Lignin Removal
Once upon a time, Agaricus mushrooms were just another fungi, albeit widely distributed. They grew from Alaska to the Congo, and from coastal grasslands to mountain forests. This adaptivity was due in part to their natural diet, which was based on partially degraded leaf litter and other organic materials in soil. Farmed Agaricus feeds primarily on wheat straw, degrading the tough celluloses, hemicelluloses (xylan) and lignin that together form plant cell walls. One key purpose of composting is to strip away straw’s waxy cuticle and start to break down the linkages between carbohydrates and lignin, making these materials easier for the mycelium to digest – as would have occurred in the natural environment.
