Amatoxin and phallotoxin composition in species of the genus Amanita in Colombia: A taxonomic perspective N. Vargas a, b , A. Bernal a , V. Sarria c , A. Franco-Molano b , S. Restrepo a, * a Laboratorio de Micologia y Fitopatologia, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia b Laboratorio de Taxonomía y Ecología de Hongos, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia c Departamento de Química, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia article info Article history: Received 14 February 2011 Received in revised form 29 August 2011 Accepted 8 September 2011 Available online 16 September 2011 Keywords: Amanita a – amanitin Phalloidin Phallacidin abstract Some species in the genus Amanita have a great variety of toxic secondary metabolites. They are characterized macroscopically by having a white spore print and free gills, and microscopically by the presence of a divergent hymenophoral trama. Some species of Amanita present in Colombia were chemically characterized by analyzing their toxin composition using HPLC. Samples were collected in oak (Quercus humboldtii) and pine (Pinus radiata) forests. Twelve species were recovered, Amanita fuligineodisca, Amanita xylinivolva, Amanita flavoconia, Amanita rubescens, Amanita bisporigera, Amanita muscaria, Amanita humboldtii, Amanita sororcula, Amanita brunneolocularis, Amanita colombiana, Amanita citrina, Amanita porphyria as well as two unreported species. Results showed that most of the analyzed species have a -amanitin in concentrations ranging from 50 ppm to 6000 ppm. Concentrations of a-amanitin in the pileus were significantly greater than in the stipe. Phalloidin and phallacidin were only present in A. bisporigera. Chromatographic profiles are proposed as an additional taxonomic tool since specific peaks with similar retention times were conserved at the species level. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fungi in the genus Amanita form ectomycorrhizal associations with plants, stimulating their growth and defense against diverse sources of stress (Sauter and Hager, 1989). They can also produce some of the most toxic compounds in the world. The genus is characterized by producing a whitish spore print, gills that are free from the stipe and the presence of a universal veil. Microscopic characteristics include the divergent hymenophoral trama and amyloid or inamyloid spores (Bas, 1969). A prominent characteristic of most Amanita species is the presence of highly toxic compounds. Recent reviews have discussed the occurrence, chemistry and toxicology of these peptides (Karlson-Stiber and Persson, 2003; Vetter, 1998 and Li and Oberlies, 2005). Chemically, the struc- tures of the compounds isolated from Amanita species characterized to-date can be subdivided into the following six categories: peptides, amavadin, isoxazoles, simple aminoacids, sterols and ceramides. Some Amanita species produce the most powerful peptides (toxins) known as cyclopeptides that contain a sulfur-linked tryptophan unit and some unusual hydroxylated amino acids (Li and Oberlies, 2005). According to Enjalbert et al. (1993) the distribution of the cyclopeptides can vary along the basi- diocarp, in some cases the pileus being the most toxic part. These peptides considered the major toxins from Amanita, are classified into three groups: amatoxins, phallotoxins and virotoxins. Amatoxins (slow-acting poisons) are 10–20 times more toxic than phallotoxins and virotoxins (quick acting poisons). It has been concluded that amatoxins are * Corresponding author. E-mail address: srestrep@uniandes.edu.co (S. Restrepo). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Toxicon journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/toxicon 0041-0101/$ – see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2011.09.005 Toxicon 58 (2011) 583–590