Geastrum belongs to Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Geastrales, and Geastraceae. It attracted mycologists’ attention by its peculiar appearance, ecological and medicinal value. Based on morphological observation combined with phylogenetic analysis of ITS-LSU-rpb1-atp6, two new species of Geastrum, G. yanshanense (in Sect. Myceliostroma) and G. beijingense (in Sect. Exareolata), were found and described from Yanshan Mountains. Three additional known species were identified, G. fimbriatum, G. velutinum and G. schmidelii. The other six Geastrum species distributed in Yanshan Mountains recorded in literature and HMAS need to be further verified by molecular methods.
The influence of gut microbiota on host health depends on factors such as diet, environment, and host. Illumina MiSeq platform was used to sequence the ITS segment of the fecal fungi of Siberian musk deer and forest musk deer in winter and summer in order to explore the structural characteristics of fungal community and determine the influence of seasonal factors on the fungal diversity. The results showed that Ascomycota in the feces of forest musk deer and Siberian musk deer was dominant, and the relative abundance was not significantly differernt in both animal species and nearly unchanging seasonally. However, the both animals showed great differences in fungal α-diversity and β-diversity. It was also showed that the diversity of fungi in the feces of Siberian musk deer and forest musk deer in winter was higher than that in summer, and there were significant differences in the richness of the microbiota. Seasonally, the relative abundances of Mortierellomycota in the gut fungi of Siberian musk deer were significantly different. This is the first report on the composition of the fungal community in the feces of Siberian musk deer, providing reference for searching the nutritional level of musk deer.
Trichoderma strains were isolated and identified from insect guts and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was used as a target fungus in order to obtain additional biocontrol resources against mango anthracnose. Trichoderma strains with antagonistic effects on C. gloeosporioides were screened by dual confrontation culture and inhibitory effects of the volatile and non-volatile substances against the pathogen. The control effects of conidium suspension of Trichoderma on mango anthracnose was determined under laboratory condition. As a result, 10 Trichoderma strains were isolated from 105 samples of insect guts, and they were identified as Trichoderma harzianum (3 strains), Trichoderma longibrachiatum (3 strains), Trichoderma asperellum (3 strains), and Trichoderma ghanense (1 strain), based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of Tef1-Rpb2. T. ghanense HNDF-T-6 showed the best antagonistic effects against C. gloeosporioides in dual culture (85.64%) and the inhibitory rate of volatile and non-volatile substances against mycelia growth were 38.42% and 44.01% respectively. The leaf spot diameter was reduced by 46.04% after treating with conidium suspension of T. ghanense HNDF-T-6 under indoor condition. Our results indicated that T. ghanense HNDF-T-6 has biocontrol potential against mango anthracnose.
In order to reveal the characteristics of resistance to apple scab at the level of histocytology, the changes of leaf tissue and cell structure of apple resistant cultivar “Qinguan” and susceptible cultivar “Gala” were systematically observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after inoculating the hosts with conidial suspension of Venturia inaequalis. The results of SEM observation showed that hypha of pathogen grew and expanded along the veins of host leaf in 48 hours after inoculation, and invaded into leaf tissue directly or from stomata. TEM observation showed that the leaf cuticle thickness of “Qinguan” was significantly thicker than that of “Gala”, and the average cuticle thickness of “Qinguan” was 1.75 μm while that of “Gala” was 1.06 μm. It was observed that the hyphae of Venturia inaequalis expanded intercellularly in the mesophyll resulting in palisade cells shrank, loosely arranged, decreased in number, and the chloroplasts were deformed and thereby seriously damaged the cultivar “Gala”. Large starch granules appeared and intracellular substances leaked out, resulting in seriously cell necrosis in the later stage. A similar phenomenon also occurred in “Qinguan”, but the degree of cells damage was obviously alleviated. The research results indicated the cultivar “Qinguan” was able to resist to pathogen’s penetration and extension and delay the development of scab pathogenesis, and hopefully can be used as scab-resistant breeding material.
