Aspects of secondary metabolism in basidiomycetes: I. biological and biochemical studies on Psilocybe cubensis II. a survey of phenol-o-methyltransferase in species of Lentinus and Lentinellus
Open Collections January 1, 2010 Weiwei Wang
Psilocybe cubensis produced psilocybin only when first grown on Sabouraud agar before transfer to liquid media. Maximal psilocybin production occurred on the fifth day. An acid phosphatase from mycelia grown in one medium showed very high activity, producing a blue color from oxidized psilocin within five minutes. Adding L-tryptophan significantly stimulated early psilocybin production in one medium; tryptophan was degraded to kynurenine and anthranilic acid in the other medium and to tryptamine in the tryptophan-supplemented medium. Radioactive tryptophan labeled psilocin and psilocybin. Potassium deficiency decreased psilocybin production. Psilocin showed slight antibiotic activity against Candida albicans; psilocybin had none. Among eight Lentinus and Lentinellus species, only Lentinus lepideus and Lentinus phonderbsus showed phenol-O-methyltransferase activity, using methyl p-coumarate, methyl caffeate, and methyl ferulate as substrates.