''Omphalotus illudens'', commonly known as the eastern jack-o'lantern mushroom, is a large, orange mushroom that is often found in clumps on decaying stumps, buried roots, or at the base of hardwood trees in eastern North America. Its gills often exhibit a weak green bioluminescence when fresh. This green glow has been mentioned in several journal articles, which state that the phenomenon can persist up to 40-50 hours after the mushroom has been picked. It is believed that this display serves to attract insects to the mushroom’s gills during nighttime, which can then distribute its spores across a wider area. ''Omphalotus illudens'' is sometimes confused with edible

chanterelle Chanterelle is the common name of several species of fungi in the genera '' Cantharellus'', '' Craterellus'', '' Gomphus'', and ''Polyozellus''. They are among the most popular of wild edible mushrooms. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty a ...

s, but can be distinguished by its thicker, fleshier appearance, tendency to form large clusters, and clearly separated caps when young. Unlike chanterelles, the Eastern Jack-o’-lantern is poisonous to humans when eaten, whether raw or cooked, and typically causes vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. Although some older literature claims the name is

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''

Omphalotus olearius ''Omphalotus olearius'',Singer R (1948) In: ''Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci.'' 32: 133 ('1946'). commonly known as the jack-o'-lantern mushroom, is a poisonous Orange (color), orange gilled mushroom that to an untrained eye appears similar to some Cantha ...

'',

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis confirms the two as distinct species.

Toxicity

The poisonous chemical compounds

illudin The illudins are a family of sesquiterpenes with antitumor antibiotic properties produced by some mushrooms. In their isolated form, illudins show selective toxicity for myelocytic leukemia and other carcinoma cells. Illudins are highly toxic, w ...

S and

M were isolated from ''Omphalotus illudens''. In addition to their antibacterial and antifungal effects, illudins appear to be the cause of human toxicity when these mushrooms are eaten raw or cooked.

Muscarine Muscarine, L-(+)-muscarine, or muscarin is a natural product found in certain mushrooms, particularly in ''Inocybe'' and ''Clitocybe'' species, such as the deadly '' C. dealbata''. Mushrooms in the genera ''Entoloma'' and ''Mycena'' have al ...

has also been indirectly implicated in toxicity, but modern studies to demonstrate its presence in ''O. illudens'' are needed. The

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells ...

effect of

is of interest for treating some cancers, but illudin itself is too poisonous to use directly so it must first be chemically modified. Inside human cells, illudin S reacts with DNA and creates a type of DNA damage that blocks

transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...

. This block can only be relieved by a repair system called

nucleotide excision repair Nucleotide excision repair is a DNA repair mechanism. DNA damage occurs constantly because of chemicals (e.g. intercalating agents), radiation and other mutagens. Three excision repair pathways exist to repair single stranded DNA damage: Nucle ...

. Damage in non-transcribed DNA areas is left unrepaired by the cell. This property was exploited by the company

MGI Pharma MGI may refer to: * Martín García Island Airport, in Argentina * McKinsey Global Institute * Miss Grand International, a beauty pageant franchise based in Thailand * Mouse Genome Informatics, an online database * Jili language Jili (Lijili) i ...

to develop an illudin-derivative called Irofulven for use as a cancer treatment. Its application is still in the experimental phase.National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 148189, Irofulven" ''PubChem'', https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Irofulven. Accessed 16 October, 2020.

Gallery

File:2007-08-05 Omphalotus illudens (Schwein.) Bresinsky & Besl 1018098506.jpg File:2011-12-20 Omphalotus illudens (Schwein.) Bresinsky & Besl 190464.jpg File:2012-09-25 Omphalotus illudens (Schwein.) Bresinsky & Besl 270109.jpg File:2012-08-12 Omphalotus illudens (Schwein.) Bresinsky & Besl 248346.jpg File:Omphalotus illudens (Schwein.) Bresinsky & Besl 268693.jpg File:Jack o' Lantern Mushroom Fungus.png, Jack o' Lantern mushroom fungus with U.S. quarter for size reference and cap underside shown lower right. File:Jack o' Lantern Mushroom Fungus Clusters.png, Jack o' Lantern mushroom fungus clusters growing at the base of an oak tree. File:Glowing Jacks.png, Jack o' Lantern mushrooms glowing bioluminescence, also showing artificial light photo for reference.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7090729 Bioluminescent fungi illudens Poisonous fungi

Toxicity

Gallery

See also

References