It is said that Emperor Charles VI. in 1740 complained of indigestion after eating a plate of mushrooms. Ten days later he was dead; Soon the War of the Austrian Succession prevailed. And most likely it all started with the death cap (Amanita phalloides). Death ten days after the onset of symptoms is characteristic of poisoning with the fungus, which is not called “Death Cap” in English for nothing. The fungus originally comes from Europe, in Central Europe it often grows near deciduous trees such as beeches and oaks. In the meantime, however, it can also be found on other continents, including Australia and America. It spread quickly, especially in the United States.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison now think they have clarified why this could be. according to your investigation, which appeared on the preprint server bioRxiv, the death cap can also reproduce asexually: i.e. even when the conditions are unfavorable and the fungus cannot find a mate. “The invasive death caps’ different reproductive strategies probably facilitate their rapid spread,” writes the team led by botanist Yen-Wen Wang in their study.
During asexual reproduction, the fungus forms spores that are all genetically identical and contain the same genetic information as the individual from which they originated. The offspring that arise from this are then something like clones of the original fungus.
In late-stage poisoning, only a liver transplant can help
The scientists believe that asexual reproduction is not a recent achievement of the death hoods. They’ve been doing it for a long time – according to the scientists, for at least 17, maybe even 30 years. But so far no one has discovered it. It would also explain why death cap mushrooms collected far apart in 2014 were genetically identical, according to the study. The researchers also found two genetically identical mushrooms that had been collected ten years apart: one in 2004, his clone in 2014. So the mushrooms seem to last for years.
In the long run, however, this type of propagation is not a good idea. With unchangeable genetic information, organisms have difficulty adapting to environmental changes. In order to be able to develop further, sexual reproduction is required, in which the genetic material of two individuals is mixed. This creates offspring with new qualities and skills.
However, Amanita phalloides can do both and therefore has the best conditions to survive and reproduce. That’s good for the deathcap – but bad for the human. This is because the fungus can easily be confused with popular edible mushrooms such as the lady’s russula or the button mushroom in its early stages. The insidious thing: The first symptoms of death cap poisoning, incessant vomiting, accompanied by cholera-like diarrhea and severe cramps, only appear eight to twelve hours after consumption. It’s too late to help the victim by pumping out the stomach.
After that, patients seem to recover for a few days, but appearances are deceptive: the toxins of the fungus damage the liver. The result is a blood clotting disorder with gastrointestinal bleeding. In the end, the liver literally disintegrates. The only thing that can save a late-stage patient is an organ transplant.
The death cap mushroom contains a whole cocktail of toxins. The most dangerous for humans are the so-called amatoxins. Heat cannot harm them, so they are not destroyed even when cooking. Seven milligrams are enough to kill a person weighing 70 kilograms. This dose is not only reached after eating a whole dish of mushrooms: half a death cap is enough.