![]() ![]() Nutrient mobilization from amino acids, peptides, proteins, amino sugars, chitin, and nucleic acids has been shown (Chalot and Brun 1998), together with transfer of N and P into the host plant (Antibus et al. Through enzyme production, the ectomycorrhizal mushrooms can utilize organic N and P forms which would otherwise remain largely unavailable to roots (Landeweert et al. Extracellular enzymes (1) allow access to organic matter in the microporous layer of soil (2) transform soil organic matter, which is often insoluble or adsorbed on mineral surfaces, into soluble products and (3) decrease the structural complexity of soil organic matter (Quiquampoix and Burns 2008). Production of enzymes in saprotrophic macrofungi plays an important role in the transformation of humic substances including humus formation and mineralization (Baldrian 2008) and mobilization of metals associated with organic matter. 2007) their mycelia colonize both organic and mineral soils and produce a variety of active chemical compounds including enzymes (Baldrian 2008) and various organic acids (Stijve and de Meijer 1999 Wallander and Wickman 1999 van Schöll et al. Similar to plants and microbes, fungi are intimately involved in soil mineral weathering and element cycling in the critical zone (Amundson et al. However, despite the crucial roles of fungi in biogeochemical cycling of elements, the extent to which fungi play a critical role in the Earth’s processes is not always appreciated (Hawksworth 2009). ![]() The fundamental importance of fungi involves organic and inorganic transformations and element cycling, rock and mineral transformations, bioweathering, fungal–clay interactions, metal–fungal interactions, and mycogenic mineral formation. The study of the role that fungi have played and are playing in geological processes is termed geomycology (Gadd 2007). According to their lifestyle, mushrooms are recognized as saprotrophs, parasites, and mutualists-ectomycorrhizal symbionts (Gadd 2008). In the context of this article, the term mushroom relates to the fleshy fruit body of the macrofungi that can be edible or inedible regardless of its shape and kind. Depending on the situation, context, and language, the term mushroom is used also as synonymous to any fungus. There are a variety of forms of mushrooms. ![]() The fruit body is the morphological part of the fungus that bears spores and is commonly called mushroom. The European continent has witnessed the highest number of studies in this area, and in this continent, at least 75,000 species exist, and of these, more than 15,000 species are macrofungi, i.e., fungi forming fruit bodies (sporocarps) that are visible to the naked eye (Senn-Irlet et al. Recent estimates based on high-throughput sequencing methods suggest that there are as many as 5.1 million fungal species worldwide (Blackwell 2011). Mushrooms are heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms classified in the kingdom of Fungi. Discussed is also the problem of erroneous data on mineral compounds determined in mushrooms. Since minerals of nutritional value are common constituents of mushrooms collected from natural habitats, the problem is however their co-occurrence with some hazardous elements including Cd, Pb, Hg, Ag, As, and radionuclides. There are also attempts to enrich mushrooms with other elements than Se and a good example is enrichment with lithium. A few edible mushrooms are widely cultivated and efforts are on to employ them (largely Agaricus spp., Pleurotus spp., and Lentinula edodes) in the production of selenium-enriched food (mushrooms) or nutraceuticals (by using mycelia) and less on species used by traditional medicine, e.g., Ganoderma lucidum. A huge biodiversity of mushrooms and spread of certain species over different continents makes the study on their multi-element constituents highly challenging. This article reviews and updates data on macro and trace elements and radionuclides in edible wild-grown and cultivated mushrooms. ![]()
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