Sanghuang, as a group of medicinal macrofungi recorded in ancient Chinese traditional medicine books, has many functions such as anti-tumor, reduction of blood suger, reduction of blood fat, anti-oxidation, and reduction of uric acid. Modern taxonomic studies have shown that sanghuang has high species diversity and widely distributed in different areas of China and other areas of north Hemisphere, growing in mulberry, poplar, clove, honeysuckle, northeast China ash, jujube, walnut and other broad-leaved trees. Sanghuang have been artificially cultivated in China since 1990s, and the species used for cultivation are mainly Sanghuangporus sanghuang, S. vaninii, S. baumii, and Inonotus hispidus. The scale of the sanghuang industry is progressively expanding, forming a health industry with high economic value and social benefits. In this paper, we summarized the current status of sanghuang industry in China, relating to the historical record, the change of classification status, the functional researches, production development, bottleneck problems and countermeasures. The problems existing in sanghuang industry development, and some recommendations for its future development in China are proposed.

The chemical constituents and their biological activities of the fruiting bodies of Lanmaoa asiatica, a kind of “lurid boletes”, were studied. Seventeen compounds including nine steroids were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of 95% ethanol extract of the fungus by various column chromatography techniques or recrystallization. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified as citreoanthrasteroid (1), 1(10→6)abeo-ergosta-5,7,9,22-tetraen- 11β-methoxy-3α-ol (2), 3β,5α,9α-trihydroxy-6β-methoxyergosta-7,22-dien (3), ergosterol peroxide (4), 9(11)-dehydroergosterol peroxide (5), 3β-hydroxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-5,8(9),22- trien-7-one (6), (24S)-ergost-7-en-3β-ol (7), (22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-3β-ol (8), ergosterol (9), adenosine (10), 5’-deoxy-5’-methylamino-adenosine (11), 5’-deoxy-5’-methylamino-9-(α-L- lyxofuranosyl)adenine (12), (R)-4-methylpiperidin-2-one (13), uridine (14), uracil (15), nicotinamide (16) and 1(2)-linolyl-2(1)-palmityl-glycero-O-4’-(N,N,N-trimethyl)homoserine (17). Among them, the exact assignments of the NMR signals of 1-3 were reported for the first time, compound 13 was a new natural product, and compounds 1-17 were reported to be isolated from Lanmaoa asiatica for the first time. The cytotoxic activity of 1-17 was evaluated by MTT assay, and the results showed that 1, 3-6 and 9 displayed relatively strong cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7), mouse microglia cells (BV2) and human lung cancer cells (A549). Compound 10 displayed moderate cytotoxic activity against BV2 cells, with an IC₅₀ of 48.34 μmol/L. The chemical constituents of Lanmaoa asiatica were comprehensively investigated, and this study will be meaningful in utilization of Lanmaoa asiatica.

The pathogen causing brown leaf spot of Rhododendron lapponicum was identified by morphological and molecular methods, and the biological characteristics of the pathogen were studied based on observation of plate cultures, and the fungicides and biocontrol agents were screened. The pathogen was identified as Neopestalotiopsis clavispora based on its morphological characteristics and rDNA-ITS, β-tubulin and tef1gene sequences. The mycelium grew at 25-28 °C suitably and preferably in acidic medium. Glucose and beef paste were the best carbon and nitrogen sources for its mycelial growth, respectively. PDA was the best culture medium among 8 media tested. Toxicity bioassay showed that difenoconazole, flusilazole, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole and iprodione were the effective chemical fungicides with EC₅₀ of 0.799 1, 2.275 6, 2.742 5, 3.736 6 and 4.875 7 mg/L, respectively. Four Bacillus isolates could antagonize the growth of mycelium and their control efficacy of the disease on detached leaves was 57.51%-75.97%. The results provided a scientific basis for the prevention and control of brown leaf spot of R. lapponicum.

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).

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.

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.

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.

