An Immunomodulatory Polysaccharide-Protein Complex Isolated from the Polypore Fungus .

Many wild edible polypore mushrooms have medicinal value. In this study, we investigate the potential medicinal properties of the wild polypore mushroom collected from north-central British Columbia, Canada. Water extract from was found to exhibit potent immunomodulatory activity.

Isolation and characterization of an anti-proliferative polysaccharide from the North American fungus Echinodontium tinctorium.

A novel polysaccharide EtGIPL1a was purified from fruiting bodies of Echinodontium tinctorium, a fungus unique to western North America. EtGIPL1a has an estimated weight average molecular weight of 275 kDa and is composed of glucose (54.3%), galactose (19.

Structural elucidation and immuno-stimulatory activity of a novel polysaccharide containing glucuronic acid from the fungus Echinodontium tinctorium.

An immuno-stimulatory polysaccharide (EtISPFa) was purified from water extract of the fungus Echinodontium tinctorium. EtISPFa has an estimated weight average molecular weight (M) of 1354 kDa and is composed of glucose (66.2 %), glucuronic acid (10.

Grifolin, neogrifolin and confluentin from the terricolous polypore Albatrellus flettii suppress KRAS expression in human colon cancer cells.

In our search for bioactive mushrooms native to British Columbia, we determined that the ethanol extracts from fruiting bodies of the terrestrial polypore Albatrellus flettii had potent anti-cell viability activity. Using bioassay-guided fractionation, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance, we successfully isolated three known compounds (grifolin, neogrifolin and confluentin). These compounds represent the major anti-cell viability components from the ethanol extracts of A.

Antiproliferative, Immunostimulatory, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Extracts Derived from Mushrooms Collected in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (Canada).

Wild mushrooms, while largely explored for their ecological significance, have not been systematically studied for their medicinal properties. This is the first report of biological activities of mushrooms from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. The 17 mushroom species in this study were collected from multiple locations on Haida Gwaii and were screened for antiproliferative, immunostimulatory, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Wild Mushroom, in RAW264.7 Macrophage Cells and Mouse Microcirculation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of a previously un-studied wild mushroom, , collected from the forests of north-central British Columbia. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophage model was used to study the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity.

Inonotus obliquus attenuates histamine-induced microvascular inflammation.

Cell-to-cell communication is a key element of microvascular blood flow control, including rapidly carrying signals through the vascular endothelium in response to local stimuli. This cell-to-cell communication is negatively impacted during inflammation through the disruption of junctional integrity. Such disruption is associated with promoting the onset of cardiovascular diseases as a result of altered microvascular blood flow regulation.

Anti-proliferative activity of a purified polysaccharide isolated from the basidiomycete fungus Paxillus involutus.

A growth-inhibitory polysaccharide (GIPinv) was purified using size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography from the fourth sodium hydroxide extraction step of a fungus found in British Columbia. The fungus was genetically identified as a member of the Paxillus involutus complex. GIPinv has an average molecular weight of 229kDa and is a heteroglycan composed of glucose (65.

Growth-Inhibitory and Immunomodulatory Activities of Wild Mushrooms from North-Central British Columbia (Canada).

Wild mushrooms, especially from North America, have not been systematically explored for their medicinal properties. Here we report screening for the growth-inhibitory and immunomodulatory activities of 12 species collected from multiple locations in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Mushrooms were characterized using morphology and DNA sequencing, followed by chemical extraction into 4 fractions using 80% ethanol, 50% methanol, water, and 5% sodium hydroxide.

Archaeal ammonia oxidizers respond to soil factors at smaller spatial scales than the overall archaeal community does in a high Arctic polar oasis.

Archaea are ubiquitous and highly abundant in Arctic soils. Because of their oligotrophic nature, archaea play an important role in biogeochemical processes in nutrient-limited Arctic soils. With the existing knowledge of high archaeal abundance and functional potential in Arctic soils, this study employed terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP) profiling and geostatistical analysis to explore spatial dependency and edaphic determinants of the overall archaeal (ARC) and ammonia-oxidizing archaeal (AOA) communities in a high Arctic polar oasis soil.

Host and habitat filtering in seedling root-associated fungal communities: taxonomic and functional diversity are altered in 'novel' soils.

Climatic and land use changes have significant consequences for the distribution of tree species, both through natural dispersal processes and following management prescriptions. Responses to these changes will be expressed most strongly in seedlings near current species range boundaries. In northern temperate forest ecosystems, where changes are already being observed, ectomycorrhizal fungi contribute significantly to successful tree establishment.

Site properties have a stronger influence than fire severity on ectomycorrhizal fungi and associated N-cycling bacteria in regenerating post-beetle-killed lodgepole pine forests.

Following a pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia, Canada, we investigated the effect of fire severity on rhizosphere soil chemistry and ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) and associated denitrifying and nitrogen (N)-fixing bacteria in the root systems of regenerating lodgepole pine seedlings at two site types (wet and dry) and three fire severities (low, moderate, and high). The site type was found to have a much larger impact on all measurements than fire severity. Wet and dry sites differed significantly for almost all soil properties measured, with higher values identified from wet types, except for pH and percent sand that were greater on dry sites.

Long-term experimental warming alters nitrogen-cycling communities but site factors remain the primary drivers of community structure in high arctic tundra soils.

Arctic air temperatures are expected to rise significantly over the next century. Experimental warming of arctic tundra has been shown to increase plant productivity and cause community shifts and may also alter microbial community structure. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine whether experimental warming caused shifts in soil microbial communities by measuring changes in the frequency, relative abundance and/or richness of nosZ and nifH genotypes.

The effect of experimental warming on the root-associated fungal community of Salix arctica.

The effect of experimental warming on the root-associated fungal community of arctic willow (Salix arctica) was studied in three distinct habitats at a tundra site in the Canadian High Arctic. Plots were passively warmed for 5-7 years using open-top chambers and compared to control plots at ambient temperature. Fungal communities were assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms.

Molecular diversity of nifH genes from bacteria associated with high arctic dwarf shrubs.

Biological nitrogen fixation is the primary source of new N in terrestrial arctic ecosystems and is fundamental to the long-term productivity of arctic plant communities. Still, relatively little is known about the nitrogen-fixing microbes that inhabit the soils of many dominant vegetation types. Our objective was to determine which diazotrophs are associated with three common, woody, perennial plants in an arctic glacial lowland.

Impacts of warming and fertilization on nitrogen-fixing microbial communities in the Canadian High Arctic.

The impacts of simulated climate change (warming and fertilization treatments) on diazotroph community structure and activity were investigated at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada. Open Top Chambers, which increased growing season temperatures by 1-3 degrees C, were randomly placed in a dwarf-shrub and cushion-plant dominated mesic tundra site in 1995. In 2000 and 2001 20N:20P2O5:20K2O fertilizer was applied at a rate of 5 gm(-2) year(-1).

Bacterial diversity associated with subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) ectomycorrhizae following wildfire and salvage-logging in central British Columbia.

To assess the effect of fire and salvage logging on the diversity of mycorrhizal-bacterial communities, bacteria associated with Cenococcum, Thelephora, Tomentella, Russulaceae, and E-strain ectomycorrhizae (ECM) of Abies lasiocarpa seedlings were characterized using two approaches. First, bacteria were isolated and characterized by Biolog, gas chromatography fatty acid methyl ester (GC-FAME), and amplified 16S rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). The bacterial communities retrieved from ECM from both sites were dominated by Proteobacteria (groups gamma and beta).