Improving the ability of resistance of entomogenous fungal spores to heat stress is critical for effectiveness of biocontrol. The effect of carbon sources on the growth, blastopore production and thermotolerance of Cordyceps fumosorosea IF-1106 was investigated. Maltose, soluble starch, sucrose, glucose, and fructose were selected as carbon sources, and the mycelial growth, sporulation and thermotolerance of the produced blastospores were evaluated under liquid cultures condition. The results show that the mycelial yield, sporulation and thermotolerance of blastospores are significantly impacted by different carbon sources at different concentrations in the media. Sucrose was advantageous for blastospore production and thermotolerance. The blastospore production reached 3.43×107 spores/mL in liquid culture for 3 days at sucrose concentration of 40 g/L and the LT50 was 1.65 h under 45 °C heat stress. The trehalose in the spores was extracted and quantitatively analyzed by ion chromatography. It was found that the trehalose content in the spores with high heat resistance was generally low, indicating that trehalose is an endogenous substance related to the thermotolerance of blastospores. In summary, choosing an appropriate medium is an effective way to regulate the heat resistance of blastospores and useful for production of high heat-resistant biocontrol preparations of Cordyceps fumosorosea.
This study focuses on cultivation and domestication of Vanderbylia cinnamomea, screening the optimal culture formula and revealing the biological development characteristics of different growing stage of fruiting bodies of this fungus. Eight formulations were designed, using industrial hemp wastes, Gastrodia elata trash, sawdust of poplar and oak as culture substrate. The results showed that the industrial hemp wastes and G. elata trash were unable to cultivate V. cinnamomea; industrial hemp waste formula could produce luxuriant generative hyphae without formation of basidiomata, and the propagation of mycelia was fast; V. cinnamomea successfully fructified on poplar and oak sawdust substrate, and the substrate formulation was 70% oak sawdust, 20% corn cob, and 10% auxiliary materials; the optimal growth temperature was about 25 °C, and the humidity 90%-95%; it was needed to ventilate culture sack once in the morning and evening and to supplement the scattered light irradiation. The primordia formed in small white projection, and then formed a larger lump, then the fruiting body gradually formed; the fruiting body changed from white to light yellow finally to brown, and stopped growing and became mature in 32 days.
To construct a recombinant nuclear localization (NL) expression system for Coprinopsis cinerea, the NL sequence (NLS) of histone H2B was determined by amino acid sequence alignment and informatics analysis. The recombinant expression vector of fusion green fluorescent protein (GFP) with the NLS of histone H2B was constructed and transferred into C. cinerea AmutBmut strain to examine whether this NLS can guide GFP expression to the nucleus. The results showed that the codon-optimized GFP gene was expressed to produce green fluorescence under the control of the β-tubulin promoter of C. cinerea. Furthermore, NLS from histone H2Bb (CC1G_07639) can successfully induce GFP expression in the nucleus. In this study, a recombinant NL expression system for C. cinerea with proven efficiency was constructed. Our findings are beneficial to optimizing the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system and further exploring the mechanisms of fruiting body formation in C. cinerea.
The residue of fruiting body of Clitocybe squamulosa after extraction by hot water was used to extract alkali soluble polysaccharides. Digestion and anaerobic fermentation experiments under in vitro simulated conditions were carried out to explore the digestion characteristics of the alkali soluble polysaccharides and the effect of the polysaccharides on the content of short chain fatty acids in intestinal tract. The results showed that there was no significant change in the functional group structure of polysaccharides after digestion by simulating saliva and gastrointestinal digestive juice in vitro; however, the bulk structure of the alkali soluble polysaccharide disintegrated, the molecular weight decreased [from (14.04±0.21) to (10.48±0.26) kDa], and reducing sugar content increased [from (0.06±0.01) to (0.92±0.01) mmol/L]. Under the condition of anaerobic fermentation in vitro, OD600 in fermentation broth increased significantly (P<0.05), while total sugar content and pH decreased significantly (P<0.05). The total amount of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increased [from (1.40±0.06) to (7.90±0.16) mmol/L]. The results show that the alkali soluble polysaccharides can be effectively absorbed and utilized by human intestinal microflora, and can be used as functional food to promote intestinal health.
