Cellulose is a polymer of glucose monomers linked by β-1,4 glycosidic bonds. It is widely distributed in nature, which is an easy-to-obtain and inexpensive renewable resource. The treatment and utilization of natural cellulose is an urgent problem to be solved. Therefore, screening excellent cellulase-producing strains and enabling effective utilization of cellulose is an important task. Nowadays cellulase is widely used in industrial and agricultural fields like stockbreeding, energy, textile, etc. Therefore, selection of high-efficiency and low-cost cellulase production fungal strains becomes the goal of this research. Trichoderma species are one of the groups of high-level cellulase producing fungi, which have the advantages of rich enzyme production, complete enzyme system, and high enzyme activity. Their extracellular enzymes are easy to separate and purify. In this study, 150 Trichoderma strains belonging to 25 species obtained in our previous research were used as the materials. Among them, 14 strains appeared to possess relatively high cellulase-producing ability as screened by the Congo red plate method, filter paper enzyme activity assay, and natural cellulose degradation tests. Three of them were further explored to optimal conditions for enzyme production, such as inoculation amount of spore suspension, required amount of Tween 80, and pH of fermentation, etc. Our results showed that Trichoderma guizhouense strain 8705 expressed the best enzyme production ability, and its supernatant enzyme activity reached 6.63 IU/mL when fermented in shake flasks in the optimized fermentation medium at 20 °C for 9 days. This indicates that temperature, time and medium significantly influence the fermentation efficacy of the Trichoderma strain.

Cetraspora huaxica, a new species of Cetraspora (Diversisporales, Glomeromycotina), was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Chimonobambusa utilis in Huaxi District of Guiyang City, China. It forms hyaline spores 187-361×210-378 μm on pale yellow to pale yellow brown sporogenous cells. The germination shields are hyaline to pale yellow brown with multiple (4-8) lobes; the spores have three walls: a triple-layered outer wall (OWL1-3), a bi-layered middle wall (MWL1-2) and a triple-layered inner wall (IWL1-3), of which the OWL2 and IWL3 stain deep pink to bright red-brown when exposed in Melzer’s reagent. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of nuclear rDNA (spanning the partial small subunit, whole internal transcribed spacer, and partial large subunit segment; SSU-ITS-LSU) indicate that this species belongs to the genus Cetraspora and forms an independent clade. Detailed descriptions of the new taxon and a comparison with its phylogenetically related taxa are provided.

A rapid and simple method for preparing PCR reaction template of filamentous fungi and improving the efficiency of filamentous fungal strain identification and transformant screening was established. Ten different species of filamentous fungi were used as materials to compare the effects of microwave preparation of filamentous fungi PCR templates using three different reagents, and the duration of microwave treatment were optimized. The templates for PCR could be obtained by adding 50 mmol/L NaOH to a small of mycelium, breaking up the mycelium with sterile sucker, treating it with high heat in microwave oven for 30 s, and centrifuging the solution to get the supernatant. The PCR templates of 10 different species of filamentous fungi obtained by this method can be amplified by ITS primers, and the same clear and bright target bands as the DNA templates extracted by the traditional CTAB method can be obtained. The templates prepared by this method are suitable for different primers and different PCR amplification products. The PCR template prepared by this method was used to screen the transformants of Stemphylium vesicarium, and the results were consistent with the DNA extracted by the traditional CTAB method. This rapid and simple PCR template preparation method for screening large number of transformants and molecular identification of filamentous fungi greatly reduces the labor and material resources cost in the process of DNA extraction.

The delimitation between Conocybe and Pholiotina was ambiguous and controversial. Based on examination of specimens and literature, the taxonomic characteristics of these two genera were illustrated and explor their subgeneric classification was defined. At present, there are 37 species of Conocybe and 18 species of Pholiotina in China. In the Conocybe, there are 3 species of sect. Candidae, 1 of sect. Ochromarasmius, 10 of sect. Pilosellae, 17 of sect. Conocybe and 6 of sect. Mixtae. Among them, sect. Pilosellae harbors 3 new Chinese records, namely Conocybe velutipes, C. moseri and C. bisporigera; sect. Conocybe contains 2 new Chinese records, namely C. echinata and C. brachypodii. In the Pholiotina, there are 2 species of sect. Verrucisporae, 2 of sect. Intermediae, 6 of sect. Pholiotina, 3 of sect. Vestitae, 2 of sect. Cyanopodae and 3 of sect. Piliferae. Among them, Pholiotina dasypus was a new Chinese record in sect. Verrucisporae. Ph. serrata was proposed as a new combination in sect. Vestitae. Ph. cyanopus is a new Chinese record in sect. Cyanopodae, and Ph. coprophila was a new Chinese record in sect. Piliferae. Keys to the sections and species of Conocybe and Pholiotina from China are compiled, and the morphological descriptions and line drawings of newly recorded species are provided. Phylogenetic trees based on ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2 sequences are used to show the possible evolutionary relationships among the fungal taxa.

