Lactarius and Russula mushroom genera – Similarities/differences in mineral composition within the Russulaceae family

Mineral composition among mushroom species may be similar or significantly different. It is accepted that mushroom species are one of the main determinants of their varying efficiency of accumulating mineral elements. The aim of this study was to establish whether this statement is accurate and what role the mushroom genus may play. For this purpose, fruit bodies of 5 species belonging to the Lactarius genus and 4 species belonging to Russula genus were collected from a forest area as small as compatible with similar chemical soil characteristics. In total, 4 major (Ca, K, Mg, Na) and 33 trace elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Cd, Ce, Co, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Hg, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Rb, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta, Ti, Tl, U, V, Zn, Zr) were determined. Generally, species belonging to the Lactarius genus contained a higher content of major elements compared to Russula. The obtained results reveal a similarity in the mineral profile of the studied mushrooms within each individual genus. Moreover, within each mushroom genus, a specific species with significantly higher element(s) content was observed, suggesting that both the mushroom species and genera may play an essential role in modulating element accumulation from soil to soil fruit bodies. Due to the fact that collected mushrooms grew in close proximity to trees, we were able to confirm that the presence of Fagus sylvatica might stimulate the accumulation of toxic elements in Lactarius vellereus bodies.