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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ten fungal isolates from the healthy rhizomes of Polygonatum cyrtonema naturally distributed in Xianyushan Nature Reserve of Qimen County in Anhui Province were identified based on colony and mycelial characteristics in the absence of conidia and sporogenous structures and molecular phylogenetic analysis. Five species in Neosetophoma, namely new species, N. endophyticum, N. polygonatum and N. qimenensis, and known species, N. poaceicola and N. guiyangensis were identified; besides, Setophoma caverna was also identified. The isolates were deposited in the Research Center for Entomogenous Fungi (RCEF) at Anhui Agricultural University.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 enzyme production capacity of a strain of Schizophyllum commune was measured. Fading reaction and red brown oxidation ring of S. commune appeared on aniline blue and guaiacol plate indicated that the strain had strong ability to produce peroxidase and laccase. On the basis of single factor test and uniform test, artificial neural network algorithm was used to optimize the enzyme production conditions of liquid fermentation. The result showed that the optimized laccase activity reached 29.385 U/mL. The laccase activity reached the maximum of 48.333 U/mL in bagful time of cultivation using cornstalks as substrate. The lignin degrading enzymes were mainly laccase, which had broad development and application prospects in industry and agriculture.

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.

Based on systematic resource investigation, species identification, and literature arrangement, the checklist of poisonous mushrooms in Beijing was complied. The poisonous mushrooms were classified according to the poisoning type. Scientific name, Chinese name, and references of each poisonous mushroom are provided. By 2023, 130 poisonous mushrooms have been found in Beijing, causing five known damage types. However, there are still some poisoning types difficult to confirm. The most toxic mushrooms to be concerned are Amanita subjunquillea and Lepiota brunneoincarnata, which can cause acute liver failure, as well as Amanita oberwinklerana, which can lead to acute renal failure.

A new species, Coltricia wuyiensis, is described from eastern China on the basis of morphological examination and molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and nuclear large subunit (nLSU) ribosomal RNA gene regions indicates that the new species is nested within the genus Coltricia in the order Hymenochaetales. Coltricia wuyiensis is characterized by the centrally stipitate basidiomata with even margin, orange brown to reddish brown pileal surface with concentric zones and clay-buff to fawn pore surface when fresh, loosely interwoven to subparallel tramal hyphae, sometimes septate basidioles, and broadly ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 4.3-5.5×3.7-4.4 µm. Phylogenetically it is closely related to C. minima, but the latter species has aseptate basidioles and bigger basidiospores (6-7×4-5 µm vs. 4.3-5.5×3.7-4.4 µm). An identification key to accepted species of Coltricia in China is given.

Based on the analysis of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, 2 996 metabolites were detected from basidiomata of Sanghuangporus vaninii cultivated with mixed sawdust and mulberry sawdust, including 628 differential metabolites of which 435 were upregulated and 193 downregulated. The metabolites were mainly organic acids and their derivatives, organic heterocyclic compounds, lipids and lipoid molecules, organic oxygen-containing compounds, benzene ring compounds, phenylpropanoids and polyketides, nucleotides and their analogs, amino acids, and glycosides. KEEG metabolic pathway analyses showed that there were 5 significantly different metabolic pathways primarily focusing on carbohydrate metabolism, including pentose phosphate pathway, fructose and mannose metabolism, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis, thiamine metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism. It was found that the addition of mulberry sawdust could significantly promote the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites in the basidiomata of S. vaninii, and thereby this result provides technical support for the precise cultivation and development of S. vaninii.

Seventy isolates of Diporthe fungi from healthy Camellia oleifera leaves were obtained by using tissue isolation method. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of five fragment sequences (ITS, TEF, TUB, CAL, HIS), eight representative isolates were identified as six species, D. biguttulata, D. eres, D. hongkongensis, D. fusicola, D. qimenensis sp. nov. and D. reniformis sp. nov. β-Type conidia were not observed in the two new species. D. reniformis produces distinct reniform conidia.

Huishuhua (maitake) is a macrofungus with high edible and medicinal values in China. It was commonly recognized as Grifola frondosa. A total of 45 huishuhua samples from East Asia, Europe and North America was analyzed on the basis of morphological and multi-gene phylogenetic methods. The results showed that highly supported clades of huishuhua samples were corresponding to each continent, indicating that genetic differences existed to a certain extent among strains from different regions. All huishuhua strains isolated from China nested in the East Asian clade. The European and North American clade members are not yet found in China. The East Asian huishuhua was described in Japan as G. albicans, and this has been once regarded as a synonym of G. frondosa. Because most wild and cultivated huishuhua in China has dark-colored pileus, a new form G. albicans f. huishuhua is thereby proposed. Holotype specimen and extype strain of this form are designated (voucher specimen HBAU15778, voucher strain HBAU LM502).