Line transmutation method and random stepping method were used to investigate macrofungi in different altitude and vegetation types in the Liupanshan National Nature Reserve, Ningxia, western China. The collected specimens were identified by morphological and molecular biology methods. Species composition and floristic characteristics were analyzed. 679 specimens were collected and identified as 230 species belonging to 83 genera in 40 families in 16 orders of 11 classes of 2 phyla. Among them, 209 species belong to 73 genera in 32 families in 10 orders of 7 classes of Basidiomycota, and 21 species belong to 10 genera in 8 families in 6 orders of 4 classes of Ascomycota. Species of dominant families Tricholomataceae, Strophariaceae, Psathyrellaceae, Agaricaceae, Mycenaceae, Russulaceae, Inocybaceae, and Polyporaceae account for 55.65% of the total species. Species of eighteen dominant genera account for 51.30% of the total species. Among the 209 species, 42 are edible, 4 are medicinal, 11 are simultaneously edible and medicinal, and 17 are poisonous. Species richness and diversity of macrofungi in Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation at altitude of 2 172 m were highest. The generic distribution patterns show obvious temperate characteristics, consisting of cosmopolitan distribution (49.40%), northern temperate distribution (39.76%), pan-tropical distribution (2.41%) and Mediterranean region-Western Asia to Central Asia distribution (1.20%).

Tricholoma matsutake is a rare edible and medicinal fungus in the world. Its active components (such as Tricholoma matsutake polysaccharide, polypeptide, Tricholoma matsutake alcohol, terpenes, and steroids) have been confirmed to have good effects on antioxidation, antitumor, immune regulation, antibacterial activity, skin care, and have great potential in the development of dietary nutritional supplements, cosmetics, and drugs. However, the current consumption pattern of T. matsutake in China is still mainly fresh food and primarily processed products, being at a standstill of low degree of finishing. In this paper, the active components of T. matsutake and their research progress were reviewed, and the suggestions for their commercial application were put forward, aiming at providing a theoretical reference for the deep processing and utilization of T. matsutake in China and a scientific basis for promoting the development of rural economy.

Fusarium spp. are notorious, causing devastating diseases of many crops and trees. However, the degree of diversity and ecological significances of Fusarium species in non-agricultural ecosystems is still less known. This paper aims at revealing the diversity of Fusarium species from coastal saline areas, and their traits relevant to abiotic stress and pathogenicity. Abiotic stress includes the stresses induced by H₂O₂, MSB, KCl, sorbitol, CFW, congo red and NaCl. In total, 23 Fusarium strains were isolated from rhizosphere soil of halophytes. A combination of morphology and multi-loci (ITS+rpb2+ tef1-α) phylogeny classified the tested strains into seven phylogenetic species. Among them, F. oxysporum, F. foetens, F. fujikuroi and Fusarium sp.1 showed similar patterns of resistant ability to abiotic stresses, while a potential novel group (Fusarium sp.2 and Fusarium sp.3) was more resistant to the majority of stresses. F. ambrosium was more susceptible to the stresses. Most strains harbored the gene for enniatin biosynthesis, and approximately one third of the strains retained genes for fumonisins. Only very few had trichothecenes related genes (tri5 and tri11). Only six2, six9, and six13 coding effectors (secreted in xylem) were amplified from a small fraction of strains. Inoculation experiments demonstrated that most Fusarium strains displayed varied degrees of pathogenicity to Arabidopsis and poplar plants, and few of them significantly improved plant growth. Unexpectedly, all Fusarium strains did not cause symptoms in wheat seedlings. Intriguingly, there was no clear difference between pathogenic and beneficial Fusarium strains with regard to their number of toxin biosynthetic and six genes. Our work provides model for revealing the genomic evolution behind the trophism shift in Fusarium and addressing plant-Fusarium mutualistic interactions.

Identification of specimens collected from Dabie Mountains on the basis of morphological taxonomy method in combination with molecular systematics method has yielded four ascomycete species new to China, Hypoxylon pulicicidum, H. ticinense, Phialocephala biguttulata and Rhizodiscina lignyota. These species were described and illustrated based on Chinese collections. ITS and LSU (or LSU) were selected to analyze the phylogenetic relationships, and Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analysis were used to structure phylogenetic trees. The taxonomic treatments of the four species were supported and confirmed by molecular data. Voucher specimens examined are deposited in the Herbarium of Fungi of Nanjing Normal University (HFNNU).

Wangtian’e Nature Reserve is located in the southern part of Changbai Mountains, with rich biological resources. The survey of diversity of macrofungi in Wangtian’e Nature Reserve was carried out and 1 425 specimens were collected from 2019 to 2021. Based on the morphological identification and molecular systematics, 161 species were identified, belonging to 101 genera, 48 families, 17 orders, 7 classes, and 2 phyla, including one new Chinese record Amanita regalis. Among them, the 48 species of 4 predominant families, Hydnangiaceae, Russulaceae, Mycenaceae, and Polyporaceae, accounted for around 29.81% of the total species, and 31 species of 5 dominant genera, Mycena, Lactarius, Russula, Crepidotus, and Hygrocybe, occupied 19.25% of the total species. Species of macrofungi in three different vegetation types of Wangtian’e Nature Reserve were analyzed. Plus, 65, 15, and 20 species were specific in the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, broad-leaved forest, and the coniferous forest, respectively, and 25 species were in common to the three vegetation types. The alpha diversity index showed that the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest had the highest species richness and species diversity index, and the coniferous forest had the most uniform species distribution. The evaluation of macrofungal resources showed that 59 species were edible, 42 medicinal, 27 poisonous, and 26 simultaneously edible and medicinal. This study provided valuable information for the conservation, development, and utilization of macrofungal resources in this area.

