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Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi and are important reproductive structures that produce and disseminate spores. The Pri3 gene was originally reported to be specifically expressed in the primordia (a precursor to the mature fruiting body) of the edible mushroom Cyclocybe aegerita. Here, we cloned a Pri3-related cDNA from Cyclocybe cylindracea, another species in the same genus, and showed that the gene is specifically expressed at the pileus surface of the immature fruiting body but not in the primordia. Immunohistochemistry showed that the translated protein is secreted into a polysaccharide layer of the pileus surface. The recombinant C-terminal Cys-rich domain of the protein showed antifungal activity against three filamentous fungi and inhibited hyphal growth and conidiogenesis. These results suggest that the PRI3-related protein of C. cylindracea, named cylindracin, plays an important role in the defense against pathogens., (© 2024 The Author(s). FEBS Open Bio published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.)

Macrofungi (or mushrooms) are essential for agriculture, food, and ecology. Although research on the growth and development of macrofungi (GDM) can provide insights into their biological characteristics and metabolite synthesis mechanisms, further exploration is needed for a systematic and visual analysis of the current research progress on GDM. To comprehensively understand the research status and development trend of GDM, a total of 545 scientific literature related to GDM in the Web of Science Core Collection database from 2008 to 2024 were searched and selected as research objects. The general information (publication year, country, institution, and cited journal) and the specific information (co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, and references with strong citation bursts) were mined and visualized in detail based on CiteSpace software. These analyses demonstrated that related research is still fashionable, and China is dominant and influential in this field. More frequent and in-depth cooperation among authors, institutions and regions is conducive to promoting the research on GDM. Additionally, the quantity and cluster analyses of keywords and references demonstrated that medicinal/edible macrofungi and sustainable development (e.g. mushroom substrate reuse) may be research hotspots and will remain popular in the coming years. This research aims to supply researchers with up-to-date knowledge and cutting-edge issues related to GDM by providing a visually appealing representations on quantitative GDM studies., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The black morel (Morchella sextelata) is a valuable edible and medicinal mushroom appreciated worldwide. Here, lipidomic profiles and lipid dynamic changes during the growth of M. sexletata were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. 203 lipid molecules, including four categories and fourteen subclasses, were identified in mature fruiting bodies, with triacylglycerol being the most abundant (37.00 %). Fatty acid composition analysis revealed that linoleic acid was the major fatty acid among the free fatty acids, glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids. The relative concentration of lipids in M. sextelata changed significantly during its growth, from which 12 and 29 differential lipid molecules were screened out, respectively. Pathway analysis based on these differential lipids showed that glycerophospholipid metabolism was the major pathway involved in the growth of M. sextelata. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the lipids in M. sextelata and will facilitate the development and utilization of M. sextelata., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The cultivation of edible mushrooms is increasing because of their widely recognized nutritional benefits. Advancements in cultivation techniques have facilitated large-scale mushroom production, meeting the growing consumer demand. This rise in cultivation has led to an increasingly urgent demand for advanced postharvest preservation methods to extend the shelf life of these mushrooms. The postharvest preservation of fresh edible mushrooms involves complex physiological changes and metabolic activities closely associated with gas composition, microbial presence, moisture content, ambient temperature, and enzymatic activity. Preserving edible mushrooms through various preservation strategies (physical, chemical, biological, and nanopackaging approaches) relies on regulating postharvest factors. Nanopackaging can preserve mushrooms' sensory and nutritional qualities due to the specific characteristics of nanomaterials, such as antimicrobial properties and gas/moisture barriers. Furthermore, the review explores current trends, fundamental mechanisms, and upcoming challenges in utilizing nanomaterials, particularly their capacity to enhance the "cell wall" integrity of edible mushrooms by regulating postharvest factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Coprinopsis cinerea, a model fungus, is utilized for investigating the developmental mechanisms of basidiomycetes. The development of basidiomycetes is a highly organized process that requires coordination among genetic, environmental, and physiological factors. Oxylipins, a class of widely distributed signaling molecules, play crucial roles in fungal biology. Among oxylipins, the sexual pheromone-inducing factors (psi factors) have been identified as key regulators of the balance between asexual and sexual spore development in Ascomycetes. Linoleate dioxygenases are enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of psi factors, yet their specific physiological functions in basidiomycete development remain unclear. In this study, linoleate dioxygenases in basidiomycetes were identified and characterized. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that linoleate dioxygenases from Basidiomycota formed a distinct clade, with linoleate dioxygenases from Agaricomycetes segregating into three groups and those from Ustilaginomycetes forming a separate group. Both basidiomycete and ascomycete linoleate dioxygenases shared two characteristic domains: the N-terminal of linoleate dioxygenase domain and the C-terminal of cytochrome P450 domain. While the linoleate dioxygenase domains exhibited similarity between basidiomycetes and ascomycetes, the cytochrome P450 domains displayed high diversity in key sites. Furthermore, the gene encoding the linoleate dioxygenase Ccldo1 in C. cinerea was knocked out, resulting in a significant increase in fruiting body formation without affecting asexual conidia production. This observation suggests that secondary metabolites synthesized by CcLdo1 negatively regulate the sexual reproduction process in C. cinerea while not influencing the asexual reproductive process. This study represents the first identification of a gene involved in secondary metabolite synthesis that regulates basidiocarp development in a basidiomycete., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Global interest in mushroom farming techniques has grown in the last few years. Despite not making up a large amount of the human diet at the