤ 602 kBq kg-1 dm), Sarcodon imbricatus (≤ 464 kBq kg-1 dm), Leccinum scabrum (≤ 117 kBq kg-1 dm), Suillus bovinus (≤ 118 kBq kg-1 dm), and Boletus edulis (≤ 96 kBq kg-1 dm).

Effect of metal ions on autofluorescence of the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans grown on spruce wood.

This work describes autofluorescence of the mycelium of the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans grown on spruce wood blocks impregnated with various metals. Live mycelium, as opposed to dead mycelium, exhibited yellow autofluorescence upon blue excitation, blue fluorescence with ultraviolet (UV) excitation, orange-red and light-blue fluorescence with violet excitation, and red fluorescence with green excitation. Distinctive autofluorescence was observed in the fungal cell wall and in granula localized in the cytoplasm.

Effects of the soil microbial community on mobile proportions and speciation of mercury (Hg) in contaminated soil.

The precise characterization of the behavior of individual microorganisms in the presence of increased mercury contents in soil is necessary for better elucidation of the fate of mercury in the soil environment. In our investigation, resistant bacterial strains isolated from two mercury contaminated soils, represented by Paenibacillus alginolyticus, Burkholderia glathei, Burkholderia sp., and Pseudomonas sp.

Translocation of mercury from substrate to fruit bodies of Panellus stipticus, Psilocybe cubensis, Schizophyllum commune and Stropharia rugosoannulata on oat flakes.

The cultivation and fructification of 15 saprotrophic and wood-rotting fungal strains were tested on three various semi-natural medium. The formation of fruit bodies was observed for Panellus stipticus, Psilocybe cubensis, Schizophyllum commune and Stropharia rugosoannulata in the frame of 1-2 months. Mercury translocation from the substrate to the fruit bodies was then followed in oat flakes medium.

Concomitant use of polarization and positive phase contrast microscopy for the study of microbial cells.

Polarization and positive phase contrast microscope were concomitantly used in the study of the internal structure of microbial cells. Positive phase contrast allowed us to view even the fine cell structure with a refractive index approaching that of the surrounding environment, e.g.

Extracellular enzymes of the white-rot fungus Fomes fomentarius and purification of 1,4-β-glucosidase.

Production of the lignocellulose-degrading enzymes endo-1,4-β-glucanase, 1,4-β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, endo-1,4-β-xylanase, 1,4-β-xylosidase, Mn peroxidase, and laccase was characterized in a common wood-rotting fungus Fomes fomentarius, a species able to efficiently decompose dead wood, and compared to the production in eight other fungal species. The main aim of this study was to characterize the 1,4-β-glucosidase produced by F. fomentarius that was produced in high quantities in liquid stationary culture (25.

Development of soil microbiology methods: from respirometry to molecular approaches.

This review deals with techniques and methods used in the study of the function and development of microorganisms occurring in soil with emphasis on the contributions of Czech Academician Ivan Málek and his coworkers or fellows (Jiří Macura, František Kunc) to the development of basic techniques used in soil microbiology. Early studies, including batch cultivation and respirometric techniques, as well as later developments of percolation and continuous-flow methods of cultivation of soil microorganisms are discussed. Recent developments in the application of analytical chemistry (HPLC or GC) and of molecular biological techniques to ecological questions that have revolutionized concepts in soil microbiology and microbial ecology are also briefly mentioned, including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE), phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) and others.

Ecology of coarse wood decomposition by the saprotrophic fungus Fomes fomentarius.

Saprotrophic wood-inhabiting basidiomycetes are the most important decomposers of lignin and cellulose in dead wood and as such they attracted considerable attention. The aims of this work were to quantify the activity and spatial distribution of extracellular enzymes in coarse wood colonised by the white-rot basidiomycete Fomes fomentarius and in adjacent fruitbodies of the fungus and to analyse the diversity of the fungal and bacterial community in a fungus-colonised wood and its potential effect on enzyme production by F. fomentarius.

ICP-MS determination of heavy metals in submerged cultures of wood-rotting fungi.