To understand the species diversity and to explore potential resources of wood-rotting fungi in Shandong Province, a total of 1 178 specimens was collected in national forest parks, nature reserves, and botanical gardens in the province during 2019-2021. Based on these specimens together with 218 previously collected specimens, 227 species were identified by using combining morphological and molecular methods. According to the latest taxonomic system, they were classified into 131 genera, 54 families, 15 orders, 6 classes, and 2 phyla. Among these species 25 are edible, 91 medicinal, and 29 potentially industrially valuable, accounting for 11.01%, 39.57%, and 12.78% of the total number of species, respectively; 103 species are unclear functionally, accounting for 45.37% of the total number of species; 116 species are edible and medicinal simultaneously, accounting for 51.10% of the total number of species.

Twenty-eight Trichoderma isolates with strong antagonistic abilities and 15 isolates with moderate antagonistic abilities were screened through dual culture assays. Further screen using cellophane filtration membrane method resulted in the acquirement of six Trichoderma strains (104, 393, 424, 402, 451, and 123T) having non-volatile secondary metabolites that demonstrated potent inhibitory effects against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, with inhibition rates exceeding 92%. The inhibition rates of volatile secondary metabolites of Trichoderma atroviride 424 and T. paratroviride 123T against C. gloeosporioides were 57.12% and 60.43%, respectively. Pathogenicity evaluations of nine tested Capsicum annuum cultivars revealed high susceptibility. However, treatment of pepper fruits with needle puncture followed by spraying with spore suspensions of Trichoderma strains 424 and 123T significantly increased the resistance to C. gloeosporioides. The spore suspensions of these Trichoderma strains promoted pepper seed germination and seedling growth. The germination rate of seeds treated with 123T increased from 38.9% to 70.0%. Moreover, pepper seedlings treated with the spore suspensions of 424 and 123T exhibited significant increases in plant height, root length, stem thickness, fresh weight, and dry weight, with improvements of 52.5%, 96.0%, 104.0%, 372.0%, and 224.0%, respectively. Trichoderma strains 424 and 123T highlight the biocontrol potential against C. gloeosporioides and hopefully can be developed as biological control agents.

Haasiella is a rare genus in Hygrophoraceae, which includes only two species reported from Europe thus far, H. venustissima and H. splendidissima. Based on studies of phylogeny and morphology, eight specimens collected from Liancheng Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, western China were confirmed as a new species in genus Haasiella and named as H. sinensis. This species is morphologically similar to European species in having small basidiomata with pale orange umbilicate pileus and metachromatic spores distinctly red in cresyl blue. However, H. sinensis is different in having tetrasterigmatic, sometimes monosterigmatic or bisterigmatic basidia in the same fruitbody; clamp connections present throughout the secondary mycelium and the fungus grows on soil humus in the forest.

Liquid culture suspension of eight species of Armillaria was inoculated to 1cm³ wood columns of Quercus serrata and the inoculated wood columns were incubated at 23 °C for 60 and 120 days. The tested Armillaria species (biological species) are A. sinapina (CBS A), A. gallica (CBS B), A. ostoyae (CBS D), A. sinensis (CBS F), A. bruneocystidia (CBS H), A. qinii (CBS J), A. borealis (CBS M) and A. violacea (CBS N). The wood weight, cellulose content, lignin content and hemicellulose content were determined by gravimetric method, Klason method, sulfuric acid hydrolysis method and hydrochloric acid hydrolysis method, respectively. The difference of wood-decaying ability of each Armillaria species was valued. The results showed that dry mass loss rate of each Armillaria species to Quercus serrata wood was ordinally CBS M>CBS A=CBS J=CBS H=CBS F=CBS B>CBS N=CBS D. The decomposition capacities to lignin of Armillaria species were ordinally CBS M=CBS A=CBS J>CBS H=CBS B=CBS F>CBS N>CBS D. The degradation efficiency of cellulose was ranked as CBS H=CBS A>CBS B>CBS J>CBS F>CBS D>CBS M>CBS N. The decomposition capacities of hemicellulose was ranked as CBS M>CBS J>CBS H=CBS A=CBS F=CBS N>CBS B>CBS D. The capacities to total lignocellulosic consumption was ranked as CBS H>CBS A>CBS J>CBS B>CBS F>CBS M>CBS D>CBS N. The wood-decaying capability of Chinese Armillaria species is moderate or even lower among the wood rot fungi. The decaying capacities among Armillaria species are diverses, manifesting their different degradation capacity to lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignocellulose. The wood rot caused by Armillaria also showed variability of white rot and brown rot among species due to adaptation of the species to forest ecosystem in China. The degradation of litters and the mechanism of carbon cycle in forest ecosystem affected by Armillaria species need further study.

Amanita cyclic peptide toxins are mainly found in mushrooms of genera Amanita, Galerina, and Lepiota, and probably pose serious health risks to humans and animals if they are ingested accidentally. Rapid and accurate identification of these toxins in mushrooms and biological samples is crucial for ensuring food safety and diagnosing and treating mushroom poisoning. This review discusses various reported detection methods, focusing on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, which is the main analytical method for determining Amanita cyclic peptide toxins in complex matrices. Furthermore, current trends and future directions in the detection of Amanita cyclic peptide toxins are also presented.

