Prakitsin Sihanonth

Chulalongkorn University · Department of Microbiology

The Xylariaceae and its relatives rank as one of the best-known members of the Ascomycota. They are now well recognized for their diversity, global distribution, ecological activities and their outstanding novel metabolites with wide ranging bioactivity.

This is Issue 2 of 4 on the pictorial History of Psilocybian Fungi. Featuring two papers on mushroom cultivation by by Jochen Gartz and John W. Allen and a 2nd paper by online cultivator Billy McPherson whose PF-TEK became the most popular grow method on the Internet (McPherson was known online as Psilocybe Fanaticus and PF), Also two more online s...

For many years I have been engaged in researches respecting the early methods employed in the healing arts, both amongst civilized and uncivilized peoples. It has been my object, in particular, to trace the origin of the use of remedial agents. Why were certain substances used in treatment of various diseases? Was their adoption the result of study...

Antimicrobial actinomycetes were screened from mangrove soil in Thailand. Streptomyces sp. J6.2 which had high activity and broad spectrum was selected to study it active metabolite. Morphology and physiology of Strain J6.2 indicated a Streptomyces sp. The 16S rDNA sequence for 1,401 bp is closely related to S. parvulus (100%). A bioactive compound...

This research investigated the ability of an Aspergillus species, isolated from zinc-containing mineral ore, for its ability to transform insoluble zinc oxide (ZnO). It was plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) zinc oxide. Mycogenic crystals were observed under colonies grown in zinc oxide-amended plates. These cr...

The conspicuous concentric zonation occurring in stromata of species of Daldinia, based on studies on D. concentrica and D. eschscholtzii, is shown to result from a regular alternation of the orientation of the hyphae. The rings are all produced within a single growing season. There is no evidence to suggest that they are a result of successive abo...

Fungi in the genus Xylaria are common wood decay fungi. They have been shown to be potential sources of novel natural products for utilization in medicine, agriculture and industry. In this study, stromata of Xylaria spp. were collected from Trat Agroforestry Research and Training Station. Fresh specimens of Xylaria spp. were cultured on Potato Dex...

Fungi were isolated from zinc-containing rocks and mining soil. They were screened for the ability to solubilize and transform three insoluble zinc compounds: ZnO, Zn3(PO)4, and ZnCO3. Fungi were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium which was supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) of insoluble zinc compounds. Of the strains tested, four fungal isolate...

Heavy metal contamination in tlie environment is continuously increasing and the effect of heavy metal contamination directly affects human health. The objective of this research was to study the ability of fungi to solubilize and accumulate insoluble zinc and lead compounds ZnO, ZnS, PbCO3 and PbS. Twenty-three fungal isolates were tested for thei...

The association of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) with the roots of Lindenbergia philippensis (Cham.) Benth., sampled from a Zn-contaminated settling pond at a zinc smelter, significantly enhanced Zn accumulation (72,540 ± 5,092 mg kg(-1) dry weight) in rhizosphere sediment amended with 1,000 mg L(-1) of Zn sulfate solution compared to fungicid...

I first became aware of the presence of entheogenic mushrooms as occurring on the Island of Fiji after reading a private communication written to R. Gordon Wasson concerning an accidental ingestion of psilocybian mushrooms. The letter was written in response to Wasson’s May 13, 1957 and June 10 (International Edition) of a Life Magazine publication...

Thailand, a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, has many endemic animals and plants. Some of its fungal species are difficult to recognize and separate, complicating assessments of biodiversity. We assessed species diversity within the fungal genera Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon, which produce biologically active and potentially therapeuti...

A thermostable endoglucanase was purified to homogeneity from culture supernatants of the wood-decaying fungus Daldinia eschscholzii (Ehrenb.:Fr.) Rehm grown on 1.0% (w/v) carboxymethyl-cellulose using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and gel filtration chromatography. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 46....