ITS sequencing, phylogenetic tree construction, biological characteristics and quality analysis of Auricularia sinodelicata Qian No. 1 collected from Guizhou were carried out. Auricularia sinodelicata Qian No. 1 was clustered into the Auricularia sinodelicata lineage with high support of 90%. The optimum temperature, carbon source, nitrogen source, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen, and inorganic salt for cultivation of Auricularia sinodelicata Qian No. 1 are 22-25 °C, fructose, yeast powder, 20:4, and magnesium sulfate, respectively. The single factor orthogonal test showed that the best combination of culture medium was brown sugar, yeast powder and magnesium sulfate. Bag culture was conducted by using brood-leaved wood sawdust (78%), wheatbran (15%), rice bran (5%), gypsum powder (0.5%), slaked lime (0.5%) and glucose (1%) as substrate. The growth cycle of domesticated fruiting body needs (52±5) days, and the single bag yield is (300±95) g/FW. The basidiocarp is thick, (107.750±12.697) mm long, (75.96±14.87) mm wide, (13.37±3.49) mm thick, and the rehydration ratio is 8.74±0.28. The basidiocarp contains 8.95 g/100 g of crude protein, 64.9% of total sugar, 10.3% of crude fiber, and 1.5 g/100 g of crude fat. The total amino acid content of basidiocarp is 9.800 4 g/100 g, and the medicinal amino acid (5.45 g/100 g) accounts for 55.61%. Fresh amino acids (2.64 g/100 g) accounted for 26.94%. The chemical score and amino acid score were 26.00 and 40.86 respectively. This study will provide scientific basis for domestic cultivation of wild Auricularia sinodelicata in Guizhou.

Yunnan tropical areas of southwesten China with complex topography and diverse vegetations are endowed with abundant macrofungal resources. In this study, more than 2 100 specimens of wood-inhabiting macrofungi were collected. A total of 668 species, belonging to 245 genera, 67 families, 17 orders and 2 phyla, was identified based on morphological and molecular evidence, including 1 new family, 4 new genera and 64 new species previously published by the authors. Fourteen dominant families with more than 10 species for each family are Polyporaceae, Hymenochaetaceae, Xylariaceae, Steccherinaceae, Auriculariaceae, Hypoxylaceae, Incrustoporiaceae, Phanerochaetaceae, Meruliaceae, Mycenaceae, Fomitopsidaceae, Schizoporaceae, Stereaceae, and Dacrymycetaceae; they include 500 species, accounting for about 74.85% of the total species. There are 34 dominant genera with more that 5 species for each genus, including Hymenochaete, Xylaria, Trametes, Ganoderma, Fuscoporia, Skeletocutis and so on. They include 336 species, accounting for about 50.30% of the total species. Wood-inhabiting macrofungi of the studied areas are of typically tropical properties. There are 27 edible species, 75 medicinal species and 6 poisonous species.

The insects of family Cicadidae, stinging pests of trees such as fruit trees, are of important injurious orchard pests but their symbionts of fungi and cicadas become ecomoically valuable. Our surveys of entomopathogenic fungi in China over recent decades have gathered 102 samples of cicada cadavers which are deposited in the Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Control of Anhui Agricultural University. In this study, 81 fungal cultures were successfully isolated from these cadavers of Cicadidae. Observation of morphological characteristics of the isolates on various media and phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequence of ITS, SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1 and RPB2 were carried out. Experiment results show that these strains parasitizing the Cicadidae belong to 15 species of 6 genera in 3 families. A new Chinese record species, Purpureocillium takamizusanense isolated from adult cicadas, was reported and some Isaria-like strains were referred to Samsoniella hepiali. Chinese known species such as Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium viridulum, Cordyceps chanhua, M. cylindrosporum, C. cateinannulata, C. fumosorosea, B. australis, B. brongniartii, C. tenuipes, M. brunneum and Ophiocordyceps longissima were also identified. Among them B. bassiana, C. chanhua and M. viridulum were dominant, which account for 58% of the total, and the rest twelve species were found to be rare.

The biological characteristics and antioxidant activities of a wild strain of medicinal mushroom Inonotus hispidus were studied. Four single factor test of culture temperature, initial pH, carbon source and nitrogen source, concludes that the optimum culture for solid culture of I. hispidus is 30 °C, initial pH 9.0, carbon and nitrogen sources are sucrose and yeast powder. The L₉ (3³) 3 factor 3 level orthogonal test was used to further study the optimal combination of carbon source content, nitrogen source content and initial pH for solid culture. The results showed that the influence extent to the growth rate of hypha was ordinally nitrogen source content>carbon source content>initial pH, and the optimal combination was sucrose 30 g/L, yeast extract 1 g/L, and initial pH 10.0. The antioxidant activities in the liquid culture of I. hispidus was determined. It was found that the content of polyphenol flavonoids was consistently maintained high level in the 14 days of liquid culture, and the scavenging efficiency of hydroxyl radical, DPPH radical, ABTS radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power were also strong, indicating that the wild Inonotus hispidus owned antioxidant activities to some extent.

