Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry ID'd the culprit as the volatile ketone 3-octanone.
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Carnivorous oyster mushrooms can kill roundworms with “nerve gas in a lollipop”
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I think you would be surprised how many nematodes you eat and don't know it. Oyster mushrooms are wonderful.
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Was I the only one who clicked to find out about these Coronavirus mushrooms? 
Oh, it’s carnivirus. Wonder what that is.
Oh. Carnivorous.
Oh, it’s carnivirus. Wonder what that is.
Oh. Carnivorous.
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As nematodes a bane to tomato gardens, I'm wondering if there's an exploit for gardeners?
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I've read several articles in Ars about the extraordinary mechanisms that various lifeforms employ to defend, hunt, and or consume other organisms. Every time I read one I think to myself that I am reading another plot device for a horror movie. We are so used to the predator chasing the prey, or a standard sort of infection treatable by an antibiotic. It almost makes the aliens in the movie predator seem primitive or unimaginative. I really love the one where the fungus takes over the brain of an insect turning it into a puppet which almost makes zombies plausible.
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Oyster mushroom fungus will eat anything. I grow them on used coffee grounds. Like, nothing else, just used great value coffee grounds that any sane person would trash. Oyster mushrooms love it. You can get a starter mycelium off the bottom of mushrooms you buy at the store. Look for fluffy white fuzz at the roots.
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You could have a win‑win there – both control some pests and later harvest some delicious mushrooms. Though it might backfire as well – aren't some non‑plant‑eating nematodes used as a biological pest control themselves?
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There was a time when the largest land creature was a fungi (probably a lichen). Prototaxites were towering over the primitive plants of the Devonian and they may have provided much of the genetic hardware that enabled later plants to conquer the world.
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something I have wondered about like................NEVER. But still pretty cool.
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Not if we eat them first!
-There's an oak stump in my yard these grow on, absolutely delicious.
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If you want to do biological pest control you're probably better off buying some predatory nematodes that eat other nematodes and sprinkling them in your tomato bed. I don't have a garden but I used them in house plants for fungus gnats. The brand I bought is Nature's Good Guys - website has some information on picking the right species for the right task, or they also sell a mixture.
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Many comments here seem to reflect a common misconception regarding mushrooms.
What we call a mushroom is only the fruiting/sporulating portion of the fungus. The hyphae and their toxocysts referred to in the article would be the portion of the fungus colonizing the wood itself, somewhat analogous to roots of a tree.
The hyphae can have different chemical/physical properties than the fruit. I don't see anything in the article suggesting that the fruits of the oyster mushroom are toxic, regardless.
What we call a mushroom is only the fruiting/sporulating portion of the fungus. The hyphae and their toxocysts referred to in the article would be the portion of the fungus colonizing the wood itself, somewhat analogous to roots of a tree.
The hyphae can have different chemical/physical properties than the fruit. I don't see anything in the article suggesting that the fruits of the oyster mushroom are toxic, regardless.
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I'm going to have to review my X Files collection. There was an episode where a large underground fungus was using a halucinogenic chemical to pacify Scully (or was it Muldur?) as it slowly digested her.
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See white nose syndrome in bats.
Then there's the idiot who recently injected himself with magic mushroom tea instead of taking it orally.
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Plus, you can drop $15-20 for a grow kit, and extend its life by tearing the block apart and mixing in used coffee grounds from time to time.
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NorthSpore kits work pretty well. If you soak you can get three good flushes from the blue oyster. I’ve never tried the used coffee grounds approach, but I do have a depleted block I’ve been saving…
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I do love mushrooms, particularly Portobello and Oyster, but I will have to think carefully about the "vegetarian" part of the equation regarding Oyster mushrooms.
Maybe eating nematodes is what makes Oyster mushrooms so good tasting though...
Maybe eating nematodes is what makes Oyster mushrooms so good tasting though...
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My grandmother would have loved these mushrooms, then. She was forever complaining about nematodes in her vegetable garden.
Also +500 for the Star Control Mycon reference.
Also +500 for the Star Control Mycon reference.
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Jennifer's articles can be identified just by reading the title. My reaction to them is always "That's weird/terrifying/fascinating and I must know more." This one is a bit terrifying.
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Hmm...no one seems to be asking the question: Are these useful as a therapeutic in some way for humans who get roundworm infections? Any guesses?
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I'd just say that if you have oyster mushroom mycelia growing under your skin or in your lungs and liver for any roundworms to nibble on, you got some more serious problems than roundworms...
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Not sure if I'd describe oak as delicious, but then I've never tried it
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Actually, it took me a while to understand that it was not «bugs eating fungi» but rather «fungi eating bugs».. my mind was not ready for that, too creepy
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Har, but I agree with bkaral -- an obvious question is whether high doses of 3-octanone would be safe for people, and if so, could serve well as a new anthelmintic.
Though I wonder if the tolerance (that some people have mentioned here) for its presence in food might be due to rapid breakdown in the human body, which could limit its usefulness internally.
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