A strain of endophytic fungus EF6 isolated from Thai medicinal plants was found to produce higher levels of extracellular glucoamylase. This strain produced glucoamylase of culture filtrate when grown on 1% soluble starch. The enzyme was purified and characterized. Purification steps involved (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, anion exchange, and gel filtrat...

In this work, several fungi with geoactive properties, including Aspergillus niger, Beauveria caledonica and Serpula himantioides, were used to investigate their potential bioweathering effects on zinc silicate and zinc sulfide ores used in zinc extraction and smelting, to gain understanding of the roles that fungi may play in transformations of su...

Most Xylariaceae, because of their stromatal structure and composition, are more likely to resist rapid deterioration and to persist in the environment for considerably longer than fleshy fungi. Thus they have an extended presence in nature and are therefore more conducive to the recording and collection of information on their distribution. This,...

Members of Xylariaceae (Ascomycota) are recognized and classified mainly on the morphological features of their sexual state. In a number of genera high morphological variation of stromatal characters has made confident recognition of generic and specific boundaries difficult. There are, however, a range of microscopical characteristics which can i...

The Xylariaceae is one of the best-known pyrenomycete families (Ascomycota) and is distributed throughout the world. The majority are wood inhabitants and are prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions. Halorosellinia oceanicum is the most widely distributed in mangroves and can be regarded as truly manglicolous being frequently recorded as the...

This study was conducted to investigate the application of 2,2'-dipyridyl as a new approach to isolating siderophore-producing actinobacteria. Isolation of actinobacteria from soil was conducted by a soil dilution plate technique using starch-casein agar. Iron starvation was fostered by the incorporation of the iron chelator 2,2'-dipyridyl in the i...

Based on morphological and ITS nrDNA sequence analyses, a species recognized in classical European literature as Lycoperdon capsulifer is transferred to Pisolithus and P. orientalis is proposed as a new species. Pisolithus orientalis basidiomes, collected under Pinus kesiya in Thailand, correspond to Pisolithus sp. 5 sensu Martin et al. Pisolithus...

From 65 endophytic fungal isolates, ten were found to produce extracellular lipase activity, with Fusarium oxysporum isolate PTM7, isolated from the leaves of Croton oblongifolius Roxb. (Plao yai), yielding the highest level. The lipase activity in the basal culture medium of PTM7 was highest with 1% (v/v) olive oil, 1% (w/v) peptone and 0.5% (w/v)...

The objective of this study is to obtain new laccase and enzyme source with remarkable dye removal potential. Thirty isolates of white rot fungi were screened for extracellular laccase-production using 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) assay as indicator. Among these, Polyporus pseudobetulinus strain WR77 exhibits the highest...

Distribution of populations of the opportunistic black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis was studied using AFLP. This fungus has been hypothesized to have a natural habitat in association with frugivorous birds and bats in the tropical rain forest, and to emerge in the human-dominated environment, where it occasionally causes human pulmonary or fatal di...

We examined the distribution of endophytic fungi in the leaves of mangrove forest trees growing at three different locations (Chanthaburi Province, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and Ranong Province) in Thailand. Three thousand and nine-hundred leaf segments from 10 different hosts belonging to seven families, Rhizophoraceae (Rhizophora apiculata, R....

Biotranformation of ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (1) using Psilocybe cubensis resulted in hydroxylated products. After two days of incubation, ent-16beta,17-dihydroxy-kauran-19-oic acid (2) was isolated. After further incubation for nine days, two novel metabolites, ent-12alpha,16beta,17-trihydroxy-kauran-19-oic acid (3) and ent-11alpha,16beta,17-tri...

The fungal genus Scleroderma is cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions and forms ectomycorrhizal associations with a wide range of forest trees. To delimit phylogenetic Scleroderma species and identification, 43 basidiomes were chosen of different geographical origins and their rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were sequenced. Phylogen...

A simple method for fungal genotype screening was developed for the black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis based on RFLP of ribosomal ITS regions currently used as potential virulence markers. In a study set of 502 strains of the species, two main genotypes were recognized. Only 0.97% of lanes were difficult to interpret as they did not clearly present...