A Phellinus orientoasiaticus strain was isolated from basidiomata collected in Shunping County of Hebei Province. The biological characteristics and domestication of this strain were studied. Temperature, initial pH, nitrogen and carbon source were optimized in single factor test. Three optimal levels of four optimal factors were selected for orthogonal experiment to achieve appropriate mycelial culture conditions. Single factor test showed that the optimum growth temperature, initial pH, carbon source, and nitrogen source were 30 °C, pH 5.0, soluble starch, and yeast extract respectively. The orthogonal test indicated that the best combination was temperature of 30 °C, initial pH of 5.0, nitrogen source of yeast extract, and carbon source of sucrose. The appropriate cultivation spawn formula for P. orientoasiaticus was 80% chestnut sawdust, 17% bran, 1% sucrose, 1% quicklime and 1% gypsum. Mycelia were sackful after 45-50 d of cultivation at 25 °C in dark. Primordia differentiated after 7-10 d under the temperature of 25-28 °C and relative air humidity of 90%-95%. The conditions for fruiting body growth stage were kept at temperature of 25-30 °C and relative air humidity of 90%-95%. Fruiting bodies can be harvested after 25-35 d of growth stage.

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.

The ligninase producing capacity of 8 wild white-rot fungal strains was screened by guaiacol screening medium, and the laccase activity and lignocellulose degradation capability of degrading corn straw of the strains initially screened were investigated during solid state fermentation. The 8 strains showed good lignin-degrading enzyme activities on guaiacol screening medium. Only the ratio of colony diameter d1 to photochramic laps d2 of strain Han 577 was greater than 1. The maximum laccase activity of strains An 369, Han 202 and Han 474 on degrading corn straw was (901.11±42.83), (698.89±42.17) and (843.61±78.82) U/L, respectively. The acid insoluble lignin degradation rates of corn straw by Vanderbylia fraxinea An 369, Trametes versicolor An 174, Pleurotus pulmonarius An 279 and Coriolopsis trogii Han 474 were all more than 20%. The cellulose degradation rates of corn straw by T. versicolor An 174, P. pulmonarius An 279 and Perenniporia pyricola Han 202 were all more than 20%. The hemicellulose degradation rates of corn straw by T. gibbosa An 360 and P. pulmonarius An 279 were all more than 40%. On the whole, P. pulmonarius An 279 exhibited the best corn straw degradation efficiency.

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.

Based on morphological and molecular data, a new species Sanghuangporus mongolicus T. Bau sp. nov. is described from Horqin sandy land, Inner Mongolia. Morphologically, it is characterized by perennial, semicircular basidiomata with thin edges, a dimitic hyphal system, and elliptic to broadly elliptic, thick-walled basidiospores measuring 4.2-5×2.7-3.5 μm. The ITS and nrLSU phylogeny shows that Sanghuangporus mongolicus belongs to Sanghuangporus and forms an independent clade. Illustrated description and taxonomic discussion of this new species is given.

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.

To study the uric acid-lowering effects of Sanghuangporus vaninii extracts, the active parts of S. vaninii basidiomata were selected and the functional mechanism was explored. Rat hyperuric acid animal model was established, and SPF male SD rats were randomly divided into 8 experimental groups: normal control group (NC group), model group (Model group), positive control group (PC group), alcohol extract treatment group (CT group), water extract treatment group (ST group), treatment group of water extraction precipitated by 20% ethanol (ST20 group), treatment group of water extraction precipitated by 50% ethanol (ST50 group) and treatment group of water extraction precipitated by 70% ethanol (ST70 group). After continuous intragastric administration for 8 weeks, all rats were euthanized. The levels of uric acid, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, AST (alanine aminotransferase), and ALT (aspartate aminotransferase) in the serum were determined, and the uric acid-lowering effect and protective effect on kidneys of S. vaninii extract were analyzed on the basis of liver-kidney pathological section and immunohistochemical method. Compared with the model group, the levels of serum uric acid, blood urea nitrogen, and ALT in each treatment group of S. vaninii extract were significantly decreased (P<0.05). HE and Masson staining showed that the kidney structure was clear, and the pathological phenomena such as cell necrosis and fibrosis were significantly improved. The uric acid-lowering activity of S. vaninii basidiomata were mainly displayed by the water extract, and the ST20 component of crude polysaccharide had the best uric acid-lowering activity. Immunohistochemical results showed that S. vaninii polysaccharide significantly enhanced the expression level of uric acid transporter ABCG2 in rat kidney tissue. The uric acid-lowering active site of S. vaninii basidiomata is mainly water extraction, and the macromolecular water-extracted polysaccharide ST20 has the best uric acid lowering effect. It is preliminarily proved that S. vaninii polysaccharide can promote uric acid excretion and alleviate the pathological damage of the kidney by activating the ABCG2 transporter in the kidney. S. vaninii polysaccharide as a pharmacological inducer of uric acid transporter ABCG2 can be used as a potential drug for the treatment of gouty arthritis.