moment, the nutritional worth of mushrooms has prompted their usage. The three main segments of the global mushroom industry are wild, culinary (edible), and medicinal mushrooms. The quality food that mushrooms provide can be utilized to build agricultural ecosystems that are more sustainable for increasing productivity and enhancing the effectiveness of resource usage. This is mostly because mushrooms can be utilized for the recycling of biomass and remains from crop production. Culinary-medicinal mushrooms are becoming more and more important because of their nutrient density, dietary value, and health advantages. Given its many bioactive components, which include polysaccharides, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and secondary metabolites, mushrooms have been utilized extensively as health foods. These mushrooms exhibit pharmacological activities and possess prebiotic and antibacterial capabilities. This review provides information on the latest advancements in the sustainable cultivation of mushrooms, particularly with nontraditional substrates, and their potential therapeutic uses. Furthermore, some of the newest developments and difficulties in the production of mushrooms are explored., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Schizophyllum commune is a mushroom-forming fungus notable for its distinctive fruiting bodies with split gills. It is used as a model organism to study mushroom development, lignocellulose degradation and mating type loci. It is a hypervariable species with considerable genetic and phenotypic diversity between the strains. In this study, we systematically phenotyped 16 dikaryotic strains for aspects of mushroom development and 18 monokaryotic strains for lignocellulose degradation. There was considerable heterogeneity among the strains regarding these phenotypes. The majority of the strains developed mushrooms with varying morphologies, although some strains only grew vegetatively under the tested conditions. Growth on various carbon sources showed strain-specific profiles. The genomes of seven monokaryotic strains were sequenced and analyzed together with six previously published genome sequences. Moreover, the related species Schizophyllum fasciatum was sequenced. Although there was considerable genetic variation between the genome assemblies, the genes related to mushroom formation and lignocellulose degradation were well conserved. These sequenced genomes, in combination with the high phenotypic diversity, will provide a solid basis for functional genomics analyses of the strains of S. commune., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Blue light is an important signal for fungal development. In the mushroom-forming basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune, blue light is detected by the White Collar complex, which consists of WC-1 and WC-2. Most of our knowledge on this complex is derived from the ascomycete Neurospora crassa, where both WC-1 and WC-2 contain GATA zinc-finger transcription factor domains. In basidiomycetes, WC-1 is truncated and does not contain a transcription factor domain, but both WC-1 and WC-2 are still important for development. We show that dimerization of WC-1 and WC-2 happens independent of light in S. commune, but that induction by light is required for promoter binding by the White Collar complex. Furthermore, the White Collar complex is a promoter of transcription, but binding of the complex alone is not always sufficient to initiate transcription. For its function, the White Collar complex associates directly with the promoters of structural genes involved in mushroom development, like hydrophobins, but also promotes the expression of other transcription factors that play a role in mushroom development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Industrial activities contribute to environmental pollution, particularly through unregulated effluent discharges, causing adverse effects on ecosystems. Vegetable oils, as insoluble substances, exacerbate this pollution, forming impermeable films and affecting the oxygen transfer, leading to serious habitat disruption. Organic wastes, such as soybean texturized waste, spent mushroom substrate, and stabilized poultry litter, were assessed for their efficacy in enhancing the degradation of vegetable oil in contaminated soil. For this purpose, contaminated soil was amended with each of the wastes (10% w/w) using microcosm systems, which were monitored physico-chemically, microbiologically and toxicologically. Results indicate that the wastes promoted significant oil degradation, achieving 83.1, 90.7, and 86.2% removal for soybean texturized waste, spent mushroom substrate, and stabilized poultry litter, respectively, within a 90-day period. Additionally, they positively influenced soil microbial activity, as evidenced by increased levels of culturable microorganisms and hydrolytic microbial activity. While bioassays indicated no phytotoxicity in most cases, soybean texturized waste exhibited inhibitory effects on seed germination and root elongation of Lactuca sativa. This study significantly enhances our comprehension of remediation techniques for sites tainted with vegetable oils, highlighting the critical role of organic waste as eco-friendly agents in soil restoration. Emphasizing the practical implications of these findings is imperative to underscore the relevance and urgency of addressing vegetable oil contamination in soil. Moving forward, tailored strategies considering both contaminant characteristics and soil ecosystem traits are vital for ensuring effective and sustainable soil remediation., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by yeasts can positively affect crops, acting as antifungals or biostimulants. In this study, Aureobasidium pullulans and Metschnikowia pulcherrima were evaluated as potential antagonists of Trichoderma spp., common fungal pathogen in mushroom cultivation. To assess the biocontrol ability and biostimulant properties of the selected yeast species, in vitro co-culture and VOCs exposure assays were conducted. In both assays, VOCs produced by Aureobasidium spp. showed the stronger antifungal activity with a growth inhibition up to 30 %. This result was further confirmed by the higher volatilome alcohol content revealed by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS). Overall, Aureobasidium strains can be potentially used as biocontrol agent in Pleorotus ostreatus and Cyclocybe cylindracea mycelial growth, without affecting their development as demonstrated by VOCs exposure assay and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Conversely, M. pulcherrima was characterized by a lower or absent antifungal properties and by a volatilome composition rich in isobutyl acetate, an ester often recognized as plant growth promoter. As confirmed by FT-IR, Lentinula mycelia exposed to M. pulcherrima VOCs showed a higher content of proteins and lipids, suggesting an improvement of some biochemical properties. Our study emphasizes that VOCs produced by specific yeast strains are potentially powerful alternative to synthetic fungicide in the vegetative growth of mushroom-forming fungi and also able to modify their biochemical composition., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.)

