| Hypomyces chrysospermus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hypomyces chrysospermus infecting aLeccinum bolete | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Hypocreales |
| Family: | Hypocreaceae |
| Genus: | Hypomyces |
| Species: | H. chrysospermus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hypomyces chrysospermus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| Hypomyces chrysospermus | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 | Smoothhymenium |
 | Hymenium attachment is not applicable |
| Lacks astipe |
 | Spore print is white to yellow |
 | Ecology isparasitic |
  | Edibility is inedible orpoisonous |
Hypomyces chrysospermus, thebolete eater, is a parasiticascomycete fungus that grows onbolete mushrooms, turning the afflicted host a whitish, golden yellow, or tan color. It is found in Eurasia[2] and North America, as well as southwest Western Australia.
Bolete eater and its afflicted host mushrooms are not edible and may be poisonous.
Hypomyces chrysospermus was first described by French mycologists, brothersLouis René andCharles Tulasne in 1860. Common names include bolete eater,[3] and bolete mould.[4]
The bolete eater belongs to a genus of parasitic ascomycetes, each species of which infects differing genera of fungi. For example,H. lactifluorum attacks mushrooms of the familyRussulaceae,H. completus andH. transformans infectSuillus species,H. melanocarpus prefersTylopilus species, while otherHypomyces have a much broader host range.[5]
The bolete eater infects boletes, initially with a thin whitish layer which then becomes golden and finally a reddish-brown pimpled appearance. The bolete's flesh softens and is putrescent by the third stage. Single or multiple boletes may be infected, species ofPaxillus andRhizopogon are also attacked.[3]
Thespores are oval-shaped and smooth in the white stage and measure 10–30 by 5–12 μm, and are warty, round and thicker-walled in the yellow stage and are 10–25 μm in diameter. These two stages are asexual, while the final stage is sexual; here the spores are spindle-shaped and measure 25–30 by 5–6 μm.[3]
The related lobster mushroom,H. lactifluorum, is edible. Several species of the genus may be indistinguishable without microscopy.[6]
Hypomyces chrysospermus is found in North America,[3] and Europe, where it is common.[4] It is common in the southwest of Western Australia, where it is found in forest and coastal plant communities.[7] It is also found in the Eastern Chinese provinces ofHebei,Jiangsu,Anhui, andFujian.[2]
H. chrysospermus is not edible and may bepoisonous.[3][4] It is used intraditional Chinese medicine tostop bleeding, primarily via topical application onto open wounds.[2]
Fungi have demonstrated an ability to effectively absorb heavy metals, which has increased interest in using them for low-cost and efficient pollution remediation in heavily contaminated environments.H. chrysospermus tolerates cadmium by expressing specific genes in response to cadmium stress, helping it absorb and resist heavy metal pollution. Notably, it activates 1,839 genes related to membrane functions and metal transport.[8]