Hemagglutinating activity of the fungus Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing [Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Pegler]

The hemagglutinating (HA) activity of the submerged mycelium and the cultur e liquid (CL) of four strains of Lentinus edodes was studied. The HA activi ty of the CLs proved to be much higher than that of mycelia. The carbohydra te specificity of fungal agglutinating factors was determined. HA activity was investigated as a function of the inoculum size, cultivation temperatur e, and culture age. The agglutinating activity of different morphogenetic s tructures of L. edodes F-249, including mycelium, brown mycelial mat (MM), primordia, and fruiting bodies, was studied. MM was found to possess the ma ximum HA activity, which can be explained by the possible involvement of ag glutinins in the formation of MM, which is composed of glued hyphae.