Leucocalocybe mongolica is a rare and endangered species under national key protection, with significant economic and ecological values. There is no research on the impact of climate change on the distribution pattern of L. mongolica previously, however. Based on the distribution data in the literature, adaptive distribution areas under current and future conditions and the climate factors affecting the distribution pattern of L. mongolica are studied using maximum entropy model. The area under curve (AUC) values of training set and test set of the prediction model for the suitable habitat of L. mongolica were 0.997 and 0.998, respectively. The prediction results of the model are extremely accurate. The precipitation in the warmest quarter, and coldest quarter, temperature seasonality, and precipitation seasonality are the main climatic factors affecting the distribution of L. mongolica, with the cumulative contribution rate of 75.2%. Globally and currently, the most suitable and highly suitable areas for L. mongolica are mainly concentrated in Mongolian plateau consisting of northern China, northern and central Mongolia, and the border areas among Russia, China and Mongolia. In China, it is mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang. Inner Mongolia is the core area for the distribution of L. mongolica, which could be divided into two subareas: Hulunbeir grassland in the north and Xilingol grassland in the south. Under four future (2030s, 2050s, 2070s) climate change scenarios, the most suitable and high suitable areas of L. mongolica will shift to higher latitudes, forming the pattern of decline in China and increase in Mongolia. The distribution characteristics model of the suitable habitat of L. mongolica based on the references, field survey data, selected environmental variables, and coming future climate change scenarios, shows high reliability, providing a theoretical basis for the protection of wild resources of L. mongolica.

Phallus is one of the most important genera of macrofungi, and has important economic values and taxonomic status. China is one of the key regions of Phallus species diversity, where a quarter members of total Phallus species in the world are distributed. Phallus species reported previously in China were 32 among them, some taxa remain controversial at the taxonomic status. Based on previous research and voucher specimens, Phallus species distributed in China were reexamined, and the number of hitherto known species was affirmatively 25, including 17 with available ITS sequence and 15 with available LSU. Seven species were treated as uncertainty or unknown distribution. Our study outlined the species diversity and resources of Phallus in China, providing valuable references for Chinese researchers in taxonomic research, species identification and commercial cultivation.

This study aims to isolate and screen lignin-degrading fungi from the deep-sea environment and analyze their degradation process of lignin. Cultivable fungi were sampled from deep-sea sediment and seawater in the West Pacific, and a strain CS1 capable of growing on lignin as the sole carbon source was successfully obtained. Based on ITS gene sequence identification, the fungus was identified as Chaetomium sp. After 14 days of cultivation with alkaline lignin as the sole carbon source, the lignin degradation rate of the fungus reached 64%, and the fungal spores could germinate and the mycelia could grow within a wide range of pH values (pH 4.0-9.0). The fungus has the potential to secrete various extracellular lignin-degrading enzymes which can fade aniline blue and produce brown-red oxidation circles in guaiacol. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that the degradation of lignin by the fungus CS1 was mainly due to the destruction of the aromatic skeleton of lignin, the C-O bond of β-O-4, and the O-H of β or γ positions. Further research found that strain CS1 can form a biofilm on the surface of tobacco straw to achieve the degradation and transformation of lignin. GC-MS analysis results showed that this fungus promoted the release of nicotine-like active substances from tobacco straw and transformed aromatic polymer of lignin to xylene and other petrochemical industry basic raw materials. The results reveal the potential of marine fungi on degradation of lignocellulose in tobacco straw and provide excellent fungal strains for resource utilization of lignin waste.

Nanling is one of the hotspots of biodiversity in China, and is the treasure house of biological resources in Guangdong Province of southern China. Boletes are the important group of macrofungi, having important ecological, economic and scientific values. The species diversity of Boletales in Nanling mountainous area was investigated based on morphological characters and molecular evidences. In total, 79 species were identified, belonging to 3 families and 31 genera, including one new species and 37 newly recorded species in Nanling. Twenty-eight taxa were found to be misidentified previously, and 25 previously reported species were dubious because of insufficient data. In the present paper, the species list of Boletales in Nanling Mountains was provided, and annotations of the excluded or suspected species were given. A phylogentic tree of nrLSU of boletes in Nanling was also provided. The new species, Suillellus rufobrunneus, is characterized by its red to dark purplish-red pileus, smooth, red to dark purplish-red stipe with yellow apical part and longitudinal slight reticula, and elliptical basidiospores measuring 11-15×5.5-7 μm. The examined specimens were deposited in the Fungarium of Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (GDGM).

In recent years, fungal diseases caused by Curvularia have become a serious problem in tobacco cultivation, affecting the yield and quality of tobacco. To effectively control the disease, the mitochondrial genome of Curvularia clavata isolated from tobacco was sequenced and analyzed by high-throughput sequencing, and a circular genome was assembled. The genome elements were further analyzed to explore the phylogenetic relationship between C. clavata and currently known typical leaf spot-caused fungi. The results showed that the mitochondrial genome of C. clavata had an A-T content as high as 70.35%, with a length of 41 763 bp, encoding 38 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 23 tRNA genes). Only three introns were detected, accompanied by limited number of repeat sequences, which may be the main cause for genome shrinkage. Collinearity analysis of six related pathogenic fungal species indicated that gene rearrangements occurred in the mitochondrial genome of C. clavata. The length of homology regions might affect the size of mitochondrial genome, showing a positive correlation between homological region length and mitochondrial genome size. Selection pressure analysis showed that natural selection and purifying selection may have played a dominant role, ensuring the stable inheritance of dominant genes in the mitochondrial genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. clavata was most closely related to Bipolaris sorokiniana and Bipolaris oryzae, being consistent with the results of previous studies on ITS sequencing. This is the first study on the mitochondrial genome of C. clavata, and provide a valuable reference for future studies in perspectives such as phylogeny, resource conservation and genetic diversity.