Two recent outbreaks of listeriosis have been linked to the consumption of enoki mushrooms. After the first outbreak, import sampling by the U.S. FDA identified that 43% of the samples evaluated were positive for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). These observations raised questions about the potential sources of Lm contamination of enoki mushrooms. One potential source of contamination is during enoki mushroom cultivation, as growing conditions are comparatively cool and moist to induce mushroom germination, to which Lm is well adapted. Two varieties of enoki mushrooms were evaluated to determine the potential for Lm to contaminate enoki cultures when introduced at various points during cultivation (inoculation, scraping, pinning, and collaring). The results of two trials showed that Lm established contamination and grew to similar levels in the substrate regardless of when Lm was introduced and, with one exception, did not alter the rate of mushroom generation to below the control. Enumeration of Lm in enoki mushroom cultures at harvest found an average contamination of 10 3  cfu/g, though the results were variable. Refrigerated storage for six weeks was found to result in an increase in Lm. Additionally, no statistically significant difference in the levels of Lm was observed based on proximity to the substrate, though levels of Lm in the different enoki samples correlated with levels of Lm in the substrate at harvest, but not at scraping. The ability of Lm to grow independently in the media used to culture enoki was assessed, and Lm was found to be unable to grow but could sporadically survive in Masters Mix. No growth of Lm was observed in potato dextrose broth, though growth could occur on the agar. Overall, the data indicate a high potential for the establishment of Lm contamination at any point during enoki cultivation to result in Lm-contaminated mushrooms. These data indicate a need for active control mechanisms to prevent the introduction of Lm to enoki cultures., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

High-resolution forest mapping technology is a powerful data source to assess the production capacity of forests regarding wood and non-wood ecosystem services. The study shows how to evaluate the potential benefits from forest management treatments devoted to increase mushroom supply. The study was developed in Central Spain, over a forest with important cultural and economic values attached to mushrooms. Airborne laser scanning (ALS), mushroom production models and mathematical programming as spatial optimization method are used to sequence, spatially and temporally, silviculture-oriented actions to enlarge mushroom provisioning. We present a tactical forest planning solution to incentivize mushroom yield driven by clustered silvicultural treatments applied to fine-grained segments derived from ALS data, and along a 5-year plan while embedding temporal and spatial dependencies. Mushroom yield can increase up to 18 % from current conditions if all area is treated. Our model integrates constraints to optimize the selection of segments yielding the highest benefits in terms of mushroom yield and timber removals during the treatments. The temporal sequencing was successful, so the annual interventions are scheduled aligned in space and in time to ease the actionability and realism of model outputs. The assessment of production potential is an informative, spatially and temporally explicit exercise to inform decision-makers on investment opportunities to enhance the supply of non-wood ecosystem services, tested with mushroom in this study but extendable to more non-wood ecosystem services., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Many natural organisms, such as fungal hyphae and plant roots, grow at their tips, enabling the generation of complex bodies composed of natural materials as well as dexterous movement and exploration. Tip growth presents an exemplary process by which materials synthesis and actuation are coupled, providing a blueprint for how growth could be realized in a synthetic system. Herein, we identify three underlying principles essential to tip-based growth of biological organisms: a fluid pressure driving force, localized polymerization for generating structure, and fluid-mediated transport of constituent materials. In this work, these evolved features inspire a synthetic materials growth process called extrusion by self-lubricated interface photopolymerization (E-SLIP), which can continuously fabricate solid profiled polymer parts with tunable mechanical properties from liquid precursors. To demonstrate the utility of E-SLIP, we create a tip-growing soft robot, outline its fundamental governing principles, and highlight its capabilities for growth at speeds up to 12 cm/min and lengths up to 1.5 m. This growing soft robot is capable of executing a range of tasks, including exploration, burrowing, and traversing tortuous paths, which highlight the potential for synthetic growth as a platform for on-demand manufacturing of infrastructure, exploration, and sensing in a variety of environments.

