蕈菌的栽培及其对环境的影响(一)

The cultivation and environmental impact of mushrooms

"mushroom"(蕈菌)这个词对于不同国家的人有不同的含义。在对蕈菌及其产品的专业研究中,应该对其有一个明确的定义。从广义上说,蕈菌是一种独特的能产生孢子的大型真菌子实体,既可以生长于地面也可以生长在地下,且肉眼可见,用手可以采摘。因此,蕈菌不一定是通常认为的属于担子菌成员,也不一定都是生于地上的,不一定都是肉质的,也不一定都是可食用的。这个定义并不完美,但它被公认为是可用来估算地球上蕈菌数量的一个术语(根据国际命名法的规则,大约有1.6万种)。多数栽培的蕈菌是腐生、异养型的。即使它们的细胞具有细胞壁,但是由于缺乏叶绿体,不能进行光合作用。它们也没有维管木质部和韧皮部。此外,蕈菌的细胞壁含有几丁质,在昆虫和其他节肢动物的外骨骼中也含有几丁质。蕈菌吸收O2,释放CO2。事实上,相比于植物细胞,它们可能与动物细胞的功能更接近。然而,蕈菌与植物和动物完全不同,是属于真菌的另一个群体。它们从木质纤维素废物中吸收养分产生富有营养的子实体。蕈菌能极大地改善环境条件。它们可以生物利用像太阳能一样廉价易得的农作物秸秆,以减少这些废弃物对环境和健康造成的危害。菌渣可用于种植其他菌类,或作为家畜的饲料,或作土壤调节剂和肥料,以及用于环境的生物修复。食药用蕈菌的栽培可以追溯到好几个世纪以前,例如,黑木耳、香菇和双孢蘑菇的栽培分别始于公元600年、1100年和1650年。在过去的30年里,世界各地的人们对蕈菌的兴趣,以及它的受欢迎程度和产量都有了显著的提高。蕈菌的栽培可以是一项相对简单的农事活动,如草菇和凤尾菇;也可形成技术密集型产业,如双孢蘑菇、金针菇和真姬菇。然而,每种农作物的成功持续生产都既需要实践经验,也需要科学知识。蕈菌可作为食品、滋补品、药品、功能性化妆品,以及用于植物保护的天然生物制剂,包括杀虫剂、杀真菌剂、杀细菌剂、除草剂、杀线虫剂和抗病毒活性制剂。全球蕈菌栽培产业的多维特性,在于它解决人类面临的关键问题上所起的作用和积极的贡献。此外,蕈菌可以促进平衡的社会经济增长。由于适用于蕈菌栽培的木质纤维素废料存在于世界的每一个角落,因此可以在欠发达国家和世界范围内进行一场"白色农业革命"。蕈菌对农业和环境产生了巨大的影响,而且它们在局部地区、国家,甚至全球层面对人类社会经济福祉也具有很大的潜在影响。

The word mushroom may mean different things to different people in different countries. Specialist studies on the value of mushrooms and their products should have a clear definition of the term mushroom. In a broad sense, ＂Mushroom is a distinctive fruiting body of a macrofungus, which produce spores that can be either epigeous or hypogeous and large enough to be seen with the naked eye and to be picked by hand.＂ Thus, mushrooms need not be members of the group Basidiomycetes, as commonly associated, nor aerial, nor fleshy, nor edible. This definition is not perfect, but it has been accepted as a workable term to estimate the number of mushrooms on Earth （approximately 16,000 species according to the rules of International Code of Nomenclature）. The most cultivated mushrooms are saprophytes and are heterotrophic for carbon compounds. Even though their cells have walls, they are devoid of chlorophyll and cannot perform photosynthesis. They are also devoid of vascular xylem and phloem. Furthermore, their cell walls contain chitin, which also occurs in the exoskeleton of insects and other arthropods. They absorb O2 and release CO〉 In fact, they may be functionally more closely related to animal cells than plants. However, they are sufficiently distinct both from plants and animals and belong to a separate group in the Fungi Kingdom. They rise up from lignocellulosie wastes： yet, they become bountiful and nourishing. Mushrooms can greatly benefit environmental conditions. They biosynthesize their own food from agricultural crop residues, which, like solar energy, are readily available; otherwise, their byproducts and wastes would cause health hazards. The spent compost/substrate could be used to grow other species of mushrooms, as fodder for livestock, as a soil conditioner and fertilizer, and in environmental bioremediation. The cultivation of mushrooms dates back many centuries; Auricularia auricula-judae, Lentinula edodes, and Agaricus bisporus have, for example, been cultivated since 600 AD, 1100 AD, and 1650 AD, respectively. During the last three decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the interest, popularity, and production of mushrooms through farming worldwide. The cultivation methods can involve a relatively simple farming activity, as with Volvariella volvacea and Pleurotus pulmonarius var. stechangii （=P. sajor-caju）, or a high-technology industry, as with Agaricus bisporus, Flammulina velutipes, and Hypsizygus marmoreus. In each case, however, continuous production of successful crops requires both practical experience and scientific knowledge. Mushrooms can be used as food, tonics, medicines, cosmeceuticals, and as natural biocontrol agents in plant protection with insecticidal, fungicidal, bactericidal, herbicidal, nematocidal, and antiphytoviral activities. The multidimensional nature of the global mushroom cultivation industry, its role in addressing critical issues faced by humankind, and its positive contributions are presented. Furthermore, mushrooms can serve as agents for promoting equitable economic growth in society. Since the lignocellulose wastes are available in every comer of the world, they can be properly used in the cultivation of mushrooms, and therefore could pilot a so-called white agricultural revolution in less developed countries and in the world at large. Mushrooms demonstrate a great impact on agriculture and the environment, and they have great potential for generating a great socio-economic impact in human welfare on local, national, and global levels.