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05/06/2024 02:05:59 pm

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Newly Discovered Three Types of Mushrooms can be Found in Grocery Stores

Mushrooms

(Photo : defeatdiabetes.org) Porcini mushrooms

Two London-based scientists recently discovered three new types of mushroom found inside local grocery stores, of all places.

Bryn Dentinger and Laura Martinez-Suz, both mycologists (biologists who specialize in fungi) from Royal Botanical Gardens in London are the people behind the discovery of new mushroom species.

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The mycologists saw the mushrooms in a package of dried porcini mushrooms purchased at a grocery store in southwest greater London, said CBC News, online news site of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The packet of mushrooms was brought to the lab and the contents were observed under a microscope.

The two mycologists used DNA barcoding, a technique that matches the DNA profile of samples to known species to study the mushroom.

Out of 15 samples from the package, they discovered three different types of mushrooms because it didn't have DNA matches.

"None of them had scientific names, so these were essentially new species to science," said Dentiger.

The porcini mushrooms have a nutty and buttery taste. They're usually found in both gourmet and Italian cooking. They sprout root-like mycelia that form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots.

Scientists, however, clarified that "porcini" is not a scientific label. It commonly belongs to the bolete classification.

Dentinger and Martinez-Suz named the mushrooms, Boletus bainiugan or "White beef liver;" Boletus meiweiniuganjun, or "Delicious cattle liver fungus" and Boletus shiyong or "Edible."

The new discovery signifies a genetic diversification of mushrooms and the mystery of its evolution. It can also be a reference on how mushrooms evolve similarly but remain genetically different.

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