Amanitins

Amanita bisporigera G. F. Atk.
Photograph by E. R. Yetter of New Jersey material

Recent publications relating to Amanitins:

Amatoxin and phallotoxin concentration in Amanita bisporigera spores. T. A. McKnight, K. B. McKnight, M. C. Skeels. 2010. Mycologia 102: 263-265. [PDF, ?? KB]
Primer Note: Using the incomplete genome of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita bisporigera to identify molecular polymorphisms in the related Amanita phalloides. R. I. Adams, H. E. Hallen, A. Pringle. 2006. Molec. Ecol. Notes 6: 218-220. [PDF, 80 KB]
Gene family encoding the toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms. H. E. Hallen, H. Luo, J. S. Scott-Craig, J. D. Walton. 2007. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 19097-19101.
[ Abstract ]
Production and characterization of Amanitin toxins from a pure culture of Amanita exitialis. P. Zhang, Z.-H. Chen, J.-S. Hu, B.-Y. Wei, S.-G. Zhang and W.-Q. Hu. 2005. FEMS Microbiol. Let. 252: 223-228. [PDF, 3.25 MB]
Amatoxins and phallotoxins in indigenous and introduced South African Amanita species. H. E. Hallen, G. C. Adams and A. Eicker. 2002. S. African J. Bot. 68: 322-326.

Amanita exitialis Zhu L. Yang & T. H. Li
Photograph by P. Zhang of material from SW China

Links to amanitin research:

[ Note: Readers are encouraged to supply us with information about laboratories, individual projects, and research publications to which links would be valuable.]

The Amanita genome project (site) - toxin-related effort to sequence the genome of Amanita bisporigera G. F. Atk. and identify genes associated with toxin production.
Amanita and amatoxins (page) - a summary of H. E. Hallen's hypotheses particularly as related to amatoxins as adaptation (for what sort of defense from what sort of thing?) and the history of amatoxin fabricating genes in the four genera known to include species that produce amatoxins.