Deadly mushroom finds new way to reproduce, could impact Canada: research
CTV
One of the most deadly mushrooms in the world has found a way to reproduce alone, new research says, which leads scientists to believe a spread of death caps could occur.
New research indicates death caps, a highly poisonous mushroom, are reproducing in a way that may increase their presence in Canada.
According to a study published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in bioRxiv, a preprint publication, death caps are reproducing alone. Reproduction usually involves the fusion of two sexes, but evidence shows these mushrooms are multiplying "by single individuals."
The study has yet to undergo peer review, as with all articles submitted to bioRxiv, which is a preprint server for the biological sciences. Editors who run bioRxiv urge the public to keep this in mind when reading new research on the server, they state online.
Death caps cause the most fatal mushroom poisonings in the world and if able to reproduce alone, researchers say there could be an increased presence of them in communities.
"The diverse reproductive strategies of invasive death caps are likely facilitating its rapid spread, revealing a profound similarity between plant, animal and fungal invasions," the study published January 2023 states.
Using a population of death caps in California, researchers were able to determine how the mushroom was reproducing using genotypes.
Researchers determined the mushrooms can reproduce alone or with others since the nuclei, the centre of the fungi's cells, are "competent for both unisexuality and bisexuality."