In order to explore the underlying mechanism of fruiting body formation and development of Pleurotus ostreatus, the small molecular metabolites in primordia and newly differentiated fruiting bodies were investigated through metabolomics approaches. All the 545 metabolites including phenolic acids, lipids, amino acids and their derivatives, nucleotides and their derivatives, organic acids, alkaloids, tannins, lignans and coumarins, and others were identified. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed a significant difference between metabolites of primordia and newly differentiated fruiting bodies. A total of 253 significantly differential metabolites was screened and identified under the conditions of VIP (varible importance in the projection) ≥1 and fold change ≥2 or ≤0.5, involving in 76 pathways. It was inferred that the deep transformation and regulation of components were accomplished via tryptophan metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, lysine degradation, d-arginine and d-ornithine metabolism, biotin metabolism, tropane, piperidine and pyridine alkaloid biosynthesis, tyrosine metabolism, purine metabolism, propanoate metabolism and isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathways. This study will provide a theoretical basis for exploring the developmental mechanism of Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting body.

Active substances of Ganoderma lingzhi are the material basis for the different functions of G. lingzhi. During the growth process of G. lingzhi, the content of active substances dynamically changes with the growth of basidiomata, and affects the quality and efficacy of G. lingzhi. Wood log cultivation is one of the two main cultivation modes of G. lingzhi, and the basidioma have a long growth cycle and accumulation time of active substances. Studying the changes of active substances during the growth stage has a positive significance for the efficient utilization of G. lingzhi materials. Currently, related reports have mainly focused on polysaccharides and triterpenoids, with little attention concerning other bioactive components of G. lingzhi, and the growth cycle covered was not complete enough. Therefore, there was limited understanding of the complete dynamic changes of each substance. This study analyzed the dynamic changes of active substances in the samples collected at scheduled time during nine stages of basidioma growth within 120 days from primordium formation stage to the end of sporulation. The summary is as follows: the content of total polysaccharides and twelve triterpenoid compounds in G. lingzhi was the highest in the primordium formation stage, rapidly decreased with growth, and became stable in the later stage of sporulation; the content of ergosterol was the highest during the primordium formation stage, rapidly decreased with growth, and slightly increased during the sporulation period; the content of uridine, uracil, and water-soluble protein/polypeptide continuously declined with the growth of basidiomata until the lowest, while adenosine changed undulately with the peak appearing in 60 days when G. lingzhi sporulation began. The total antioxidant capacity was weak during the primordium stage, and strong during the later stage of basidioma growth. This study elucidated the dynamic changes in the content and activity of the main active substances at the entire growth stage of G. lingzhi basidiomata, and provided a theoretical basis for guiding the production and efficient development and utilization of G. lingzhi.

Lentinan is a kind of polymer dextran purified and extracted from Lentinula edodes and has medicinal value. In this study, Lentinula edodes xin808 was used as the research object to explore the differences in the growth rate, biomass, polysaccharide content, mycelial and extracellular enzyme activity and gene expression of key enzymes for polysaccharide synthesis under different concentrations of exogenous trehalose treatment. The results showed that under the treatment of trehalose at a concentration of 2.5 mg/mL, the hyphal biomass and polysaccharide content in Lentinula edodes xin808 were significantly higher than those in the CK (control), while no significant difference was observed in the mycelium growth rate (P<0.05). The activities of extracellular enzymes such as lignin peroxidase, laccase, cellulase, manganese peroxidase and hemicellulase and intracellular enzymes including glucokinase, phosphoglucomutase and phospho-glucose isomerase involved in regulating the synthesis of mycelial polysaccharides of the strain xin808 were significantly higher than those of the control. The expression of LENED_003770, LENED_004424, LENED_005589, LENED_010922 and LENED_012941 genes of key enzymes for polysaccharide synthesis were significantly upregulated as compared with that of the control, while the expression of LENED_009143 gene was significantly down-regulated. The results proved that the exogenous trehalose with proper concentration could effectively increase the production of lentinan, being beneficial to the synthesis and accumulation of lentinan.