In this paper three new species of Tremellodendropsis and one new species of Guepinia from southwestern China, namely T. fusispora, T. oblongispora, T. transseptata and G. montana, are described based on morphological characteristics, molecular phylogenetic evidence and ecological traits. These species are common elements of funga in southwestern China, but were mistakenly treated as species originally described from Europe. Our data indicated that they are different from similar species of Europe or other continents, and should be treated as separate species.

Corynespora leaf spot caused by Corynespora cassiicola has become an important emerging epidemic disease in the cucumber production of China. C. cassiicola has a wide host range, and its cassiicolin (Cas) toxin is proved to be a key pathogenic factor in the early infection phase of C. cassiicola on rubber tree. However, virulence function of this toxin in the cucumber/C. cassiicola pathosystem remains unclear. In this study, a single-copy Cas2 gene, named CcCas2, was identified in the genomic sequences of C. cassiicola strain HG3 isolated from cucumber. During the process of the gene knockout, it was found that the deletion mutants of CcCas2 were all heterozygous, and subsequent fluorescence staining further confirmed that C. cassiicola is a multinucleate fungus. The heterozygous mutants were used to perform single-spore purification on PDA media containing hygromycin B, thus the homozygous mutants of CcCas2 were screened out (detection rates≥20%). The pathogenicity tests showed that there was no significant difference in disease severity between the CcCas2 homozygous mutant and wild-type strain on the 4th day post-inoculation on cucumber leaves. Analyses of transcriptome data, RT-PCR and qRT-PCR showed that the CcCas2 gene was strongly suppressed at the transcriptional level. Our research certifies that due to being transcriptionally inhibited, the CcCas2 gene of C. cassiicola has no virulence to cucumber. The proposed high-efficient way to achieve C. cassiicola homozygous mutants lays the foundation for further research on functional genes of this fungus.

Strain degeneration occurs often in Cordyceps militaris during continuous subculture. In the present study, 5 strains were selected as original strains, and 50 single conidial isolates were obtained on the basis of single conidial isolation and microscopic techniques from each original strains. PCR was performed for mating-type identification of single conidial isolates. It was found that all the single conidial isolates were single mating type and the number proportion of MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 single conidial isolates obtained from different original strains varied greatly, being 27:23, 34:16, 42:8, 28:22, and 7:43, respectively. 5 MAT1-1 and 5 MAT1-2 single conidial isolates from different original strains (50 isolates in total) were randomly selected for the measurement of colony growth diameter, spore production and cordycepin content. Compared to the original strains, 14 single conidial isolates showed significant difference in colony diameter (of which 10 isolates were decreased), 24 isolates showed significant difference in conidial production (all were decreased), and 29 isolates showed significant difference in cordycepin content (of which 21 isolates were decreased). The 50 isolates were continuously subcultured, and the colony growth diameter, conidial production and cordycepin content were measured. The ratio of the data related of the seventh generation to those of the first generation was calculated to assess the biological characteristic stability of the isolates. The results showed that compared to the original strains, 14 single conidial isolates showed significant difference in the ratio of colony diameter and all were increased; 41 isolates showed significant difference in the ratio of conidial production (40 were decreased); 44 isolates showed significant difference in the ratio of cordycepin content and all were decreased. These findings indicate there are differences in growth, conidial production and secondary metabolite content among individual isolates from the same original strain, and culture characteristics of the single conidial isolates were less stable than those of the original strain during continuous subculture.

Hericium erinaceus is an important culinary and medicinal mushroom, and usually used for the treatment of chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer. In this study, network pharmacology approach and molecular docking were adopted to analyse molecular mechanism of H. erinaceus treating chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer. The results showed that 121 secondary metabolites and 163 potential therapeutic targets of H. erinaceus were involved in the treatment of chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer. Potential key targets, such as VEGFR, JUN, STAT3, TNF, IL6, ALB, AKT1 and EGFR were selected by protein interaction network analysis, and 28 signaling pathways were enriched via KEGG pathway analysis. Molecular docking results showed that the potential key compounds, fomentarol A (24), erinarol H (21), (22E,24R)-6-O-acetylergosta- 7,22-diene-3β,5α,6β-triol (14) and genistein (110) could bind with ATK1, JAK2, PTGS2, PPARG, EGFR, ALB and TNF tightly. All these results indicated that H. erinaceus could relieve chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers through multiple compounds, multiple targets and multiple pathways.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a valuable traditional Chinese herb medicine with special healing and health benefits, and enjoys a high reputation internationally. This paper is comprehensively based on the literature concerning Ophiocordyceps sinensis from the Web of Science (WOS) and the China National Knowledge Network (CNKI) from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2022. After manual screening, 1 336 Chinese articles and 1 162 English articles were included. Excel 2018 was used to draw chart of the annual number of relevant publications. CiteSpace 6.1.R3 was used for the visual analysis of author cooperation, publishing institutions, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and bursts in the research concerning Ophiocordyceps sinensis. Analysis displays that the general trend of the number of Chinese articles published on Ophiocordyceps sinensis is relatively unstable, while the number of English articles published shows a linear increase, and the research enthusiasm is rising. LI Wenjia and WU Jianyong were the authors publishing the most articles in Chinese and English, respectively. Chongqing Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Academy of Sciences were the research institutions with the largest number of Chinese and English publications in this field, respectively. Among the institutions publishing the relevant articles in English, the Chinese Academy of Sciences occupies the first place. Analysis based on the keywords revealed that the research hotspots of Ophiocordyceps sinensis included chemical composition, traditional Chinese medicine quality standards, mycelium fermentation and other aspects. Among them, the protective effect of Ophiocordyceps sinensis on heart, liver and kidney, anti-fatigue, mechanism of action to improve cardiovascular disease, anti-tumor pharmacological activity, clinical drug rules, artificial cultivation are the frontier directions. This study provides reference for determining the topic selection and frontier direction of the future researchers.

