Mushrooms growing on apples and garlic? A doctor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences bought and tasted them...

Edit: April

Last month

Zhejiang continues to experience plum rains

A blogger was surprised to find

A rotten apple that was forgotten to be thrown away

White mushrooms actually grew

Then he posted the photo on social media

For a while#About an apple growing mushrooms#

Topped the hot lists on major platforms

The comments section joked

This is the real "Fruit Fungus King"

This topic also raised

Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Doctoral student Xu Rongju 's attention

He asked the blogger to buy this apple for research

then

The blogger gave the apple to Dr. Xu

This "fruit fungus king"

Then embarked on a magical scientific research journey

The Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences is an important comprehensive research institution in the fields of botany and plant chemistry in my country. Dr. Xu's fungal diversity and molecular evolution research group is mainly engaged in research on fungal germplasm resources and space breeding.

What are the “white mushrooms” on apples?

****Dr. Xu introduced that the fungus on the apple is called Schizophyllum (white ginseng), a famous edible fungus widely distributed around the world . It usually grows on rotten wood and also exists as a plant pathogen. It has previously appeared on peaches, persimmons, and coconut shells. This is the first time he has seen it on apples. This strain can grow so strongly with very little substrate, which can provide a reference for the selection and breeding of white ginseng strains.

What happens when an apple is cut open? Source: Dr. Xu

Schizophyllum is a wood-decomposing fungus. It likes to grow in places like rotten wood, wooden handrails in parks, and wooden floors, but it is not common to see it growing on fresh fruits. Dr. Xu said that he had seen Schizophyllum growing on fruits such as peaches and persimmons, but he had never seen it growing on apples in China. In 1970, a foreign scholar conducted an experiment in which he inoculated Schizophyllum hyphae into apples and successfully grew fruiting bodies.

Why does white ginseng grow on apples?

Dr. Xu's supervisor, Zhao Qi, a professor-level engineer at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that there are two explanations for the growth of white ginseng on this apple. One is that there is a wound on the fruit stalk, and the white ginseng spores infect the fruit stalk and spread to the core. If the temperature and humidity are suitable, the fruiting body can grow from the top of the apple; the other is that the spores first infect the apple tree and spread to the fruit. He believes that the first possibility is more likely. White ginseng is suitable for growing in an environment with a temperature of 5-30℃ and a relative humidity of more than 70%. June is the rainy season in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which provides a good growth environment.

Shen 12-White Ginseng Source: Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Zhao Qi also added that China once sent white ginseng mycelium that had been bred on the ground into space . This was because white ginseng was very tough and difficult to chew in the wild. It was sent into space in order to cultivate fungi with fewer spores and a crisper taste.

What does Apple White Ginseng taste like?

Many netizens asked: "Does this apple taste like mushrooms?"

Dr. Xu also responded to this question on the social media platform. He said, "I just tasted it and it didn't taste anything special." He believes that it is unlikely that white ginseng will taste like apple. Its special flavor mainly comes from its own amino acids and some special chemicals. Therefore, even if it grows from apple pulp, the flavor of white ginseng is unlikely to be affected by apples.

Growth of white ginseng mycelium isolated from different parts of apple

Source: Dr. Xu

It is understood that the research team has separated the apple flesh, core, and stalk, isolated the hyphae from different parts, extracted the DNA sequence of the white ginseng fruiting body, and identified that the strain belongs to the model species of Schizophyllum. The next step is to further separate and purify the hyphae, and will soon enter the cultivation experiment stage. Dr. Xu said that white ginseng has great cultivation and economic value. The strain can maintain such growth with only a small amount of substrate, which can provide a certain reference for the future selection and breeding of white ginseng strains.

On July 16th

Dr. Xu received another batch of “garlic mushrooms” sent by enthusiastic netizens!

The laboratory immediately started preliminary research

The mushrooms this time are the same as the "Fruit Mushroom King"

Same as Schizophyllum (white ginseng)

The comment section is boiling again.

Some netizens named it: "What kind of mushroom are you?"

Netizens are following this scientific research "serial drama"

While showing off the mushrooms I see in my daily life

Some were found by accident at home.

Some were found by accident.

↓↓↓

Experts also reminded netizens that any fungi seen growing in strange places are not edible , and they can contact scientific researchers in time to identify them and confirm whether they have scientific research value.

An apple with mushrooms

It triggered a nationwide science craze

Ordinary people can learn new knowledge

Researchers can also gain scientific research value from it

Experience the joy of exploration together

Enjoy the little surprises that life brings

Reference sources: China National Radio, China News Service, Xinhua News Agency, Newsroom, Guangming Online, and netizens’ comments