@ursulav "A carnivorous #fungus (#Pleurotus ostreatus, the common oyster #mushroom!) kills #nematodes with a toxin that paralyses the worm and triggers #apoptosis. The toxin is a ketone that is stored in toxocysts that release their content when the worm touches them.

The dissolved worm then is then fed on by the mushroom."

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade4809

A carnivorous #fungus (#Pleurotus ostreatus, the common oyster #mushroom!) kills #nematodes with a toxin that paralyses the worm and triggers #apoptosis. The toxin is a ketone that is stored in toxocysts that release their content when the worm touches them.
The dissolved worm then is then fed on by the mushroom.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade4809

#carnivory #Sporespondence

Carnivorous oyster #mushrooms can kill #roundworms with “nerve gas in a lollipop”

#Pleurotus #toxocysts #lethal_lollipops #octanone

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/carnivorous-oyster-mushrooms-can-kill-roundworms-with-nerve-gas-in-a-lollipop/

Tonight’s dinner: Pleurotus mushrooms from the willow tree stump in our backyard. This is a variety that needs frost as a trigger. #entrylevelmushroomhunting #pleurotus #mushroomsofmastodon #mushrodon #mushrooms

#Drosophila #Advent Day18: #Hirtodrosophila trivittata is another fungus feeder, but this is a very distinctive looking fly and seems to be a specialist on fresh oyster #mushrooms (#Pleurotus) and similar species https://www.jstor.org/stable/2408009, where they can gather in spectacularly large numbers. This species was only added to the UK list in 2008 https://dipterists.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/Dipterists%20Digest%202008%20Vol%2015%20No%201.pdf and I saw it for the first time in 2020 #Diptera #Fungi