ON THE SOURCE OF HYDROGEN CYANIDE IN CULTURES OF A SNOW MOLD FUNGUS

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Abstract
An unidentified basidiomycete, which produces hydrogen cyanide in culture, was shown to accumulate a cyanogenic compound in growing mycelium before free hydrogen cyanide could be detected. At all phases of growth the hydrogen cyanide present in the free state was a relatively small fraction of that in the combined form. Crude preparations of the cyanogenic compound were obtained by methanol extraction of dried mycelium. It is soluble in water and methanol and moderately soluble in ethanol. In solution it is heat labile and, in contrast to cyanogenic glycosides isolated from higher plants, decomposes rapidly at pH values above 6.0. No evidence of enzymic breakdown either in vivo or in vitro was obtained.

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