Protease inhibitors (PIs) are important biotechnological tools of interest in agriculture. Usually they are the first proteins to be activated in plant-induced resistance against pathogens. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize a Theobroma cacao trypsin inhibitor called TcTI. The ORF has 740 bp encoding a protein with 219 amino acids, molecular weight of approximately 23 kDa. rTcTI was expressed in the soluble fraction of Escherichia coli strain Rosetta [DE3]. The purified His-Tag rTcTI showed inhibitory activity against commercial porcine trypsin. The kinetic model demonstrated that rTcTI is a competitive inhibitor, with a Ki value of 4.08 × 10 -7  mol L -1 . The thermostability analysis of rTcTI showed that 100% inhibitory activity was retained up to 60 °C and that at 70-80 °C, inhibitory activity remained above 50%. Circular dichroism analysis indicated that the protein is rich in loop structures and β-conformations. Furthermore, in vivo assays against Helicoverpa armigera larvae were also performed with rTcTI in 0.1 mg mL -1 spray solutions on leaf surfaces, which reduced larval growth by 70% compared to the control treatment. Trials with cocoa plants infected with Mp showed a greater accumulation of TcTI in resistant varieties of T. cacao, so this regulation may be associated with different isoforms of TcTI. This inhibitor has biochemical characteristics suitable for biotechnological applications as well as in resistance studies of T. cacao and other crops., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Throughout history, mushrooms have occupied an inseparable part of the diet in many countries. Mushrooms are considered a rich source of phytonutrients such as polysaccharides, dietary fibers, and other micronutrients, in addition to various essential amino acids, which are building blocks of vital proteins. In general, mushrooms offer a wide range of health benefits with a large spectrum of pharmacological properties, including antidiabetic, antioxidative, antiviral, antibacterial, osteoprotective, nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, etc. Both wild edible and medicinal mushrooms possess strong therapeutic and biological activities, which are evident from their in vivo and in vitro assays. The multifunctional activities of the mushroom extracts and the targeted potential of each of the compounds in the extracts have a broad range of applications, especially in the healing and repair of various organs and cells in humans. Owing to the presence of the aforementioned properties and rich phytocomposition, mushrooms are being used in the production of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This review aims to provide a clear insight on the commercially cultivated, wild edible, and medicinal mushrooms with comprehensive information on their phytochemical constituents and properties as part of food and medicine for futuristic exploitation. Future outlook and prospective challenges associated with the cultivation and processing of these medicinal mushrooms as functional foods are also discussed.

In the present study, effects of maturity stage on structural characteristics and biosynthesis/hydrolysis-associated genes expression of glucans from Volvariella volvacea fruit body were well investigated. Elongation and pileus expansion stages decreased total soluble carbohydrate and protein contents to 17.09 mg/g and 8.33 mg/g, and significantly accumulated the total amino acids contents to 32.37 mg/g. Yields of crude polysaccharides significantly increased to 8.12% at egg stage and decreased to 3.72% at pileus expansion stage. Purified VVP I-a and VVP I-b were proved to be α-glucans. The maturity process affected the monosaccharide compositions, decreased the molecular weights of VVP I-a and VVP I-b with decreased transcription levels of glucan biosynthesis-associated enzyme genes vvugp and vvgls and increased glucan hydrolysis-associated glucanase gene vvexg2 expression with no significant effects on backbone structures including glycosidic linkages and configurations. The findings would benefit for understanding change patterns of V. volvacea glucan structures and their biosynthesis/hydrolysis-associated genes expression at maturity stages., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The ecological phenomenon of fungal fairy rings is usually found in grasslands and caused by the growth of specific fairy ring fungi in soil. The fairy rings are classified into three zones (DARK, DEAD, and OUT), and they have the potential to increase crop yield. Among these fairy rings, distinct characteristics of type I fairy rings can be seen in the rings formed by Leucocalocybe mongolica (LM). Our studies addressed changes in the soil microbial structure due to LM fairy rings to enhance understand of this ecological phenomenon., Methods: In the present study, we report the soil microbial analysis results (fungi and bacteria), including those of metabarcoding (16s rRNA, ITS), microbial quantity, and metagenomics surveys of soils collected from various fairy ring zones, of 6 LM fairy rings. All sampling sites cover the grasslands of Mongolian Plateau in China., Results: First, we found through metabarcoding surveys that the difference in microbial diversity is relatively less in bacteria and that the abundance of fairy ring fungi (LM) is relatively high in DEAD zones. We also identified eight bacterial and fungal families, including Sphingobacteriaceae and Sphingomonadaceae that were enriched within the soils of fairy ring zones. Second, we found that the abundance of soil bacteria in the DEAD zones is sharply increased along with the growth of fairy ring fungi (LM). Third, we found through shotgun sequencing that fairy ring-infected zones, DARK and DEAD, exhibit greater genetic diversity than OUT zones. Finally, we showed that the fairy ring ecosystem is the center for a rich grassland microbial community., Conclusions: The reported data can improve our understanding of type I fairy rings and will be further insightful to the research on crop production., (© 2021. Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia.)