Accumulation of five heavy metal ions by five species of wood-rotting basidiomycetes during a 9-day cultivation was studied. Contents of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were measured using ICP-MS; the amount of mercury was determined directly in solid samples using the Advanced Mercury Analyser. A standard operation procedure for the sample preparation and determination of metal content was developed and validated.

Degradation of lignocellulose by Pleurotus ostreatus in the presence of copper, manganese, lead and zinc.

Pleurotus ostreatus produces the cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes endo-1,4-beta-glucanase, exo-1,4-beta-glucanase, 1,4-beta-glucosidase, endo-1,4-beta-xylanase, 1,4-beta-xylosidase, endo-1,4-beta-mannanase and 1,4-beta-mannosidase and ligninolytic enzymes Mn-peroxidase and laccase during growth on wheat straw in the presence and absence of Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn. This is the first report concerning endo-1,4-beta-mannanase in P. ostreatus.

Copper-ligand complex for the decolorization of synthetic dyes.

The reaction system containing Cu(II), hydrogen peroxide and D-arabinono-1,4-lactone was found to be effective in the decolorization and reduction of toxicity of azo, thiazine-, triphenylmethane- and anthraquinone-based synthetic dyes. More than 85% decolorization was obtained with 100ppm Acridine Orange, Azure B, Chicago Sky Blue 6B, Crystal Violet, Evans Blue, Poly B-411, Reactive Blue 2, Reactive Blue 5, and Remazol Brilliant Blue R incubated for 24h in the presence of 10mM CuSO(4), 20mM D-arabinono-1,4-lactone and 80 mM H(2)O(2). The rate of decolorization was not affected by pH in the range of 3-9.

Decolorization of synthetic dyes using a copper complex with glucaric acid.

Selected azo, acridine, triphenyl methane, anthraquinone and thiazine-based dyes were decolorized using a catalytic system consisting of Cu(II)/glucaric acid/H(2)O(2). More than 90% decolorization was obtained with 100 ppm Acridine Orange, Azure B, Chicago Sky Blue, Crystal Violet, Methyl Orange, Poly B-411, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Blue 2, and Remazol Brilliant Blue R within 24 h. Seventy to eighty percent decolorization was achieved within the first 6 h.

Lignocellulose degradation by Pleurotus ostreatus in the presence of cadmium.

Activities of cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes endo-1,4-beta-glucanase, exo-1,4-beta-glucanase, 1,4-beta-glucosidase, endo-1,4-beta-xylanase, 1,4-beta-xylosidase and 1,4-beta-mannosidase and ligninolytic enzymes Mn-peroxidase and laccase were detected during the growth of the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus on wheat straw in the presence and absence of cadmium. The loss of substrate dry weight and Mn-peroxidase activity decreased with increasing Cd concentration, whereas the activities of endo-1,4-beta-glucanase, 1,4-beta-glucosidase and laccase were highly increased in the presence of metal. The onset of hemicellulose-degrading enzyme activity was delayed in the presence of cadmium.

Intraspecific variability in growth response to cadmium of the wood-rotting fungus Piptoporus betulinus.

The intraspecific variability in growth response to cadmium (Cd) on agar media and in liquid culture was studied among fourteen strains of a wood-rotting fungus Piptoporus betulinus. The variability of Cd tolerance was found to be very high. The ED(50) ranged from 6.

Investigation of the response of wood-rotting fungi to copper stress by size-exclusion chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis with ICP MS detection.

A method based on the coupling of size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS) was developed for screening the changes in the bioligand composition of wood-rotting fungi as a function of their exposure to copper stress. Strains of four different species of wood-rotting fungi: Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Schizophyllum commune, Daedalea quercina and Pleurotus ostreatus were examined. Only one, namely Ph.

Copper and cadmium increase laccase activity in Pleurotus ostreatus.

Addition of copper (0.5-5 mM) or cadmium (1-5 mM) to the white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated in liquid nitrogen-limited medium for 12 days increased the activity of laccase. The addition of 2 mM Cd led to an 18.