In order to understand the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and autophagy cytological characteristics during brown film (BF) formation and postripeness of mycelium in Lentinula edodes, the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS), MDA content, and the concentration of NADPH oxidase at four time points (d30, d45, d60, d75) were analyzed. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, the phenotype of exogenous ractive oxygen species, and DPI were tested and the autophagy characteristics were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The expression level of autophagy gene Atg8 was compared and analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The results showed that H2O2 as the main reactive oxygen species showed dynamic changes in BF formation and postripeness process, and increased continuously and reached high peak value in 60 days during postripeness and BF formation. The concentration of NADPH oxidase was closely related to the change of H2O2 content. The application of H2O2 could promote significantly the BF formation and ripeness of mycelium, and DPI as NADPH oxidase inhibitor could significantly inhibit the postripeness and BF formation. The autophagy characteristics was enhanced gradually during BF formation and postripeness process, and showed most significant in the middle and late stage. The results proved that H2O2 played an important role in the process of postripeness and BF formation, and it might be involved in the autophagy process during BF formation and postripeness in Lentinula edodes.
Eight compounds were isolated from the fungus Emericella sp. Silica gel column chromatography, medium pressure reversed phase column chromatography (ODS), Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC were used for isolation and purification of these compounds. Their structures were determined by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literatures. They were identified as asteltoxin (1), asteltoxin B (2), penicillide (3), purpactin A (4), tajixanthone hydrate (5), mycophenolic acid (6), trans-dehydrodiferulate dimethyl ester (7), and 2,8-dihydroxy-1,3-dimethoxy-6-methylanthraquinone (8). Compounds 3 and 4 were isolated from the genus Emericella for the first time.
Small molecule active metabolites of Tuber sinense (Yunnan black truffle) and its symbiotic Pinus yunnanensis were studied by metabonomics technique. Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and gas phase mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to analyze the metabolic components of mature fruit-body of fresh Tuber sinense and pine root. The 1H-NMR and GC-MS data were imported into SMICA-P software for multivariate statistical analysis, and the differential metabolites between them were compared. A total of 64 and 45 compounds, including threonine, mannobiose, fumaric acid, theophylline and epicatechin, was detected in truffle and pine roots, respectively, among which, 25 compounds, such as terpenol, 1-cyclohexene-1-formic acid, glutamate, trehalose and betaine, showed significant differences, and these differential compounds were mainly related to carbon metabolism and nitrogen metabolism. Mutual complement of the two methods can expand the detection range. This study provides a reference for exploring the symbiotic mechanism of Tuber sinense and its symbiotic pine and developing Tuber sinense related drugs and artificial culture in future.
Agaricus bisporus is one of the edible fungi with the world’s largest consumption. Being different from using wheat straw as substrate in European countries, rice straw was used as the main substrate for A. bisporus cultivation in China. In order to reduce burning agricultural straw waste and sustain development of A. bisporus industry, it is necessary to develop and utilize the agricultural waste resources as the substrate for A. bisporus cultivation in the light of local conditions. It is well known that the nutrition and yield of fruiting bodies of different cultured substrate are significantly different. The stable isotope analysis is widely used in tracing studies of agricultural products. In this study, based on eight substrate formulations with different nutritional components and proportions, the stable isotope ratios of the cultured A. bisporus were compared and determined. The results showed that the content of cellulose, calcium, zinc and amino acid in eight different formulation were significantly different and the four stable isotope ratio of δ13C, δ15N, δ2H and δ18O studies showed significant differences. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 4 different nutrient factors and 4 isotope ratios showed that the A. bisporus cultivated on different substrate could be effectively divided into three categories, and the contribution rate of the three principal components was 78.2%, indicating that the grouping was explained better. The analysis of stable isotope and fruiting body nutrition is possibly used as approaches to grade and trace the A. bisporus industrial products.
