Oyster mushrooms are carnivores: the fungus behind this familiar food can paralyse microscopic worms called nematodes, then digest them for nutrients.

The hunt takes place along fine fungal threads. Tiny lollipop-shaped structures contain a toxin; when a nematode touches one, it can be paralysed within seconds. The fungus grows into the immobilised worm and feeds on it, gaining nitrogen. Beneath a fallen log, those mushrooms may conceal a miniature hunting ground.

The mushroom that hunts microscopic worms

Cultivated oyster mushrooms growing from a bucket — University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension, Bill Klase. Cultivated oyster mushrooms; original photograph.

Electron microscopy reveals tiny lollipop-shaped toxocysts on fungal threads — Academia Sinica / Yen-Ping Hsueh research group. Original scanning electron micrograph of toxocysts.

Research microscopy: a nematode contacts a toxocyst and becomes paralysed — Lee et al., Science Advances (2023), supplementary Movie S2. Research microscopy; original timing and scale labels retained. Retrieved from NLM PMC open data.

The mushroom that hunts microscopic worms

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