Cover Feature: Formaldehyde as a Chemical Defence Agent of Fruiting Bodies of Mycena rosea and its Role in the Generation of the Alkaloid Mycenarubin C (ChemBioChem 11/2020)

Abstract

Chemical defence and counter‐defence: In warm weather, production of the defence agent formaldehyde protects the mushroom Mycena rosea against infestation with the mycoparasitic fungus Spinellus fusiger. In contrast, in cool and wet weather, which is favourable for the growth of S. fusiger, the mycoparasite is able to inactivate the chemical defence of M. rosea by producing large amounts of gallic acid, which reacts with amino acids and toxic formaldehyde to form nontoxic Mannich adducts, thus enabling S. fusiger to invade the fruiting bodies of M. rosea. More information can be found in the full paper by P. Spiteller et al.