Using 18 main triterpenoids as references, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for quantitative determination of triterpenoids in basidiomata of Ganoderma lingzhi was established. HPLC was carried out by Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column (4.6 mm× 250 mm, 5 μm) with acetonitrile-0.01% acetic acid system as mobile phase. The column temperature was 30 °C, the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the detective wavelength was set at 254 nm. The HPLC method was applied to the evaluation of triterpenoid content in the two strains of G. lingzhi under different cultivation environments. It was found that triterpenoid content was significantly correlated with both the strains and the cultivation environment. Strains were the main factor affecting the triterpenoid content in basidiomata of G. lingzhi, but the triterpenoid content also changed under different environments.

The polypeptides from fruiting bodies of Volvariella volvacea were extracted by alkaline protease enzymatic hydrolysis, and purified by dialysis method to yield three different components (3 to 10, 1 to 3, and less than 1 kDa). The antioxidant activities in vitro of the three components were compared. The structure of purified polypeptide was characterized by LC-MS/MS, ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and amino acid determination methods. The result showed that the antioxidant activity of 1 to 3 kDa was strongest. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical clearance rate was 99.81%, the ferric ion reducing ability was 1.47, and the clearance rates of 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS⁺) radical and hydroxyl radical were 99.15% and 99.34%, respectively. The total protein content of the antioxidant peptide of V. volvacea at this molecular weight was 71.12%, ash content was 12.75%, moisture content was 8.44% and the others were 7.69%. The results of structural identification showed that the polypeptides from fruiting bodies of V. volvacea were high quality protein materials.

Sucrose-nonfermenting 1 (SNF1) protein kinase regulates the transcription of a number of genes, alters the activity of metabolic enzymes, and controls various nutrient responsive cell development. In this study, the chemical constituents of Cordyceps militaris wild-type strain Cm01 and CmSnf1 overexpressing strain Cmsnf1 were compared by LC-MS nontargeted metabolomic analysis. The results showed that after CmSnf1 gene overexpression, 547 differential metabolites were detected in positive and negative ion mode, showing 220 up-regulated and 327 down-regulated metabolites. Flavonoids phloderin was up-regulated 140.55 times, and phosphatidylserine (PS) in glycerol and phospholipid metabolism was down-regulated 47.53 times. The differential metabolites are involved in various pathways such as glycolipid metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis and degradation, galactose metabolism, pyruvate and ketone metabolisms. CmSnf1 overexpression strains have advantages in ketone metabolism as compared with wild-type strains, suggesting that CmSnf1 gene plays an important role in the pharmacological effects of Cordyceps militaris.

Cyclosporine A is a cyclic peptide secondary metabolite mainly produced by Tolypocladium inflatum and is widely used as an immunosuppressive agent in clinical practice. Its synthesis requires a special substrate (4R)-4-[(E)-2-butenyl]-4-methyl-L-threonine (Bmt). However, there are few studies on Bmt at present. Simulating gene knockouts confirmed that the biosynthesis of Bmt required the participation of a polyketosynthase (PKS) gene (simG) which was assumed as the precursor compound of Bmt synthesis, and named as 3(R)-hydroxyl-4(R)- methyl-6(E)-octenoic acid (B1). In this study, the simG was heterologously expressed in Beauveria bassiana to testify its function. The simG was cloned and transformed into B. bassiana through the mediation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Strains with a high expression of the simG were screened by gene detection and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Four strains with high simG expression have been obtained. After fermentation and culture, the products of the strains were detected by LC-MS. It was shown that there was a product peak with the same molecular weight as B1 in the strain with high simG expression. This study further proves that the simG is probably responsible for the synthesis of compound B1 and is a key gene in the synthesis process of Bmt. Our results further deepened the understanding of the biosynthesis mechanism of cyclosporine, providing theoretical support for the construction of engineering strains with a high yield of Bmt. It was expected that the production efficiency of cyclosporine could be improved by solving the source of the substrate.

Phyllosphere microorganisms play important roles in ecological functions, such as maintaining plant health, promoting plant growth and biogeochemical cycling. In recent years, the role and importance of phyllosphere microbes have received increasing attention. The diversity and community structure of epiphytic fungi in the phyllosphere of Rosa chinensis, a common greening plant in Beijing, were investigated. Four sites from the center to north of the city and near to far distance, Andingmen area (ADM), Hepingjie area (HPJ), Yayuncun area (YYC), and Beiqijia area (BQJ), were selected. The samples were taken in three seasons (April, July, and November) at different locations (the middle and sides of the road of the selected areas). A total of 3 425 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) was obtained, and they were dominated by Dothideomycetes. The variance of Shannon index between sampling sites were ADM > BQJ > HPJ > YYC, indicating ADM is significantly higher than YYC. The diversity shows a decreasing and then increasing trend from the center to north of the city. The variance of Shannon index between seasons showed April > July > November, and April was significantly higher than July and November. There is no significant difference between the samples from the center and the sides of road. LEfSe analysis suggested the significant biomarkers of different regions and seasons. Significant biomarkers of Andingmen area were Neosetophoma, Neophaeococcomyces and Pseudocosmopora, while the significant biomarkers of Hepingjie area, Yayuncun area and Beiqijia area were Preussia, Orbilia and Pseudotomentella, respectively. Network analysis showed the dominant genera were Vacuiphoma, Erythrobasidium, Cladosporium, Mrakia, and Sphaerulina. The main functional groups of epiphytic fungi in the phyllosphere of Rosa chinensis were pathotroph and saprotroph. The prediction of fungal community function demonstrates that saprophytic functional groups were different in different seasons and sampling sites. The study revealed structural changes of phyllosphere fungi in urban plants and might be valuable to scientific management of urban greening.