The inhibitory effects of different polar extracts of Sanghuangporus vaninii (water, ethanol, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and extraction residual water extracts) on the production of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by LPS were evaluated. The inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication and entry by ethanol and water extract of S. vaninii was appraised. The expression level of nucleocapsid protein was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western Blot using Vero as host cells. The results indicated that the ethanol, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water extracts of S. vaninii showed good anti-inflammatory effects, and the inhibitory effect was significantly enhanced with the increase of concentration, and the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α produced by RAW264.7 cells stimulated by LPS were significantly reduced. The ethanol extract and water extract of S. vaninii significantly inhibited viral replication by inhibiting the expression level of nucleocapsid protein in SARS-CoV-2.

Macrofungi play essential roles in ecosystems, but the seasonal dynamics of macrofunal communities in forests remain unclear. Macrofungal community componets of five forest types in different seasons in Ji’an National Nature Reserve (Jilin, China) were analyzed on the basis of collections made from 2019 to 2021. Environmental variables of selected plots in the five typical vegetation types were evaluated. In total, 1 325 specimens were identifed by using morphological and molecular biology methods, and 293 species belonging to 125 genera, 68 families, 18 orders, 6 classes, and 2 phyla were obtained. Russulaceae (37 species, 12.63% of the total), Amanitaceae (26 species, 8.87%), Tricholomataceae (20 species, 6.83%), and Boletaceae (19 species, 6.48%) were the most diverse family. Lactarius (19 species, 6.48% of the total), Amanita (16 species, 5.46%), Russula (16 species, 5.46%), and Cortinarius (14 species, 4.78%) were dominant. Diversity indices of macrofungi showed increasing trends from Pinus koraiensis forests to Quercus mongolica forests. The cumulative species richness was ranked as: Q. mongolica forest>broadleaf mixed forest>Q. mongolica and P. koraiensis mix forest (Q. mongolica as the dominant species) >P. koraiensis and Q. mongolica mix forest (P. koraiensis as the dominant species)>P. koraiensis forest. Agarics (204 species, 69.62% of the total) were the dominant group of macrofungi, and they were mainly found in Q. mongolica forest in August and influenced by soil temperature, air temperature, soil moisture, and the cover degree of Q. mongolica, especially significantly influenced by soil temperature (P<0.05). It is found that most macrofungi have a preference for forest types with a relatively high cover degree of Q. mongolica. Therefore, the deliberate protection of Q. mongolica forests is beneficial to maintaining macrofungal diversity.

Naematelia aurantialba, a rare jelly edible fungus of the Tremellales order, is endemic to China and is often used as traditional medicine and food due to its exceptional nutritional value and biological activity. It is a heterothallic basidiomycete with a tetrapolar mating system. However, the structures of mating loci have not been characterized. In this study, the genome of four different mating types of monokaryotic strains of N. aurantialba was sequenced by second generation sequencing technology, and mating type A and B loci were searched and compared with those of other macrofungi by bioinformatics method based on genomic data. The results showed that there were two A mating-type loci and two B mating-type loci in these monokaryons. All two A mating-type loci contain a pair of HD1 and HD2 genes arranged in a typical ‘head-to-head’ manner and the synteny of several genes’ upstream and downstream of A loci was higher as compared with that of other fungi, including conserved Oxidoreductase and PRL22 genes. However, the mip and β-fg genes are not closely linked to the HD gene and are not located on both sides of it. All two B mating-type loci contain a pheromone receptor and a pheromone precursor gene. Upon comparison of the B1 and B2 loci, it was discovered that the STE3 and phB genes at the B1 locus were situated in close proximity with one RVT_1 gene located upstream of phB. In contrast, at the B2 locus, three genes were inserted between the STE3 and phB genes, and the STE12 gene was absent from the B1 locus. Compared with B loci in other fungi, the synteny of B loci was poor, indicating that B loci were highly variable in different fungi. The gene for the pheromone receptor NaSTE3-3 is present in all four monokaryons, however, the gene for the pheromone precursor is not located in upstream or downstream, and the B mating type site is not present on the same contig. These results obtained would help us to understand the mating locus structures of N. aurantialba, being helpful to genetic breeding of this mushroom.

Three new cultivars of Auricularia cornea, ‘Chuaner 206’, ‘Chuanear 208’ and ‘Chuanear 213’, were obtained by systematic selection breeding. ‘Chuaner 206’ was characterized by the predominantly reddish-brown ventral side and the brownish-yellow dorsal side of fresh basidiomata; ‘Chuanear 208’ was characterized by dark reddish-brown ventral side and grayish-yellow dorsal side of fresh basidiomata. The predominant color of fresh basidiomata of ‘Chuaner 213’ was light yellow on the ventral side and white on the dorsal side. The three new cultivars were suitable for cultivation in Chengdu, Deyang and similar climate areas.