Although the individual consumption of medicinal mushrooms, including Phellinus linteus (PL), Ganoderma lucidum (GL), and Inonotus obliquus (IO), is known to be neuroprotective, the associated mechanisms underlying their therapeutic synergism on focal cerebral ischemia (fCI) have yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to demonstrate the neuroprotective effects of mixed mushroom mycelia (MMM) against experimental fCI. The water-fractions, ethanolic-fractions, and ethyl acetate-fractions of the MMM (PL, GL, and IO) grown in a barley medium using solid-state fermentation techniques were prepared and their protective effects against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity were compared in PC-12 cells. After the identification of the water extracts of MMM (wMMM) as the most suitable form, which possessed the lowest toxicity and highest efficacy, further analyses for evaluating the anti-apoptotic effects of wMMM, including Hoechst 33258-based nuclear staining, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection assays, were performed. Rats were subjected to a 90 min middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion, after which a wMMM treatment resulted in significant dose-dependent improvements across a number of parameters. Furthermore, measurements of intracellular ROS and levels of antioxidant enzymes revealed a wMMM-mediated ROS attenuation and antioxidant enzyme upregulation. We suggest that wMMM is neuroprotective against fCI through its anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects.

Tricholoma matsutake is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with the root of Pinus densiflora . Soil microbial communities greatly affect the growth of T. matsutake , however, few studies have examined the characteristics of these communities. In the present study, we analyzed soil fungal communities from Gyeongju and Yeongdeok using metagenomic pyrosequencing to investigate differences in fungal species diversity, richness, and taxonomic composition between the soil under T. matsutake fruiting bodies (Sample 2) and soil where the fairy ring of T. matsutake was no longer present (Sample 1). The same spot was investigated three times at intervals of four months to observe changes in the community. In the samples from Yeongdeok, the number of valid reads was lower than that at Gyeongju. The operational taxonomic units of most Sample 2 groups were less than those of Sample 1 groups, indicating that fungal diversity was low in the T. matsutake dominant soil. The soil under the T. matsutake fruiting bodies was dominated by more than 51% T. matsutake . From fall to the following spring, the ratio of T. matsutake decreased. Basidiomycota was the dominant phylum in most samples. G-F1-2, G-F2-2, and Y-F1-2 had the genera Tricholoma, Umbelopsis, Oidiodendron, Sagenomella, Cladophialophora , and Phialocephala in common. G-F1-1, G-F2-1, and Y-F1-1 had 10 genera including Umbelopsis and Sagenomella in common. From fall to the following spring, the amount of phyla Basidiomycota and Mucoromycota gradually decreased but that of phylum Ascomycota increased. We suggest that the genus Umbelopsis is positively related to T. matsutake .

The golden chanterelle represents one of the commonly found, edible mushrooms that is highly valued in various cuisines. The present study focused on assessing the requirements of Cantharellus cibarius such as pH, temperature, as well as the carbon and nitrogen sources for mycelial growth. Optimization of the growth parameters was carried out by one-factor-at-a-time method. The optimal pH and temperature were determined to be 6.0 and 22.5 °C, respectively. Among the various carbon sources studied, sucrose at a concentration of 2% gave maximum mycelial growth and proved to be the most suitable one. Amongst the nitrogen sources studied, peptone, ammonium sulphate, and sodium nitrate, gave the maximum mycelial growth at an optimized concentration of 0.5%. In the presence of beef extract and yeast extract, a change in colony pigmentation from yellow to dark grey was observed. Finally, the carbon to nitrogen ratio of 2:0.5 proved to be optimal for mycelial growth. This study is the first report on the optimisation of in vitro growth requirements of C. cibarius.

Aims: The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of new and currently used biocides in the mushroom industry for inactivating Listeria monocytogenes biofilm., Methods and Results: A laboratory-scale study was initially carried out to test the efficacy of eleven biocidal products against a cocktail of five L. monocytogenes strains that were grown to 3-day biofilms on stainless steel coupons. Biocidal efficacy was then tested under clean and dirty conditions based on the EN 13697:2015 method. The results for the biocides tested ranged between 1·7-log and 6-log reduction of biofilm, with only the efficacy of the sodium hypochlorite-based biocide being significantly reduced in dirty conditions. A pilot-scale trial was then carried out on a subset of biocides against L. monocytogenes on concrete floors in a mushroom growing room and it was found that biocide efficacy in laboratory-scale did not translate well in pilot-scale., Conclusions: Biocides that are used in the mushroom industry and potential alternative biocides were determined to be effective against L. monocytogenes biofilm in both laboratory-scale and pilot-scale experiments., Significance and Impact of the Study: This study has direct impact for the industry as it provides information on the efficacy of currently used biocides and other biocidal products against L. monocytogenes, an added benefit to their primary use., (© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

The aim of this study was to characterize the growth of the fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus LEU18496, isolated from the fungus garden of the nest of leaf cutter ants Atta mexicana. The fungus garden was cultivated in an artificial laboratory nest and the fungus further grown in submerged (SmC) and solid state (SSC) cultures with sugarcane bagasse, grass or model substrates containing CM-cellulose, xylan or lignin. The CO 2 production rate with grass in SmC (Vmax 34.76 mg CO 2 L gas -1 day - 1 ) was almost four times than SSC (Vmax 9.49 mg CO 2 L gas -1 day - 1 ), while the production rate obtained in sugarcane bagasse in SmC (Vmax 16.02 mg CO 2 L gas -1 day - 1 ) was almost three times than that for SSC (Vmax 5.42 mg CO 2 L gas -1 day - 1 ). In addition, the fungus grew with defined carbon substrates mixtures in SmC, but at different rates, first xylan, followed by CM-cellulose and lignin. Endoglucanase and xylanase activities (U mg protein -1 ) were detected in all cultures, the specific activity was higher in the fungus-garden, 5.2 and 1.8; followed by SSC-grass, 1.5 and 0.8, and SSC-bagasse, 0.9 and 0.8, respectively. Laccase activity in the fungus-garden was 44.8 U L - 1 and 10.9 U L - 1 in the SSC-grass. The gongylidia structures observed by environmental scanning electron microscopy were ca. 40 µm and the hyphae width ca. 5 µm. The results show that L. gongylophorus from A. mexicana have promising applications for the treatment of plant residues to release fermentable sugars and the production of high value lignocellulolytic enzymes such as endoglucanase, xylanase or laccases.