Biochemical and physiological tests, and 16S rRNA gene sequences, were used to classify nine Actinomycete strains isolated from soil and sand samples in Thailand. These strains were isolated based on their ability to readily degrade mucin glycoproteins. A turbidometric based mucinolytic assay was developed to confirm this. In addition all strains s...

A novel 2,3-secoaromadendrane-type sesquiterpenoid metabolite, psilosamuiensin A (1), was isolated from the broth of Psilocybe samuiensis. The structure of psilosamuiensin A was established by spectroscopic data and its configurations were confirmed by single crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis. This is the first report of psilosamuiensin A fou...

In 1998, Guzmán reported, “11 species of Psilocybe from the state of Jalisco of which 55 are now recognized from Mexico.” In his paper, Guzmán described two new species, thus describing a total of 8 neurotropic Psilocybes from the State of Jalisco. Small collections of Psilocybe villarrealiae were harvested by one of the authors (FCS) in Jalisco fo...

Endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaves of nine tree species from deciduous dipterocarp forest in Tak province during the wet season of 2007 and the dry season of 2008. The tree species were: Shorea obtusa, Shorea siamensis, Careya sphaerica, Morinda elliptica, Anthocephalus chinensis, Grewia eriocarpa, Terminalia chebula, Fermandoa adenophy...

A natural anthraquininoid pigment, austrocortinin (1,4-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-7-methylanthracene-9,10-dione, C16H12O5), was isolated from Fungi K_BK5, a novel endophytic fungus of Lagerstroemia speciosa. The pigment is monoclinic in P21/c with a = 8.6758(2) Å, b = 7.9050 (2) Å, c = 18.6415 Å, β = 97.099(1)°, V = 1268.67(6) Å3, and Z = 4.

The black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis is known as a rare etiologic agent of neurotropic infections in humans, occurring particularly in East and Southeast Asia. In search of its natural habitat, a large sampling was undertaken in temperate as well as in tropical climates. Sampling sites were selected on the basis of the origins of previously isola...

An extracellular beta-glucosidase was purified from culture filtrates of the wood-decaying fungus Daldinia eschscholzii (Ehrenb.:Fr.) Rehm grown on 1.0% (w/v) carboxymethyl-cellulose using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction and gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme is monomeric with a molecular weight of 64.2...

The aim of the present work was to determine phylogenetic relationships among Astraeus species and to support macroscopic and microscopic characters of Astraeus with analysis of the ITS rDNA region. Collections of Astraeus basidiomes were made from different geographical areas in Thailand and compared with existing collections made worldwide. The m...

Psilocybe pegleriana is first reported from Thailand. It was cultured in the laboratory. This mushroom is a fimicolous pantropical species, that does not stain blue and belongs to section Merdariae.

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a five-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon produced by the incomplete combustion of organic materials. It is one of the priority pollutants listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. This study describes a fungal isolate that is able to biodegrade benzo(a)pyrene. The filamentous fungus, isolated from leaves of Pteroc...

Formation and activity of bacterial nitrifying biofilms play an important role in the closed seawater systems for shrimp cultivation. The structure of microbial biofilm on empty oyster shells, used as a biofilm carrier in biofiltration of aquacultural water, was studied using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and confocal laser scanning mic...

Preparation of fungal material for microscopical examination of their conidiogenous structures is described below. A modification to the existing methods used coupled with a sporulation medium has proved to be simple to use and successful for the induction of sporulation and subsequent examination of conidiogenous structures in a range of xylariace...

In order to study the foliar endophytes from teak (Tectona grandis L.) and rain tree (Samanea saman Merr.) growing in the campus of Chulalongkorn University, healthy leaves were collected at two-monthly intervals during January to December. The number of genera and species, together with their colonization frequency (CF%) in mature teak and rain tr...

Four xanthones were isolated from mycelia of Emericella variecolor, an endophytic fungus isolated from the leaves of Croton oblongifolius. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis to be shamixanthone, 14-methoxytajixanthone-25-acetate, tajixanthone methanoate, and tajixanthone hydrate. All compounds were tested for cytotoxic activ...