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.

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is an important fungal disease of crops. The occurrence and epidemic of this disease limits the yield of rice and threatens the global food security. Apoptosis and autophagy play an important role in the pathogenicity of M. oryzae. Svf1, an anti-apoptosis survival factor, is related to infection in Fusarium graminearum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. However, the function of M. oryzae MoSvf1 is not clear. The phylogenetic study showed that Svf1 was highly conserved in fungi. MoSVF1 gene was deleted and the phenotypes of Mosvf1 mutants were observed. Deletion of MoSVF1 caused reduction of growth rate and abnormality of mycelium morphology, but significantly increased the conidiation. These results indicated that MoSvf1 positively regulated the vegetative growth of M. oryzae and negatively regulated the conidiogenesis. There were no visible defects in appressorium formation or pathogenicity of Mosvf1 mutants. To further study the interaction regulatory network of MoSvf1, MoSvf1-interacted proteins were identified by IP-MS and identified several proteins related to intracellular signal transduction and apoptosis were discovered. The analysis of interactions of MoSvf1 is helpful to further reveal the regulation and action mode of MoSvf1, and to elucidate the fungal growth and apoptosis of M. oryzae.

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.

A comprehensive investigation and evaluation of the macrofungi in the western priority area of the Wuling Mountains was conducted, covering six regions including Chishui, Xishui, Wuchuan, Yinjiang, Jiangkou, and Nanchuan under jurisdiction of Chongqing. Species composition, distribution of dominant genera and species, and the current biodiversity status were analyzed. In total, 1 148 species of macrofungi were recognised, belonging to 2 phyla, 13 classes, 26 orders, 91 families, and 304 genera. Among them, 784 species were newly recorded in the western priority area of the Wuling Mountains. The dominant families were Russulaceae, Polyporaceae, Boletaceae, Agaricaceae, etc., which accounted for 81.27% of the total species; while the dominant genera were Russula, Lactarius, Amanita, Marasmius, Mycena, etc., accounting for 48.69% of the total species. The world-wide distributed and boreal-temperate distributed species were the most common in this area, with 763 and 230 species respectively, accounting for 66.46% and 20.03% of the total species. There were 93 species endemic to China, accounting for 8.1% of the total species. There were 29 species that were considered threatened, vulnerable, or near-threatened, accounting for 2.52% of the total species. This study provides reference for protection and management of ecological environment and biodiversity in the western priority area of Wuling Mountains.

Ramalina sinensis is a widespread lichen in the Northern Hemisphere, and its metabolites have various biological activities such as antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic activities. Complete mitogenome of R. sinensiswe was sequenced, assembled, and annotated for the first time. The mitochondrial genome is of closed-loop structure with total length of 38 265 bp, encoding 42 genes including 15 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 25 tRNA genes. R. sinensis mitochondrial genome had a significant AT preference. Twenty-four tRNAs were successfully predicted as typical cloverleaf structures. Relative synonymous codon usage analysis revealed a significant preference for A/U ending codons. Ramalinaceae collinearity analysis revealed no large gene rearrangements. Comparative analysis of the mitochondrial genomes showed a more intimate evolutionary relationship between R. sinensis and R. intermedia. Fifteen protein-coding genes had different Ka/Ks values, showing there were under different selection pressures. The phylogenetic analysis showed R. sinensis and R. intermedia has close relationship. This study provides basic data for future studies of phylogenetic evolution and genetic diversity of Ramalina.

Strains of Aspergillus and Penicillium isolated from tidal flat sediments in the provinces of Hainan and Liaoning were examined. Five species, namely, Aspergillus pseudotamarii, A. urmiensis, Penicillium antarcticum, P. desertorum and P. labradorum, are encountered and new to China. Their morphological descriptions and illustrations are provided based on observations of these strains. The taxonomic positions are confirmed by sequence analyses of the combined β-tubulin (BenA) and calmodulin (CaM) genes. The results enriched the species diversity of Aspergillaceae in China.