Two edible mushrooms Calocybe indica and Pleurotus sajor-caju were chosen as parent strains in this study to approach the concept of hybridization through the protoplast fusion technique. Protoplast fusion in presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) was conducted between the parent strains and by further double selection screening method, six somatic hybrid lines were developed. Those fruit bodies of the hybrid lines showed phenotypic resemblance with Pleurotus sajor-caju when grown on paddy straw under favorable conditions. The hybridity of the newly developed somatic hybrid strains was established by barrage reaction, morphological traits, fruitbody parameter and, inter single sequence repeat (ISSR) profiling. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the analysis of phenotypic data of hybrid lines and parents. Five ISSR primers were used to generate 51 amplified DNA fragments ranged between 250 and 3000 bp in size in six hybrids and two parents with 90.19% polymorphism. Some of the hybrids contain some non-parental bands which indicate that recombination might happen in the hybrid genome hence confirming the hybridity of newly developed strains. The dendrogram was created using the Average Linkage (Between Groups) method based on ISSR profiling and genetic distance between parent-hybrids and hybrid-hybrid was analyzed by Jaccard's proximity matrix. A definite improvement in nutritional properties and biological activity was observed in the study. Due to ease in their cultivation, it can play a significant role in the rural economic development.

This study aims to perform a bioactive analysis of five mushrooms collected in south of Brazil. The total phenol content of the extracts was equivalent to the antioxidant activity by ACAP assay. All extracts were able to inhibit the growth of Acinetobacter baumanni, and Auricularia auricula and Lactarius deliciosus extract showed the best antibacterial activity. In addition, no extract showed cytotoxic activity against VERO cells at the highest concentration evaluated (2500 µg/mL). Our results showed better antioxidant activity through the inhibition of the oxidation via peroxyl radical. It can be observed that all extracts were active against A. baumanni, and even moderately, all extracts could be inhibited of at least one of the bacteria used in the study. Added for these, the aqueous extracts showed no toxicity in VERO cells, highlighting the importance of research about the active compounds of mushrooms of the region.

Gloeostereum incarnatum is an edible medicinal mushroom widely grown in China. Using the whole genome of G. incarnatum, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed and synthetic primers were designed to construct its first genetic linkage map. The 1,048.6 cm map is composed of 10 linkage groups and contains 183 SSR markers. In total, 112 genome assembly sequences were anchored, representing 16.43 Mb and covering 46.41% of the genome. Selfing populations were used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) targeting, and the composite interval mapping method was used to co-localize the mycelium growth rate (potato dextrose agar and sawdust), growth period, yield and fruiting body length, and width and thickness. The 14 QTLs of agronomic traits had LOD values of 3.20-6.51 and contribution rates of 2.22-13.18%. No linkage relationship was found between the mycelium growth rate and the growth period, but a linkage relationship was observed among the length, width and thickness of the fruiting bodies. Using NCBI's BLAST alignment, the genomic sequences corresponding to the QTL regions were compared, and a TPR-like protein candidate gene was selected. Using whole-genome data, 138 candidate genes were found in four sequence fragments of two SSR markers located in the same scaffold. The genetic map and QTLs established in this study will aid in developing selective markers for agronomic traits and identifying corresponding genes, thereby providing a scientific basis for the further gene mapping of quantitative traits and the marker-assisted selection of functional genes in G. incarnatum breeding programs.

Three ascomycetes (Morchella vulgaris AMRL 36, M. elata AMRL 63, Tuber aestivum AMRL 364) and four basidiomycetes strains (Lentinula edodes AMRL 124 and 126, Agaricus bisporus AMRL 208 and 209) were screened for their ability to grow on liquid static flask cultures of glucose, glycerol, molasses and waste flour-rich hydrolysates with C/N ratio of 20 and produce biomass, exopolysaccharides and lipids. The profile of lipid fatty acids was also assessed. Selected strains were furthermore cultivated in C/N = 50. Results showed that substrate consumption, biomass formation and secondary metabolites production were strain, substrate and C/N ratio dependent. The maximum biomass (X), lipid (L) and exopolysaccharides (EPS) values noted were Xmax = 25.2 g/L (C/N = 20; molasses) and Lmax = 6.51 g/L (C/N = 50; rice cereal hydrolysates) by T. aestivum strain AMRL 364 and EPSmax = 2.41 g/L by M. elata strain AMRL 63 (C/N = 50; molasses), respectively. When C/N ratio of 50 was applied, biomass, lipid production and substrate consumption seem to be negatively affected in most of the trials. The adaptation and capability of the mushroom strains to be cultivated on substrates based on agro-industrial waste streams and infant food of expired shelf date offers the opportunity to set a circular oriented bioprocess., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.)

