The smelly secretions of a skunk are practically not washed off with water or soap, but they are removed by a new substance found in soil fungi.
American skunks use a defense tool that is not quite usual for mammals: in case of danger, their anal glands emit a caustic secretion with an extremely strong and unpleasant odor. Its traces can last for days or weeks, and are difficult to wash off even with the most thorough washing. This stench is created by sulfur-containing mercaptans - volatile substances that are poorly soluble in water and soap.
Tolypocladium soil fungi are able to help with their removal. The synthesized pericosine (pericosine) binds volatile thiols, forming less odorous derivatives that can be easily removed with water. Pharmacologists at the University of Oklahoma write about this in an article published in the Journal of Natural Products. Scientists hope that soon their discovery will lead to the emergence of the first effective means to remove the smell of skunk, because it often suffers from pets living in the areas of distribution of these animals.
The authors suggest that in nature, pericosin is produced by fungi to neutralize sulfur-containing organic compounds, many of which are poisonous. In fact, in the laboratory, Tolypocladium only synthesized it when they were grown together with other fungi capable of releasing sulfur-containing toxins.