During vegetative growth and development of Ganoderma lingzhi (or Ganoderma lucidum), mycelia produce triterpenes with specific structures, which are different from the tritepenes in fruiting bodies and basidiospore. This paper summarized the progress of researches on structures, bioactivities and structure-activity relationship of triterpenes isolated and identified from mycelia of G. lingzhi in order to provide scientific reference for the basic research in biosynthesis, metabolic regulation and application of triterpenes and their related products.
Collections made from 20 provinces and autonomous regions of China were studied, and 36 species were identified, including 28 known species and 8 species are new to China. Morphological description, drawings, photos and discussion were provided for the new records species, namely G. badipes, G. calyptrata, G. jaapii, G. pseudomniophila, G. paludosa, G. physospora, G. sahleri, and G. tibiicystis. DNA sequences were extracted from the Chinese materials, 21 newly generated ITS sequences and 73 download sequences were obtained. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by Bayesian inference and Maximum likelihood analysis, and the identification results of new record species were verified by the molecular data.
Cortinarius is the largest genus of fungi, containing many important ectomycorrhizal fungi. Phlegmacium is a large subgenus in Cortinarius, characterized by viscid to glutinous pileus surface under wet conditions. A taxonomic study was carried out on the Phlegmacium collections from China using the methods of morphological observation combined with phylogenetic analysis. In total, 24 species were found from the checked specimens, of which 12 species were new to China. This paper summarizes the basic information of each species and describes the morphological characteristics of new Chinese records in detail.
The Mount Huangshan in Anhui Province is the priority protection area of the Huangshan-Huaiyushan biodiversity conservation, which is rich in biological resources. In order to explore the species diversity of macrofungi in the Mount Huangshan, field investigation and sampling were carried out from 2018 to 2020. The obtained specimens were identified by molecular analysis and morphological characteristics, and the species composition, genus-level biogeographical elements, economic and endemic species in the area were analyzed. In total, 421 species were found, belonging to 9 classes, 19 orders, 72 families and 200 genera. The assessment of utilization value of the macrofungi showed that there were 68 edible species, 31 medicinal species, 39 poisonous species and 66 endemic species. The dominant families were Boletaceae, Amanitaceae, Russulaceae, Polyporaceae, Agaricaceae, Marasmiaceae, Omphalotaceae, Strophariaceae, Entolomataceae and Tricholomataceae, and dominant genera were Amanita, Lactarius, Agaricus, Aureoboletus, Russula, Entoloma, Marasmius, Mycena, Gymnopus, Tylopilus, Trametes, Cortinarius, Ganoderma and Lactifluus. The floristic geographical components of 200 genera can be divided into nine elements, among which the cosmopolitan element is the most dominant (66.5%), and north temperate element (15.5%) and pantropic element (10.5%) rank second and thirdly. The species diversity of macrofungi in the Mount Huangshan is abundant and includes many edible species, and the flora shows obvious cosmopolitan characteristics and endemism to a certain extent.
In recent years, over 500 mushroom poisoning incidents involving more than 2 000 patients and ca. 30 deaths yearly have raised Yunnan as the most severe province of mushroom poisoning in China. Comprehensive investigation on species diversity of poisonous mushrooms causing poisoning incidents is urgently needed for precise prevention and control of mushroom poisoning. Based on species identification of 223 poisoning incidents in Yunnan since 2013, we found that mushroom poisoning occurred throughout the year, especially from June to September, and poisoning incidents and patients peaked in July while deaths peaked in June. Geographically, poisoning occurred in 14 prefectures and Dehong, Yuxi, Baoshan, Chuxiong and Pu’er ranked the top five, which were located in central to southern Yunnan. Forty-seven poisonous mushrooms were identified, causing six different clinical syndromes (acute liver failure, acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, gastroenteritis, psycho-neurological disorder and photosensitive dermatitis). Of which, 16 species originally described from China and three Chinese new records were published since 2019. Amanita exitialis and Russula subnigricans were most poisonous and dangerous in Yunnan, resulting in 19 deaths and 9 deaths, respectively. Chlorophyllum molybdites, R. japonica, Scleroderma cepa, Entoloma omiense and Omphalotus olearius were the top five species causing gastroenteritis. Gymnopilus dilepis, Inosperma cf. virosum and Lanmaoa asiatica monopolized the top positions resulting in psycho-neurological disorder and Cordierites frondosus was the only one species so far causing photosensitive dermatitis in Yunnan Province.
Forest fires can make a notable impact on forest vegetation and associated microbial communities. In this study, the ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) community between post-fire forest of Pinus massoniana and non-fire P. massoniana forest with relatively consistent surrounding conditions was compared, and the influence of fire on EMF community was analyzed by combining morphological identification and molecular biology technology. A total of 69 OTUs of EMF was identified, belonging to 2 phyla, 7 classes, 15 orders, 18 families, and 23 genera. The abundance of Basidiomycota was significantly higher than that of Ascomycota. Fire significantly changed the composition and structure of the EMF community of P. massoniana. The dominant genera of EMF community in the post-fire P. massoniana forest were Laccaria, Russula and Tomentolla, while those in the non-fire P. massoniana forest were Lactarius, Tomentolla and Cenococcum. The EMF community of P. massoniana in post-fire plots has obvious differences in composition and structure as compared with that in the control plot, showing that the specific OTUs is higher than the common OTUs. Compared with non-fire P. massoniana forest, post-fire P. massoniana forest showed a downward trend (P>0.05) in diversity index and abundance index of EMF community. RDA analysis shows that pH and TP are important environmental factors affecting EMF community of P. massoniana. To sum up, fire disturbance is one of the important ecological factors affecting the EMF community of P. massoniana in central Guizhou.
