The termitomyces mushroom produces edible mushrooms, and understanding the science of its growth may result in its cultivation in artificial conditions. The termitomyces fungi associated with termites grown by the fungus are the edible mushrooms, which may produce beneficial chemicals, enzymes, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with both fuel and biological potential. Termitomyces grow on a comb formed by the termite’s excreta, which is dominated by hard, woody segments. [Sources: 1, 5, 9]
Macrotermitine termites have cultivated the mushrooms of the genus Termitomyces as the main food source using the pre-digestible biomass of plants. Approximately 30 million years ago (Mya), a high-termite subfamily, the Macrotermitinae, domesticated the fungus, Termitomyces, as their main decomposer and food source from plants for termite hosts. Entomologists who have focused on 160 species in the Macrotermitinae subfamily have long considered that the mutualistic relationship between Macrotermitinae and Termitomyces is a case of inter-specificity, where a single termite species is associated with one Termitomyces, following a system elaborated through cooperative evolution, beginning tens of millions of years ago. Early studies showed an adult termite colony associated with a single clone of Termitomyces. [Sources: 2, 4, 6, 8]
The selection opportunities at the level of the nucleus are restricted within a species of Termitomyces associated with Macrotermes natalensis termites. And, similarly to the Termitomyces sp., no strong nuclear migration-related selection is present in another species. In contrast, three species of termites from Odontotermes, the order, can raise several different species of termitomyces. The termites from Odontotermes, who are shown by this study to be capable of growing several species of the Termitomyces, could, for instance, result in a 25% loss in the sugarcane fields. [Sources: 2, 8]
Overall, therefore, termitomyce strains appear to be associated with a wide range of termite genera, and on average, termitomyce species are associated with one to two termite genera (Fig. This indicates that, despite the intense studies of the symbiont-host associations [2 ], there are not only new termites but new species of Termitomyces. When applied to our new collections, this principle resulted in six different species of Termitomyces for the four host species involved, suggesting the diversity of fungal symbionts is greater than their termite partners. This indicates that not only do termites support the fungal gardens as monocultures of Termitomyces species but also that termite guts are also quantitatively dominated by specific Termitomyces symbionts from each colony. [Sources: 0]
There are two aspects to the diversity of fungal species in termite mounds, that is, the presence of termitomyces species in comparison to other fungi, like those of Xylaria/or Pseudoxylaria species [14 ], and diversity within the species of Termitomyces species. Generally, once the queen gives birth to its first workers, they go in search of spores belonging to the specific fungal genus called termitomyces. The largest species include the largest edible mushroom in the world, the Termitomyces titanic from West Africa and Zambia, with caps up to one meter (3.28 feet) across. [Sources: 0, 5, 9]
Because termitomyces mushrooms are collectible only in the wild in wet seasons, demand greatly outstrips supply. In addition, there can be trickle-down effects, since they are usually collected by members of the local community. In addition, certain species of Termitomyces also have enzymes that can break down lignin, an organic material particularly difficult to degrade. [Sources: 9]
The glutamate activity may be related to metabolic activities in Termitomyces clypeatus mushrooms, which may use gluconeogenic amino acids as a source of carbon. The extracellular production of xylanase and amyloglucosidase is associated with mushroom mycelial growth. The extracellular and intracellular distribution of enzyme activity indicated that more than 90% of xylanase synthesized without glutamate was secreted by Termitomyces clypeatus mushrooms, while only 50% of the synthesized amyloglucosidase was secreted (Table 1). Although it is known that the self-aggregation or co-aggregation of secretory proteins is a part of the primordial sorting process of a regulated pathway, the role of amyloglucosidase aggregation in regulated protein secretion requires further investigation. [Sources: 3]
Mycelial cultures of Termitomyces clypeatus secreted xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) constitutively, but acted as a regulator, determined by cell catabolic activity, for amyloglucosidase secretion (EC 3.2.1.3). Here, I provide genome, transcriptomic, and enzyme-based evidence that the fungal strains also adopt redox mechanisms, including a variety of ligninolytic enzymes and Fenton chemical-based lignin-degrading mechanism, catalyzed by hydroquinone, to degrade lignin-rich plant materials. Mycelial growth of a fungus, Termitomyces clypeatus, was found to be inhibited by both xylose and glucose, with the mushroom growing effectively on gluconeogenic amino acids, but poor on the carbohydrate-based Krebs cycle acid. Because the termitomyce species does not regulate a precise number of nuclei per cell, it is concluded that the Termitomyces mycelia may comprise more than two genetically distinct nuclei. [Sources: 3, 6, 8]
Because the vast majority of termite farmers are dispersal-free through their symbiotes, the Termitomyces titanic has retained not only the capacity for fungi formation but also to generate the largest mushroom-producing bodies on Earth. The species-genus Podaxes is easy to differentiate from termitomyces, as the fruiting bodies of Podaxes look like a stalky blob, or a ratty, open-ended tuft, whereas those of termitomyces look like a stereotypical mushroom or muscaria. If we can fully understand the ecological mechanisms behind the coevolution of Termites and this mushroom, this could enable local people to grow their mushrooms, increasing family income. [Sources: 5, 7, 9]
Sources:
[0]: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056464
[1]: https://hero.epa.gov/hero/index.cfm/reference/details/reference_id/7011102
[2]: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111221340.htm
[3]: https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article/154/2/239/551365
[4]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25581852/
[5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termitomyces
[6]: https://www.leibniz-hki.de/en/publication.html?publication=3181
[7]: https://www.forestfloornarrative.com/blog/2018/2/16/fungi-friday-termitomyces-titanicus
[8]: https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-14-121