In order to explore the ecological stoichiometry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in Pachyma hoelen, 42 populations of P. hoelen samples were collected from 11 prefectures and cities in Yunnan Province, and the content and ratios of C, N and P both in sclerotium and peel were analyzed. The results show that the content of C, N and P in P. hoelen sclerotium was 40.24%-43.58%, 0.176%-0.532% and 0.020%-0.077% respectively. The ranges of C:N, C:P and N:P in P. hoelen sclerotium were 93.23-279.42, 1 342.00-5 571.32 and 8.11-44.62, respectively. The content of C, N and P in P. hoelen peels was 29.86%-48.71%, 0.229%-0.895% and 0.027%-0.107%, and the ratios of C:N, C:P and N:P were 49.90-206.53, 884.74-4 290.89 and 8.35-41.41, the median C:N:P ratio of P. hoelen sclerotium and peel were 3 317:18:1 and 2 318:22:1, respectively. The C content in P. hoelen sclerotium and peel were not significantly different (P=0.847). The content of N and P in sclerotium was significantly lower than that in peel. Compared with cultivated P. hoelen, there were no significant differences in C content of sclerotium and C:N ratio of peel of wild P. hoelen with the exception of other indexes. The N content of wild P. hoelen was significantly higher than that of cultivated P. hoelen, but the P content was contrary. Correlation analysis showed that there was significant (P=0.05) negative correlativity between C content of sclerotium and latitude of the sampling site, and significant (P=0.01) positive correlativity between N content of sclerotium and longitude. There was significant (P=0.01) negative correlativity between sclerotia C:N ratio and longitude of the sampling site. There was significant (P=0.05) positive correlation between N:P ratio in sclerotium and longitude, and there was significant (P=0.05) positive correlativity between content of C and N in peel and longitude. However, there was no correlation between the content of C, N and P and the altitude. We conclude that the content of C in P. hoelen is close to that in other fungi, while the content of N and P is obviously low. Under cultivation conditions, the growth of P. hoelen might be limited by N or both N and P.
This study was designed to extend the shelf life of Agaricus bisporus fruiting bodies. The effects of chitosan and ε-polylysine treatment on the physiological attributes, nutritional quality, and storage behavior of A. bisporus fruiting bodies during storage at 4 °C were investigated. Results showed that the combination solution of chitosan and ε-polylysine (6:4) could inhibit bacterial growth, maintain higher L* value and hardness, reduce the weight loss rate, and delay the increase of cell membrane permeability and the activity of polyphenol oxidase as compared to the control. Besides, the combination solution of chitosan and ε-polylysine (6:4) reduced the decay of A. bisporus fruiting bodies and kept a higher commercial acceptable rate of the fruiting bodies. This study proved that the combination treatment of chitosan and ε-polylysine (6:4) could freshen A. bisporus fruiting bodies and prolong the shelf life during storage.
Five lichen species new to China, Heterodermia galactophylla, Hyperphyscia crocata, Phaeophyscia fumosa, P. kairamoi and Physcia albata of Physciaceae, are reported based on morphology and chemistry. Descriptions, comments and thallus figures for each species are presented. All specimens examined are preserved in Herbarium of Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (HMASL-L).
‘Haoyanghuangbei 2’ is a new cultivar of Auricularia cornea systematically bred from a wild strain isolated from Longquanshan in Shifang city. The new cultivar is suitably cultivated in Chengdu and Deyang of Sichuan Province, where Auricularia cornea is widely cultivated. The optimum growth temperature of mycelia is 24-30 °C, and the optimum temperature for fruiting was 25-28 °C. The fruiting body is ear-like or irregularly shaped, clustered, with smooth edge and dark reddish brown colour. The average dry yield per bag reaches 203 g.
The ‘Xiuyin 1’ is a new cultivar domesticated from the wild Tremella fuciformis TWW01-AX collected from Anxi County, Fujian Province by systematic breeding. The new cultivar is suitable for bag cultivation, bottle cultivation and cut-log cultivation. The mycelia are white and light yellow with clamp-connections. The fruiting body which looks like hydrangea or chrysanthemum flower is composed of many wavy and curly ear pieces. The ear pieces have denticulate and irregular edges. The fresh fruiting bodies are yellow and semitransparent. The average cultivation period is 43 days. The average diameter of fresh fruiting body is 13.4 cm, the thickness is 7.0 cm, and the average yield is 84.3 g per cultivated bag (dry weight). It is a new cultivar with good adaptability and stability. As compared with the main cultivars Tr21, the content of total polysaccharides is higher, the central hardness is less and the fruiting body is not close together with the cultivation bag. It has a good production application value.