Wolfiporia hoelen is an edible and medicinal fungus that has been cultivated in China for a long time and is cultivated currently on a large scale. However strain degeneration and decrease in yield caused by long-term asexual propagation affected the development of the industry. In order to solve the difficult breeding problem, distinguishing methods of homokaryotic strains and single-spore homokaryotic strain crossbreeding systems were constructed, and the mating system was disclosed in our previous studies. However, the difficulty of fruiting in some strains or attachment of some fruiting bodies to the media resulted in the difficulty of collecting basidiospores still remains unsettled. Therefore, the research on protoplast monokaryogenesis is important and meaningful. In the present study, the two strains, 775 and 776, with distant genetic relationship and different homokaryotic types, were used as experimental strains. Nuclear fluorescence staining revealed that more than 60% of protoplasts had nuclei, and the protoplast regeneration ratio was 7.6% and 11.0% respectively. The regenerative strains with growth stagnancy included both homokaryotic and heterokaryotic strains. The homokaryotic strains were collected with a ratio over 10%, and the homokaryotic strain 776 with different mating type was collected with a ratio of 5:3 with no partial separation (χ²=0.5), and strain 775 with only one mating type was collected with a significant partial separation. By crossing of protoplast homokaryotic strains derived from protoplast and single spore, 25 and 50 hybrids were produced separately, which were confirmed by antagonism tests and rpb2 specific loci. This protoplast homokaryotic strain crossbreeding method built in W. hoelen was proved to be practicable.

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in nature and mainly saprophytic or parasitic on plants causing penicilliosis. Few of them can infect healthy humans with normal immunity. With the increase of patients with immune deficiency in recent years, more and more cases of mankind penicilliosis with a variety of clinical types have been reported. It is not easy for clinicians to make an accurate diagnosis of penicilliosis if they are unfamiliar with these fungi. This retrospective paper are based on related literature in Medline and Chinese Literature Database, concerning pathogenic species, regional distribution, risk factors, clinical manifestations, drug sensitivity, diagnosis and treatment of penicilliosis. In total, 20 species of pathogenetic Penicillium were reported currently, including Penicillium bicolor, P. bertai, P. brevicompactum, P. casei, P. citrinum, P. chrysogenum, P. commune, P. crustaceum, P. cyclopium, P. citreonigrum, P. capsulatum, P. decumbens, P. digitatum, P. emersonii, P. glaucum, P. janthinellum, P. lilanicum, P. purpurogenum, P. roqueforti and P. spinulosum. The clinical manifestation includes pulmonary infection, peritonium infection, endophthalmitis, endocarditis, central nervous system infection, keratitis, fungemia, urinary tract infection, otitis, esophagitis, paravertebral infection, periprosthetic joint infection, nasosinusitis, disseminated infection, skin infection, onychomycosis and so on. They can also cause a variety of allergic diseases as allergens. Clinical isolates of Penicillium spp. are generally sensitive to echinocandins, moderately resistant to amphotericin B, and posaconazole is the most sensitive azoles. This article aims at providing reference for a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of penicilliosis and clinical diagnosis concerned.

In June 2021, a suspected cobweb disease was found in a Ganoderma sinense culture base in Nanning, Guangxi, China. Based on tissue isolation method, multi-gene phylogenetic analysis (ITS, RPB2, TEF1), morphological characters and Koch’s postulates, the pathogen was identified as Cladobotryum protrusum. The best medium for hyphal growth was PDA, and the optimal carbon source and nitrogen source were respectively soluble starch and yeast extract powder; The optimum growth temperature and pH were 25 ℃ and 6, respectively. Darkness is benefical to hyphal growth. This is the first report of C. protrusum causing cobweb on cultivated G. sinense.

A high-efficiency cellulose-degrading fungus was screened from soil litter of poplar plantation in Dongtai, Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. The fungus formed large transparent circles on a selective medium using cellulose as a carbon source. Based on the morphology and ITS phylogenetic analysis, the fungus was identified as a strain of the genus Flavodon, named Flavodon sp. x10. The mycelia of the strain were white and produced no spores. The activities of the filter paper enzyme, endo-β-glucanase, avicelase, and β-glucosidase, were 0.138 8, 0.359 2, 0.135 8, and 0.122 1 U/mL, respectively. The addition of 20.0 g/L glucose, 5.0 g/L protein, 0.01 g/L vitamin B₁, 1.0 g/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 0.5 g/L magnesium sulfate hetahydrate, 0.2 g/L calcium carbonate, and 0.3 g/L zinc sulphate hetahydrate could greatly improve the enzyme production capacity of the strain. Comparative analysis of the enzyme activity data shows that, avicelase plays a leading role in cellulose degradation, and β-glucosidase a secondary role, while endo-β-glucanase has a relatively low effect on cellulose degradation. Hopefully Flavodon sp. x10 can be used as a potential valuable strain for cellulose biodegradation.