Continuous light stimulation during early fruiting stage of full sun-cultivated Auricularia heimuer results in an unsuitable growth environment of the mycelia. In this study, four shading treatments, CK (normal cultivation bag, 0% shading), T1 (50% shading), T2 (70% shading) and T3 (90% shading), were set up to analyze the agronomic traits, nutritional quality and mycelial-related enzyme activities of A. heimuer basidiomata under different shading conditions. The results showed that under shading treatment, the primordium formation time of A. heimuer was relatively shortened; the basidiomata were neat, and the unfruitful percentage was reduced. The yield of the first harvest of CK treatment was 22.09 g per cultivation bag, T1 treatment 25.20 g, T2 treatment 25.35 g, and T3 treatment 25.58 g. The activities of laccase, carboxymethylcellulase, hemicellulase and amylase of mycelia at different growth stages under shading treatment were significantly higher than those of CK treatment, and the content of lignin, cellulose and semi-fiber was low during the harvest period, while superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) maintained high activity, and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was low, alleviating the damage to basidiomata. In comparison with CK treatment, T1 treatment and T2 treatment showed better. The crude protein content and amino acid content of basidiomata were relatively high under shading treatment, while the crude fat content of basidiomata of CK treatment was relatively high. This study might provides valuable data for efficient cultivation of A. heimuer.

A wild strain of Ganoderma from Medog, Xizang, was identified as Ganoderma gibbosum, based on morphological observation and molecular biological analysis. Its biological characteristics and domestic cultivation were studied. Single-factor tests were conducted for optimizing carbon and nitrogen sources, temperature and pH under solid cultivation conditions. Orthogonal experiment of three optimal levels selected from the four single-factor tests showed that the optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for mycelial growth of G. gibbosum were fructose and yeast, respectively. The optimum temperature was 25 ℃, and the suitable pH was 7.0. The fruiting bodies of G. gibbosum could be formed on the substrate formulated by 58% angiosperm wood chips, 20% corncob, 20% bran, 1% lime, and 1% gypsum. The hyphae fully colonized the substrate after cultivation for 40 days. The primordium began to form in one week after casing, and the fruiting body matured in about 50 days. Preliminary analysis of functional components indicated that polysaccharide and amino acid contents of G. gibbosum were 1.5% and 10.8%, respectively. G. gibbosum might have a new potential medicinal value in future applications.

The ectomycorrhizal fungus Albatrellopsis flettioides associated with Pinus yunnanensis has high nutritional and ecological value, and its shiroes soil microorganisms have an important impact on fruiting body development. The community composition of microbiota in the shiroes soil and non-shiroes soils of A. flettioides was analyzed to explore the main microbial groups that affect fruiting bodies production of the fungus. The results showed that there were differences in the fungal and bacterial alpha diversity indices between the shiroes soil and non-shiroes soils (EG>CG). The dominant taxa in the shiroes soil are Agaricomycetes, Geminibasidiomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Alphaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation Suillus and Albatrellus and the shiroes soil samples of A. flettioides, while Amanita, Amphinema, and Russula were highly correlated with non-shiroes samples. Based on differential group analysis, 35 fungal and 28 bacterial indicator groups at different taxonomic levels were recognized.

There are a large number of dominant nucleus monokaryons and a few recessive nucleus monokaryons in the process of protoplast monokaryotization of Hypsizygus marmoreus. In order to study the effect of these different types of nuclei on the genetic transformation efficiency of arthroconidia, ten strains of dominant and recessive nuclear monokaryons isolated previously from protoplast monokaryotization were hybridized in pairs respectively. The test strain Q group consisted of five recombinant heterokaryons crossed by the strains with dominant nuclei, the test strain R group consisted of five recombinant heterokaryons crossed by the strains with recessive nuclei were obtained. The arthroconidia of these new recombinant heterokaryons were used to carry out the genetic transformation experiment. The experimental statistical results showed that the transformation efficiency of five recombinant heteronuclear strains Q1A, Q1B, Q2A, Q3A and Q3B in group Q were 81%, 59%, 57%, 56% and 53%, respectively. The transformation efficiency of R1A, R2A, R2B, R3B and R4B in group R were 45%, 45%, 44%, 46% and 41%, respectively. The transformation efficiency of the five dominant recombinant heterokaryons was higher than that of the five recessive recombinant heterokaryons. The average transformation efficiency of group Q was 61%, and significantly higher than that of group R (44%). The mechanism of the significant difference in genetic transformation efficiency between monokaryons needs further research.

