Mycena pura, commonly known as the lilac bonnet, is a species of mushroom

Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

 in the Mycenaceae

Mycenaceae

The Mycenaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi , the family contains 10 genera and 705 species. This is one of several families that were separated from the Tricholomataceae as a result of phylogenetic analyses...

 family. First called Agaricus prunus in 1794 by Christian Hendrik Persoon

Christian Hendrik Persoon

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon was a mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy.-Early life:...

, it was assigned its current name in 1871 by German Paul Kummer

Paul Kummer

Paul Kummer was a priest, teacher, and scientist in Zerbst, Germany, known chiefly for his contribution to mycological nomenclature. Earlier classification of agarics by pioneering fungal taxonomist Elias Magnus Fries designated only a very small number of genera, with most species falling into...

. Mycena pura is known to bioaccumulate

Bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides, or other organic chemicals in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost...

 the element boron

Boron

Boron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...

.

Bioactive compounds

Mycena pura contains the chemical puraquinonic acid, a sesquiterpene

Sesquiterpene

Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be acyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations...

. This compound induces mammalian cells (specifically, the cell line HL60

HL60

The HL-60 cell line is a leukemic cell line that has been used for laboratory research on how certain kinds of blood cells are formed. HL-60 proliferates continuously in suspension culture in nutrient medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum, L-glutamine, HEPES and antibiotic chemicals. The...

) to differentiate into granulocyte

Granulocyte

Granulocytes are a category of white blood cells characterized by the presence of granules in their cytoplasm. They are also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes because of the varying shapes of the nucleus, which is usually lobed into three segments...

- or macrophage

Macrophage

Macrophages are cells produced by the differentiation of monocytes in tissues. Human macrophages are about in diameter. Monocytes and macrophages are phagocytes. Macrophages function in both non-specific defense as well as help initiate specific defense mechanisms of vertebrate animals...

-like cells. The fungus also contains the antifungal

Antifungal

* Antifungal medication, a medication used to treat fungal infection s such as athlete's foot , ringworm, candidiasis, etc.* Antifungal protein, a protein family* an adjective referring to a fungicide compound...

 metabolite strobilurin

Strobilurin

Strobilurins are a group of chemical compounds used in agriculture as fungicides. They are part of the larger group of QoI inhibitors, which act to inhibit the respiratory chain at the level of Complex III....

 D, previously found in Cyphellopsis anomala.

External links

Mycena pura at Index Fungorum

Index Fungorum

Index Fungorum, an international project to index all formal names in the Fungi Kingdom. Somewhat comparable to the IPNI, but with more contributing institutions....