Mushroom-forming fungi are complex multicellular organisms that form the basis of a large industry, yet, our understanding of the mechanisms of mushroom development and its responses to various stresses remains limited. The winter mushroom (Flammulina filiformis) is cultivated at a large commercial scale in East Asia and is a species with a preference for low temperatures. This study investigated fruiting body development in F. filiformis by comparing transcriptomes of 4 developmental stages, and compared the developmental genes to a 200-genome dataset to identify conserved genes involved in fruiting body development, and examined the response of heat sensitive and -resistant strains to heat stress. Our data revealed widely conserved genes involved in primordium development of F. filiformis, many of which originated before the emergence of the Agaricomycetes, indicating co-option for complex multicellularity during evolution. We also revealed several notable fruiting-specific genes, including the genes with conserved stipe-specific expression patterns and the others which related to sexual development, water absorption, basidium formation and sporulation, among others. Comparative analysis revealed that heat stress induced more genes in the heat resistant strain (M1) than in the heat sensitive one (XR). Of particular importance are the hsp70, hsp90 and fes1 genes, which may facilitate the adjustment to heat stress in the early stages of fruiting body development. These data highlighted novel genes involved in complex multicellular development in fungi and aid further studies on gene function and efforts to improve the productivity and heat tolerance in mushroom-forming fungi., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The symbiotic bacteria associated with edible fungi are valuable microbial resources worthy of in-depth exploration. It is important to analyze the community structure and succession of symbiotic bacteria in mushrooms. This can assist in the isolation of growth-promoting strains that have an essential relationship with the cultivation cycle as well as the agronomic traits and yields of fruiting bodies., Results: In all of the samples from cultivation bags of Hypsizygus marmoreus, 34 bacterial phyla were detected. Firmicutes was the most abundant bacterial phylum (78.85%). The genus Serratia showed an exponential increase in abundance in samples collected from the cultivation bags in the mature period, reaching a peak abundance of 55.74% and the dominant symbiotic flora. The most predominant strain was Serratia odorifera HZSO-1, and its abundance increased with the amount of hyphae of H. marmoreus. Serratia odorifera HZSO-1 could reside in the hyphae of H. marmoreus, promote growth and development, shorten the fruiting cycle by 3-4 days, and further increase the fruiting body yield by 12%., Conclusions: This study is a pioneering demonstration of the community structure of the symbiotic microbiota and bacteria-mushroom interaction in the growth and development of edible fungi. This work lays a theoretical foundation to improve the industrial production of mushrooms with symbiotic bacteria as assisting agents.

Fast demographic growth has led to increasing interest in low-cost alternative protein sources to meet population needs. Consequently, scientific researchers have been focused on finding under-exploited sources of protein, alternative to those of animal origin. Usually plant proteins have been used for this purpose; however, most of them are not considered to be high quality due to their lack of some essential amino acids. Mushroom proteins usually have a complete essential amino acid profile, which may cover the dietetic requirements, as well as may have certain economic advantages as compared to animal and plant sources. Many mushrooms also have the ability to grow in agro-industrial waste, as submerged cultures, reaching high yields in a short period of time. Edible mushrooms can be processed to obtain a wide variety of food products enriched with high quality protein, which may have as well improved functional properties, giving them an added value. This review discusses the use of mushrooms as sustainable functional food.