Tulosesus is the second largest genus next to Coprinopsis in the number of known species of coprinoid fungi. Its main characteritics are that both the cap and the stipe present cystidiate. It is treated as an independent genus separating from Coprinellus recently, while its phylogenetic position and framework are still controversial. From 2021 to 2023, we have carried out a nationwide field research, and found more than 20 species of Tulosesus in China. In this paper, 10 species new to China are reported and illustrated with line drawings, viz. Tulosesus brevisetulosus, T. canistri, T. cinereopadillus, T. fuscocystidiatus, T. marculentus, T. pellucidus, T. plagioporus, T. sabulicola, T. sassii and T. velatopruinatus. Using ITS and LSU sequence datasets, the phylogenetic framework of this genus was inferred. The results show that Tulosesus is a monophyletic genus composed of three independent subgenus lineages. Combined with morphological characteristics, the characteristics of each lineage of this genus were preliminarily clarified.

Mycelium-based cushioning materials are one of the most potential substitutes to petroleum-based cushioning packaging materials due to their renewable and eco-friendly characteristics. However, poor cushioning properties of these materials restrict their commercialization. To improve the performance of mycelium-based materials, a novel technology for the preparation of mycelium-based materials was proposed. The main substrate (maize straw) was pretreated by microwave and alkali, so that the physical structure and chemical composition of the Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium substrate were improved. This promotes the growth of mycelium and thereby improves the performance of the mycelium-based materials. Compared with alkali pretreatment, microwave pretreatment can produce more holes on the surface of the corn straw particles and the diameter of the holes is closer to that of the mycelia. Thus, the bond between the mycelia and the corn straw becomes stronger, therefore the performance of the material is better. The resilience of the microwave-pretreated mycelium-based material (MTM) was approximately 50%, 1.3 times that of the untreated material (UTM) and 1.1 times that of the alkali-pretreated material (ATM). Compressive strength of MTM is about 600 kPa, about 40% and 20% higher than that of UTM and ATM, respectively. This method has improved the cushioning properties of the mycelium-based material, offering the possibility of replacing polystyrene as a cushioning material.

Spider is a general term for all species of the order Arachnoidea in the phylum Arthropoda, and the fungi parasitized spider is called araneopathogenic fungi. Spider pathogenic fungi play an irreplaceable role in continuously controlling spider populations and maintaining ecological balance, and some species are rich in various biological activities and have important economic value. In this study, classical morphological and molecular systematics classification methods were combined to identify specimens and isolated strains from various forest ecosystems based on the latest entomopathogenic fungal classification system for revealing species diversity of spider pathogenic fungi in China. More than 80 specimens of spider pathogenic fungi from all over the country are available, and 2 families, 8 genera, and 21 species are identified, including 3 new species (published elsewhere), 7 unknown species and 1 new Chinese recorded species. Among them, Purpureocillium is dominant genus, with relative abundance of 26.25%; Secondly Gibellula, with relative abundance of 20.00%. Only one species (one specimen) is found for Akanthomyces. Some Isaria-like strains were referred to Akanthomyces sp. and Samsoniella spp. Chlorocillium griseum was reported for the first time in China. According to relevant literature on spider pathogenic fungi that has been published worldwide, a total of 18 genera and 119 species has been published, and all distributed in the Hypocreales of Ascomycota. Most species belong to Cordycipitaceae, with approximately 12 genera and 106 species. A few are distributed in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae, with 4 genera and 11 species; there is only one species in Bionectiaceae, and one species in Chlorocillium that classification status is situated between Ophiocordycipitaceae and the Clavicipitaceae. No species has been discovered in Clavicipitaceae yet.

Content of total polyphenols, triterpenoids and ergosterol of ethanol extracts from basidiomata of different sanghuang species, Sanghuangporus baumii, S. vaninii, S. sanghuang (wild) and Inonotus hispidus from Anhui, Zhejiang, Jilin, Shanxi and Shandong provinces, were compared. The results showed that there were apparent differences in the content of total polyphenols, triterpenoids and ergosterol in basidiomata from different sources. The highest content of total polyphenols was tested in S. vaninii from Zhejiang (1.99%), the highest content of triterpenoids was tested in I. hispidus from Shandong (1.32%), and the highest content of ergosterol was tested in S. vaninii from Jilin (0.19%). Malondialdehyde (MDA) was used as an index to compare the antioxidant activities of different species of sanghuang. The extracts of all tested species showed good inhibitory effects on the production of MDA in rat liver microsomal lipid peroxidase, of which the extract of S. vaninii from Zhejiang had the highest antioxidant activity (96.53%). Nineteen compounds from the aforementioned samples were identified by liquid chromatography-ion trap-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-IT-TOF-MS). Among them, the metabolites of basidiomata of S. vaninii from Zhejiang, S. vaninii from Jilin and S. baumii from Anhui were similar, which were mainly composed of the hispidin derivatives. Sanghuangporus sanghuang (wild) basidiomata mainly contained hispidin derivatives, but the structure types of the derivatives were different from those of aforementioned samples. There was a large quantity of hispidin in basidiomata of I. hispidus from Shandong, and the content of hispidin derivatives was low. In conclusion, the apparent differences in structure types and content of active metabolites as well as their antioxidant activities were observed from different species or localities of sanghuang. This study provides scientific references for the development of antioxidant products of sanghuang species.