The lichen community was investigated at 30 plots in the Dabancheng mountainous area. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by using molecular markers, and the phylogenetic signal of functional traits was tested, and the net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI) of the lichen community were computed to explore lichen community assembly mechanism. In addition, the important environmental driving factors of lichen community in the Dabancheng mountainous area were clarified by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and others methods. In total, 111 species of lichens were identified in the Dabancheng mountainous area, belonging to 14 orders, 25 families and 48 genera. Lichen functional traits showed significant phylogenetic signal (P<0.05), with lineage conservation. The phylogenetic structure of community varied with altitude gradients. The species community phylogenetic structure was nearly random to weakly dispersive at low-altitude areas where the humidity was low and the environment was disturbed, and habitat filtration and similarity limitation jointly acted on community assembly. Species community structure was phylogenetically clustered at mid-altitude, where the humidity was moderate, wind speed was weaker, artificial disturbance was less, and habitat filtration played a primary role in community assembly. Species community structure was phylogenetically overdispersed at high-altitude areas, where the humidity was high, wind speed was strong, artificial disturbance was almost free, and similarity limitation dominated community assembly. There was positive correlation between the altitude and species richness. Wind speed and humidity significantly affected the phylogenetic index, while altitude, humidity, wind speed and human disturbance significantly affected some functional traits. In conclusion, altitude, humidity and wind speed as the main environmental sieve significantly affected the assembly process of lichen community in the Dabancheng mountainous area.
Oudemansiella raphanipes is a kind of edible fungi cultivated depending on casing soil. The characteristics and influencing factors of fungal community in casing soil of cultivating O. raphanipes were studied by Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology combined with biological information and statistics methods. The results showed compared with the fungal community in the original casing soil, the diversity of fungal community in casing soil after cultivation of O. raphanipes decreased significantly. Ascomycetes dominated the fungal communities before and after cultivation of O. raphanipes, except that Cladosporium, Acremonium, Gibberella, Emericellopsis, etc. decreased in relative abundance after cultivation. The relative abundance of Stillbella, Neocosmospora, Pseudonymnoascus and Preussia in the phylum Mortierellomycota tended to increase. The fungi in casing soil before and after the cultivation of O. raphanipes were mainly saprophytic, and those in casing soil after cultivation were mainly dung-saprophytic and wood-saprophytic. Further study found that the physichemical properties of casing soil, such as pH, available potassium, available phosphorus and total nitrogen and so on significantly affected the composition of fungal community. pH and available potassium content were significantly negatively correlated with the richness and diversity of fungal community. Further analysis of fungal communities of casing soil is needful for deepening the revelation of the microecological mechanism of O. raphanipes.
Oudemansiella raphanipes is a precious edible and medicinal fungus. In this study, pomace, vinasse and mushroom bran were used as partial substitute materials for culture media; the first spawn medium, second spawn medium and cultivation substrate formula of wild O. raphanipes were optimized by orthogonal test; the content of water, protein, total carbohydrate, vitamin C, polyphenol and the scavenging ability of alcohol extract on DPPH, ABTs+ and hydroxyl radical were determined. The results showed that the optimal first spawn medium consisted of wheat bran 35 g/L, glucose 20 g/L, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate 3.5 g/L, magnesium sulfate 2 g/L and agar 20 g/L. Glucose and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate were determined to be the important factors affecting the growth of mycelia. The optimal second spawn medium consisted of pomace 45%, bean straw 20%, wheat bran 15%, lime 3%, gypsum 1% and cultivated mushroom bran of Pleurotus eryngii 16%. The addition of pomace could significantly promote the mycelium growth of O. raphanipes. Vinasse (distillerʼs grain) 35%, cottonseed shell 30%, wheat bran 20%, lime 1%, gypsum 1% and corn cob 13% were the optimal cultivation formula of O. raphanipes. The effect of vinasse on the yield of fruiting body was significant. The nutritional composition determination of O. raphanipes showed that the fruiting body was rich in protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C and polyphenols, with the highest content of 42.78 g/100 g, 23.54 g/100 g, 4.02 mg/100 g and 4.19 mg/g, respectively, under cultivation on the media of nine kinds of formula. It was found that different formula of the substrate brought about significant difference in nutrient content of the fruiting bodies. The alcohol extract of O. raphanipes had strong antioxidant capacity, and the antioxidant activity increased with the increase of dosage. When the dosage of alcohol extract was 150 μL and 40 μL, the scavenging ability to DPPH and ABTs+ was 88.64% and 99.81% respectively for the fruiting bodies produced on the culture medium of Z1; when the dosage was 250 μL the scavenging ability to hydroxyl radical was 93.48% for the fruiting bodies produced on the culture medium Z2. The physiological activity, pharmacology research and further development and utilization of O. raphanipes need further study.