Endocarpon and Placidium are important components of Verrucariaceae. A taxonomic study on these two genera based on phenotypic characters and molecular data demonstrates one species new to science, Placidium patellare, and three species new to China, Endocarpon adsurgens, E. neopallidulum, and E. rogersii. Detailed descriptions and feature photos of these taxa are provided.

A wild strain of Sanghuangporus collected from Quanshuidong forest farm of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province was identified as Sanghuangporus vaninii according to morphological and phylogenetic evidences. The effects of carbon and nitrogen source, pH value, and temperature on the mycelial growth of the wild strain were investigated by single factor test and optimized by orthogonal experiments. The results showed that the optimal carbon source and nitrogen source was sucrose and yeast extract powder respectively, the optimal pH was 5.0, and the optimal temperature was 29 °C. The domestic cultivation study of the wild strain was carried out, and the mycelial growth rate, primordium differentiation time, agronomic traits and yield of the strain were compared with those of domestically cultivated strains of S. vaninii, S. baumii and S. sanghuang. The comparison results showed that under the same culture conditions, the hyphae of the wild S. vaninii had the fastest growth rate and the best growth vigour; the primordia were rapidly differentiated. The agronomic traits showed excellent and high yielding. S. baumii showed the slowest in hyphal growth, and less in fruiting body yield. S. sanghuang comparatively grow fast but the yield of fruiting bodies was lowest. The wild strain of S. vaninii was named as SH14, and it might become a substitute for the current cultivars of S. vaninii.

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.

Lanmaoa asiatica is a rare edible and medicinal fungus in Yunnan Province, which belongs to ectomycorrhizal fungi, and part of its mycelia could kink together to form primordia on pure media. In order to reveal the potential substances regulating the development of primordia, three metabolomics techniques, ¹H-NMR, GC-MS and LC-MS, were used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the differential substances between the mycelia and the primordia cultured for 35 days, in combination with SMICA-P software. The results showed that 96 significantly or extremely significantly up-regulated substances such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, tryptophan, 4-aminobutyric acid, betaine, trehalose and so on were detected in mycelia; analysis of the regulatory pathways showed these differential substances might involve 22 important pathways in the development of primordia. According to KEGG enrichment analysis, glutamate is involved in all regulatory pathways with P<0.05, so it is speculated that glutamate plays an important role in the regulation of primordium development. By adding 0.16 g/L glutamate in the media, the germination and growth of primordia were promoted. The above results provide reference for development of artificial breeding of Lanmaoa asiatica.

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.

Ganoderma sinense ‘Wanzizhi No. 1’, Ganoderma sinense ‘Wanzizhi No. 2’ and Auricularia heimuer ‘Wanheimuer No. 2’, high-quality cultivars obtained through preferential selection of systematic breeding from wild strains in southern Anhui are reported. The fruiting body of ‘Wanzizhi No. 1’ is purple-red and that of ‘Wanzizhi No. 2’ is purple-black. Both of them are suitable for cultivation in southern Anhui with high yield of fruiting bodies and strong resistance to miscellaneous harmful bacteria and fungi. The fruiting bodies of ‘Wanheimuer No. 2’ are rounded or bowl-shaped, comparatively thick, with light brown color. Besides, it is high-yielding and resistant to higher temperature.

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%).

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.

Methionine plays a crucial role in various biological processes in fungi, bacteria and plants. FgMETB encodes a cystathionine gamma-synthase, which is essential for methionine biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum. In this study, the deletion mutant strains of FoMETB, a homologue of F. graminearum FgMETB, in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (Foc4) were obtained by using homologous recombination technology. The FoMETB deletion mutant strains were unable to grow on minimal medium containing SO₄^2- as the sole sulphur source. Supplementation of 1 mmol/L methionine, but not 1 mmol/L cysteine, rescued the defect of mycelial growth of FoMETB deletion mutant. These results indicated that the enzyme encoded by FoMETB is involved in conversion of cysteine into methionine. In addition, the FoMETB deletion mutant strains showed significant reduction in aerial hypha growth, conidiation, dry weight of mycelium and virulence attacking banana plantlets. This study indicated that FoMETB plays a critical role in regulation of various biological processes in Foc4. This key synthase FoMETB in methionine synthesis is desirable as a new potential antifungal drug target.