Colletotrichum fructicola is a major causal pathogen of oil-tea tree. The purpose of this study is to investigate the biological function of the RNA-binding proteins CfNop12 of C. fructicola and provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of oil-tea tree anthracnose. Based on the principle of homologous recombination, the CfNOP12 gene knockout vector fragment was constructed and transformed into the protoplast of C. fructicola to get the mutant strain of ΔCfnop12. The mutant strain was verified by PCR amplification. The PCR-amplified CfNOP12 gene-containing complement of the promoter was taken to construct a complementary vector fragment which was transformed into the mutant protoplasts. The complemented strain was screened by fluorescence. The biological phenotypes of wild-type strain, the ΔCfnop12 mutant and the gene complementation ΔCfnop12-C were measured. The results showed that the vegetative growth, conidiation, and appressorium formation rate of ΔCfnop12 was significantly lower than those of the wild-type strain and the complemented strain. Compared with the wild-type strain, the CfNOP12 gene deletion mutant was more sensitive to osmotic stress and cell wall-damaging agents. At the low temperature, the growth rate of the mutant was markedly slowed down. In addition, the distribution of chitin of the mutant was not aggregated at the tip of mycelium. Taken together, our investigation reveals that the RNA-binding protein CfNop12 plays a critical role in development, cold stress response and pathogenicity of C. fructicola.

Flammulina filiformis is one of the edible fungi protected by the law of Protection List of New Varieties of Plants. The intellectual property protection of varieties is highly valued, and there is an urgent need for accurate, reliable, stable, and operable variety identification technologies to provide technical support for the protection of intellectual property rights of varieties. The study used the genome resequencing data of 42 F. filiformis strains to construct a database containing 428 polynucleotide polymorphism (MNP) molecular markers, and analyzed the genetic similarity between the test strains. The results showed that the genetic similarity of the 12 strains used by domestic cultivators was 100%, implying that domestic F. filiformis production varieties are highly homogeneous. The genetic similarity among the 12 wild strains ranged from 0.23% to 29.44% (except for F17 and F18, whose similarity was 100%), reflecting the rich genetic diversity of wild F. filiformis. The identification results of MNP molecular markers were also compared with the results of antagonistic experiments and ISSR molecular markers, reflecting the advantages of high sensitivity, good stability, and small workload of MNP molecular marker strain identification technology. Therefore, this identification technology can provide technical support for the intellectual property protection of F. filiformis varieties in China.

In order to obtain the best preparation process of selenium polysaccharide from selenium-enriched Auricularia heimuer mycelium, A. heimuer strains Jiufeng, Heifeng and Xizang 6 were used as materials, and selenium tolerance and gradient concentration selenium enrichment screening, single factor test, response interview design analysis, and antioxidant determination were carried out for extraction and process-optimization of selenium polysaccharide from the mycelia. Antioxidant determination method was used to examine antioxidant activity of selenium polysaccharide. The results showed that ‘Jiufeng’ had the strongest selenium tolerance among the three A. heimuer strains. Selenium enriched fermentation experiment indicated that the total selenium content of A. heimuer mycelia was the highest when the selenium concentration was 60 μg/mL. The optimal conditions for selenium polysaccharide extraction were: ultrasonic time of 25.4 min, water bath time of 56 min, and material to liquid ratio of 1:49 (g:mL). Under this condition, the extraction rate of selenium polysaccharide was (17.49±0.10)%. Selenium-enriched A. heimuer mycelial polysaccharide has certain scavenging ability to DPPH and hydroxyl radicals, and shows strong reducing ability in the total reducing power test. The research results provide a preliminary theoretical basis for the selenium enriched culture of A. heimuer strains, and extraction of selenium polysaccharides from A. heimuer mycelia.