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is a highly destructive disease of wheat, causing major reductions in yield and quality worldwide. Our laboratory identified 116 protein kinases in F. graminearum in previous study, among which deletion of FgBUD32 gene could cause serious defects in vegetative growth and sexual reproduction, while detailed function of the gene in F. graminearum has not been reported. In this study, the biological functions of FgBud32 were revealed by systematically comparing the phenotypic difference among the wild-type PH-1, Fgbud32 mutant and complemented transformant. It was found that Fgbud32 mutant was defective in vegetative growth, polarized growth, conidiogenesis, conidial germination and sexual reproduction. The Fgbud32 mutant also failed to form any perithecia. In addition, the Fgbud32 mutant exhibited a significant reduction in DON biosynthesis and pathogenicity toward wheat heads and coleoptiles. Moreover, deletion of FgBUD32 gene increased the sensitivity of F. graminearum to oxidative stress (H2O2) and DNA damage stresses (HU and MMS). The FgBud32 was localized in both cytoplasm and nucleus, and accumulated in nucleus under certain stages or conditions. Taken together, the protein kinase FgBud32 was involved in vegetative growth, polarized growth, asexual/sexual reproduction, DON biosynthesis, infection, and responses to oxidative and DNA damage stresses of F. graminearum. Its underlying mechanism needs to be investigated.
Sleeping improvement effects of Xylaria nigripes sclerotium powder on mice and the effect of the power on neurotransmitters and their receptor in brain of mice were investigated. A total of 144 mice was divided randomly into three experimental groups (treated with the dosages of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 g/kg bw) and one control group, and the gavage lasted 30 d. Sleep behavior and the expression of neurotransmitter receptors in brain of mice were analyzed. The results showed that, the experimental samples had no direct hypnotic effect and might not affect the growth of body weight. Compared with control group, the sleep latency time induced by barbital sodium decreased (P<0.05) and the sleeping rate increased under the threshold hypnogenesis dosage of pentobarbital sodium in three treatment groups. Sleep time in 0.25 g/kg bw treatment group has no significant increase (P>0.05) while 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg bw treatment group significantly extended sleep time under sodium pentobarbital induction (P<0.05). After administration of Xylaria nigripes sclerotium powder, the content of GABAA receptor (GABAAR) (P<0.05), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) (P<0.01) and GABA (P<0.01) in the brain of mice was found to be augmented while that of GABAB receptor (GABABR) was decrease (P<0.05). In conclusion, Xylaria nigripes sclerotium powder could increase the content of GABAAR, 5-HT and GABA in the brain and thus achieve sleeping improvement effect.
In this study, 19 Hypsizygus marmoreus strains were collected from different sources and identified via ITS sequencing. Of which 8 strains cultured on sawdust medium and glucose medium with difference of growth rate (fast, intermediate and slow growing) were selected for performing fruiting experiment and intracellular and extracellular carbon metabolism assays to explore the correlation between fruiting yield and carbon metabolism. The ITS sequencing indicated that 19 collected strains were genetically closely relative, with low genetic differentiation. The 8 selected strains appeared significantly positive correlation between mycelial growth rate and fruiting yield, showing the faster mycelium grew, the higher fruiting yield. Furthermore, seven extracellular carbon metabolic indexes (ECMI) including wet mycelial weight, reducing sugar, soluble protein, enzyme activity of FPase, CMCase, xylanase, amylase, and six intracellular carbon metabolic indexes (ICMI) including intracellular glucose, HK, Pyk, CS, KGDH and G6PD also showed significantly positive correlation with the fruiting yield, demonstrating that faster growth rate of mycelium could accelerate the decomposition of substrate to improve the supply of available carbon source through secreting more extracellular enzymes, and strengthen intracellular carbon assimilation to generate more energy for mycelium proliferation and fruiting body formation. This study provides technical and theoretical reference for breeding and identification of superior H. marmoreus varieties.
Several papers have reported that triterpenes from Ganoderma spp. have good antitumor activities, but their structure-activity relationships and targets of action have not been compared systematically. In this study, 45 lanostane triterpenes were investigated to evaluate the inhibition ability to mouse leukemia cells L1210’s proliferation. The results showed that neutral triterpene fractions from fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lingzhi and triterpenes isolated from mycelia of Ganoderma lingzhi were more active. The Discovery Studio molecular docking technique was further employed to explore the possible targets of action between twelve active triterpenes and the five antitumor effect-related proteins p53, Bcl-xl, EGFR, IL-2 and VEGFR2. It was hypothesized that the antitumor ability of the triterpenes was related to acetoxy groups and conjugated double bonds on the parent ring. Among them, ganoderic acid T which contains three acetoxy groups with this feature has the strongest antitumor activity. The study provides a useful reference for active site discovery and structural modification of lanostane triterpenes.