Two new records from Mexico and one from Cambodia of the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe antioquensis, originally known only from Cambodia are discussed. This fungus grows on soil in subtropical meadows, and it is defined by its subumbonate pileus, long pseudorhiza ovate-subrhomboid thick-walled spores, and for their pleuro- and cheilocystidia. I...

Russula siamensis, associated with Dipterocarpus alatus, is described as new. An annulate Russula is unique in the Thai mycota.

The genus Biscogniauxia, a member of the family Xylariaceae, has a worldwide distribution with over 50 taxa recognised. Biscogniauxia mediterranea is well known as the causative agent of charcoal canker in cork oak and is a serious problem in Portugal. Other species also cause canker under specific conditions. There is good evidence that these spec...

Descriptions and illustrations are provided of a new Pisolithus species collected under Dipterocarpus alatus in Thailand: Pisolithus abditus nov. sp. with snuff brown clavate basidiomes, slightly curved stipes and globose to subglobose basidiospores. It is compared with similar species.

The phylogenetic relationships among 135 Pisolithus basidiomes and two isolates collected from three pine forests, a pine-dipterocarp forest, two dipterocarp forests, and 29 eucalyptus plantations in Thailand were investigated. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) polymorphism analyses, including terminal RFLP, divided them into 26 groups. The ITS in...

This paper outlines the diseases caused by member of the Xylariaceae a large and well known ascomycete family with worldwide distribution. The significant of water stress in host tress in relation to development of canker disease following latent invasion is considered with examples from Europe, U.S.A., Australia and Thailand. Root infection caused...

We developed six polymorphic microsatellite markers for an ectomycorrhizal Pisolithus sp., which are associated with Eucalyptus camaldulensis in Thailand using a method starting with amplified fragments of intersimple sequence repeats (ISSR). The number of alleles per locus varied between two and five and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.123...

A closed, recirculating seawater system with a denitrification process was designed for the culture of black tiger shrimp broodstock. The system comprised a circular rearing tank (9 m3 volume), a nitrifying biofilter (6 m3 volume) and denitrification process. The denitrification process comprised a deoxygenation column, a bacterial substrate column...

Three species of Camillea are now known from Southeast Asia. Camillea malaysianensis is described here as new from the region and the significance of this and the distribution of the recently described C. selangorensis is discussed. The distribution of Camillea tinctor in Southeast Asia is presented, and a key to distinguish these species is given.

The presence of the xylariaceous genus Entonaema in Thailand is confirmed. One collection from Chiang Mai Province, E. siamensis, is described as new.

Ten species of Rhopalostroma are currently known and all are from either Africa or Asia. Rhopalostroma gracile D. Hawksw. and R. kanyae Whalley & Thienhirun have previously been reported from Thailand. A further species, R. lekae sp. no v., is now described from Thailand. Thus three out of the eleven known species of Rhopalostroma are from Thailand...

Rhizoctonia sp. D-90 decolorized molasses melanoidin medium and a synthetic melanoidin medium by 87.5% and 84.5%, respectively, under experimental growth conditions. Mycelia grown in solutions of melanoidin turned dark brown. However, the melanoidin (dark brown in color) could be eluted from the mycelia by washing in a solution of NaOH, and the max...

Three kinds of molasses waste water were collected from the stillage of an alcohol factory, and an anaerobic and an aerobic pond of its waste water treatment plant, respectively, and their chemical properties, such as chemical oxygen demand value, biological oxygen demand value and so on, were examined in this study.Mycelia Sterilia D90 decolorized...

Three kinds of molasses waste water were collected from the stillage of an alcohol factory, and an anaerobic and an aerobic pond of its waste water treatment plant, respectively, and their chemical properties, such as chemical oxygen demand value, biological oxygen demand value and so on, were examined in this study. Mycelia Sterilia D90 decolorize...

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Georgia, 1974.