Identification and analyses of the chemical composition of a naturally occurring albino mutant chanterelle

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Thorn, R. Greg, Banwell, Alicia, Pham, Thu Huong, Vidal, Natalia P., Manful, Charles Felix, Nadeem, Muhammad, Ivanov, Alexander G., Szyszka Mroz, Beth, Bonneville, Michael B., Hüner, Norman Peter Andrew, Piercey-Normore, Michele D., Thomas, Raymond
• Other Authors: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
• Subjects: Multidisciplinary; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99787-8; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99787-8.pdf; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99787-8

Abstract White chanterelles (Basidiomycota), lacking the orange pigments and apricot-like odour of typical chanterelles, were found recently in the Canadian provinces of Québec (QC) and Newfoundland & Labrador (NL). Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identification of all white chanterelles from NL and QC as Cantharellus enelensis we name these forma acolodorus . We characterized carotenoid pigments, lipids, phenolics, and volatile compounds in these and related chanterelles. White mutants of C. enelensis lacked detectable β-carotene, confirmed to be the primary pigment of wild-type, golden-orange individuals, and could also be distinguished by their profiles of fatty acids and phenolic acids, and by the ketone and terpene composition of their volatiles. We detected single base substitutions in the phytoene desaturase ( Al-1 ) and phytoene synthase ( Al-2 ) genes of the white mutant, which are predicted to result in altered amino acids in their gene products and may be responsible for the loss of β-carotene synthesis in that form.