Two compatible monokaryons (Y0040-1 and Y0040-3) isolated from dikaryotic Lentinula edodes were used for evaluating growth rate and gene expression differences. The results showed that the mycelial growth rate of the two monokaryons was different on different mediums (PDA and PDA+2% sawdust), and the growth rate of Y0040-1 was higher than that of Y0040-3. Further analysis of transcriptome indicated that a total of 1 633 genes detected had common differentially expressed genes, which might be the shared expression pathways leading to the difference between the two monokaryons. Among these genes, 155 genes were up-regulated and 136 down-regulated. Annotation and analysis of these genes showed that the co-up-regulated genes were involved in metabolic activities, of which amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism were the most enriched. Lignocellulase analysis showed that the number of up-regulated genes in Y0040-1 was higher than that in Y0040-3, and the expression levels of cellulose and lignin degrading enzymes in Y0040-1 strain were higher than those in Y0040-3.

Ophiocordyceps, the most prominent genus in the Ophiocordycipitaceae, is renowned for its numerous entomopathogenic species with significant medicinal value. Despite the existing descriptions of numerous species, the complete diversity of this genus remains enigmatic. In this study, four Ophiocordyceps species previously unknown in China were collected, and a comprehensive approach, including multigene phylogenetic analyses (ITS, SSU, LSU, RPB1, RPB2, and TEF1α) along with morphological assessments was employed to determine their taxonomic status. Illustrated descriptions and taxonomic discussions for these newly discovered species are provided, contributing to our understanding of the diversity within the Ophiocordyceps genus.

The Sanghuangporus species are well-known due to their medicinal values. Polysaccharides, flavonoids and triterpenes are the main active ingredients of Sanghuangporus, and the medicinal values of the three have received widespread attention. Phellinus orientoasiaticus is a wood-inhabiting fungus growing in the living trees of Rosaceae. It is phylogenetically related with Sanghuangporus and its medicinal value is rarely reported. To determine the medicinal value of P. orientoasiaticus, the natural basidiomata of Sanghuangporus baumii and S. lonicericola from Northeast China were selected as comparative studying materials for they are extensively investigated medicinal fungal species. The content of crude polysaccharides, total flavonoids, and total triterpenoids and their antioxidant activities were used as comparative research indicators. The determination results showed that the polysaccharide content for S. baumii was 4.64 mg/g, 2.94 mg/g for S. lonicericola, and 3.68 mg/g for P. orientoasiaticus. The total flavonoid content was 65.53 mg/g, 187.74 mg/g, and 46.19 mg/g respectively. The total triterpene content of S. baumii was 5.38 mg/g, of S. lonicericola 15.87 mg/g, and of P. orientoasiaticus 10.17 mg/g. The antioxidant activities included DPPH free radical scavenging capacity, ABTS free radical scavenging ability, superoxide anion scavenging ability, and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability. The polysaccharides of S. lonicericola and P. orientoasiaticus showed comparatively high antioxidant activity, and the antioxidant activity of total triterpenoids of S. lonicericola and P. orientoasiaticus was also comparatively strong. This study demonstrates that P. orientoasiaticus has a good application prospect for its comparatively high polysaccharide, total flavonoid and total triterpenes content and excellent antioxidant activity.

Pinus tabuliformis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica are important afforestation species with different geographical distributions in China. The West Mountain of Beijing is the suitable area for the growth of Pinus tabuliformis, but is the southern extremity of distribution of P. sylvestris var. mongolica, therefore it is an ideal research site to explore the driving role of tree species in the construction of microbial community in soil-plant continuum. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to obtain the composition of microbial communities in several parts of the soil-plant continuum of plantations of P. tabuliformis and P. sylvestris var. mongolica in West Mountain of Beijing. The role of species factors in the construction of soil-plant continuum microbial community of these two pine trees was explored, and the physicochemical properties of soil closely related to soil microorganisms were further studied. The results showed that the difference of alpha diversity of microbial community in soil-plant continuum between the two pine was mainly reflected in bulk soil and rhizosphere soil. The beta diversity analysis showed that the bacterial community composition in needle was not significant difference between the two pine, while the microbial community composition in other parts of tree was different between the two pine. Tree species had the highest explanation for the variance of soil and rhizosphere microbial community composition, while the lowest explanation for the variance of needle microbial community composition, in other words, tree species played a larger role in the construction of soil and rhizosphere microbial community, but a smaller role in the construction of needle endophytic microbial community. The network structure of bacterial communities in the same part of tree was more complex in P. tabuliformis than in P. sylvestris var. mongolica, but the fungal network had less differences between the two pines. Abundant microbial groups in the tissues and soil of P. tabuliformis and P. sylvestris var. mongolica were found. At class level, the relative abundance greater than 5% was considered as dominant class. Seven bacterial classes, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Thermoleophilia, Gammaproteobacteria, Bacilli, and Clostridia, and seven fungal classes, Agaricomycetes, Leotiomycetes, Sordariomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Mortierellomycetes, and Pezizomycetes, were recognized. Significant differences in soil physicochemical properties, e.g. available phosphorus (AP), pH and available kalium (AK), were found between the plantations of P. tabuliformis and P. sylvestris var. mongolica, and these properties effect soil microbial diversity and composition between the two pines. In addition, alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen (AHN) was also significantly correlated with the composition of the bacterial community. The results demonstrate the interactions between pines and microorganisms and the mechanism of microbial community construction, and provide reference data on microbial community in pine plantations in northern China.