Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Acta Biochim Pol. 2020 Aug 28;67(3):295-301. doi: 10.18388/abp.2020_5405.
Melanin occurrence in Plenodomus biglobosus was investigated using electron paramagnetic (spin) resonance (EPR, ESR) spectroscopy. The fungus was isolated from living and dead leaves of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.). Dark pigmentation of P. biglobosus mycelium in vitro, especially on the reverse, was observed. The black coloration intensified with the age of the culture and inspired us to check if the analyzed fungus species synthesizes melanin. Melanin contains unpaired electrons, thus, EPR spectroscopy was applied, as a specific technique, to verify its presence in P. biglobosus. The EPR spectrum of the mycelium showed a very strong melanin signal, revealing pheomelanin-like features. Thus, the black pigment of P. biglobosus was clearly identified as melanin. However, no melanin was detected in the apparently dark culture medium even when zinc (II) acetate was added to increase the sensitivity of detection. Pheomelanin has many unusual biological functions but it is not commonly found in fungi. Detection of this type of melanin in P. biglobosus, which can be both endophytic or pathogenic, suggests a closer examination of the potential role of this melanin in host-parasite interaction.
使用电子顺磁共振（EPR、ESR）光谱法研究了 Plenodomus biglobosus 中黑色素的存在。该真菌是从欧洲白蜡（Fraxinus excelsior L.）的活叶和死叶中分离出来的。在体外观察到 P. biglobosus 菌丝的暗色素沉着，特别是在反面。随着培养物年龄的增长，黑色着色加深，这激发了我们检查分析的真菌物种是否合成黑色素。黑色素含有不成对的电子，因此，应用电子顺磁共振光谱作为一种特殊技术来验证其在 P. biglobosus 中的存在。菌丝的 EPR 光谱显示出非常强的黑色素信号，显示出类似于 pheomelanin 的特征。因此，P. biglobosus 的黑色色素被明确鉴定为黑色素。然而，即使添加醋酸锌（II）以提高检测灵敏度，在明显黑暗的培养基中也未检测到黑色素。Pheomelanin 具有许多不寻常的生物学功能，但在真菌中并不常见。在可以是内生或致病的 P. biglobosus 中检测到这种类型的黑色素表明，需要更仔细地研究这种黑色素在宿主-寄生虫相互作用中的潜在作用。