Coprinopsis cinerea is a model mushroom-forming basidiomycete which produces basidiospores during sexual reproduction. This fungus is widely used to study fruiting body formation and development. Molecular mechanisms controlling its growth from vegetative mycelium to multicellular mature fruiting body have been studied extensively. However, little is known about the underlying biological processes during germ tube outgrowth or the transition from basidiospores to multinucleate hyphae. To better understand sexual spore germination in fungi, here we examined the time-dependent cellular events at resting, germinating and fully germinated basidiospores of C. cinerea by genome-wide transcriptional and post-transcriptional analyses and by carbohydrate composition analysis. Our results revealed a high demand of protein degradation, and biosynthesis of various compounds at the early stage of basidiospore gemination and dynamic changes of carbohydrate metabolism throughout the germination process. Seven microRNA-like RNAs (milRNAs) were identified in the resting basidiospores of C. cinerea, six of which were basidiospore-specific. Glycogen and trehalose were shown to be the carbon sources supporting the initiation of germ tube outgrowth. One basidiospore-specific milRNA, cci-milR-37, was found to be a potential regulator of glycogen metabolic pathways related to vegetative hyphal growth. Our results demonstrated the mRNA and miRNA-mediated regulation on energy production, protein and carbohydrate metabolisms at the early developmental stages of germ tube to form totipotent hyphae. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show the roles of miRNAs in mushroom basidiospore germination and out-growth., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The production of macrofungi (mushrooms) as well as their economic value have been steadily increasing globally. The use of functional foods, dietary supplements, and traditional medicines derived from macrofungi is increasing as they have numerous health benefits as well as abundant nutrients. Macrofungi are diverse with complex and highly varied growth conditions and bioactive constituents, most macrofungal resources have not yet been fully explored and applicated, leading to an urgent need for appropriate strategies to address the problem. Increasing attention has been paid to the macrofungal cultivation and application, in particular, potential prebiotics. Herein, the present review comprehensively summarizes recent progress in the cultivation, newly identified bioactive constituents, and their effects on gut microbiota as well as the potential ways in which they affect human health. Moreover, the macrofungal food development is discussed to improve food nutritional value and change the quality characteristics of food. Finally, the review addresses consumer safety concerns and the prospective genetic manipulation of macrofungi. We hope that this review can provide a comprehensive research reference for ensuring the safety and efficacy, along with maximizing the value and profitability of macrofungi production., (© 2020 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Background: Atrazine is one of the most widespread chlorinated herbicides, leaving large bulks in soils and groundwater. The biodegradation of atrazine by bacteria is well described, but many aspects of the fungal metabolism of this compound remain unclear. Thus, we investigated the toxicity and degradation of atrazine by 13 rainforest basidiomycete strains., Results: In liquid medium, Pluteus cubensis SXS320, Gloelophyllum striatum MCA7, and Agaricales MCA17 removed 30, 37, and 38%, respectively, of initial 25 mg L - 1 of the herbicide within 20 days. Deficiency of nitrogen drove atrazine degradation by Pluteus cubensis SXS320; this strain removed 30% of atrazine within 20 days in a culture medium with 2.5 mM of N, raising three metabolites; in a medium with 25 mM of N, only 21% of initial atrazine were removed after 40 days, and two metabolites appeared in culture extracts. This is the first report of such different outcomes linked to nitrogen availability during the biodegradation of atrazine by basidiomycetes. The herbicide also induced synthesis and secretion of extracellular laccases by Datronia caperata MCA5, Pycnoporus sanguineus MCA16, and Polyporus tenuiculus MCA11. Laccase levels produced by of P. tenuiculus MCA11 were 13.3-fold superior in the contaminated medium than in control; the possible role of this enzyme on atrazine biodegradation was evaluated, considering the strong induction and the removal of 13.9% of the herbicide in vivo. Although 88% of initial laccase activity remained after 6 h, no evidence of in vitro degradation was observed, even though ABTS was present as mediator., Conclusions: This study revealed a high potential for atrazine biodegradation among tropical basidiomycete strains. Further investigations, focusing on less explored ligninolytic enzymes and cell-bound mechanisms, could enlighten key aspects of the atrazine fungal metabolism and the role of the nitrogen in the process.

We assessed a new cryopreservation protocol that uses vermiculite as a culture substrate, called the vermiculite protocol (VP), by assessing the viability, recovery time of hyphae after revival, and colony diameter of cryosensitive ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete strains after storage for 2 weeks or 1 year in a vapour-phase liquid nitrogen tank. Twelve difficult-to-preserve strains of nine species (Amanita citrina, A. pantherina, A. rubescens, A. spissa, Kobayasia nipponica, Lactarius akahatsu, L. hatsudake, Sarcodon aspratus, and Tricholoma flavovirens) that did not achieve good revival after cryopreservation with our previous Homolka's perlite protocol and modified perlite protocol (MPP) experiments were used to assess the new methodology. Vermiculite and liquid medium were put into a cryotube and inoculated with an agar plug containing mycelia. The cryotube was cultured for various incubation times. After adequate mycelial growth, a mixture of cryoprotectants (5% dimethyl sulfoxide and 10% trehalose [5D10T] or 5% glycerol and 10% trehalose [5G10T]) was placed into the cryotube. The cryotube was frozen in a freezing container in a -80 °C freezer and then stored in vapour-phase liquid nitrogen. In the recovery test, 10 of 12 strains showed 100% revival after 2 weeks of storage in the 5G10T cryoprotectant, and all 12 strains showed 100% revival after 2 weeks of storage in the 5D10T cryoprotectant. Furthermore, all strains were viable after 1 year of storage in a vapour-phase liquid nitrogen tank. Thus, the VP is applicable to a wide range of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete cultures, including highly cryosensitive strains., (Copyright © 2020 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Basidiomycetes can bioaccumulate high iron contents, but there are few studies on iron availability from the mycelial biomass in order to support their use as an iron-enriched fungal food. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro iron bioaccumulation and availability in the mycelial biomass of edible and medicinal basidiomycetes grown in two distinct culture media. Lentinus crinitus, Ganoderma lucidum, Schizophyllum commune, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, Lentinula edodes, and Agaricus subrufescens were grown in liquid culture medium of malt extract or sugarcane molasses to obtain iron-bioaccumulated mycelial biomass. P. ostreatus was the fungus that most bioaccumulated iron, followed by S. commune, and P. eryngii; they also had the highest mycelial biomass growth and iron transfer from the culture medium to the mycelial biomass. Mycelial iron availability is species-specific, regardless of the culture medium and the iron bioaccumulation capacity of the fungus in the mycelial biomass. Mycelial biomass of S. commune, followed by G. lucidum, P. ostreatus, and P. eryngii, associated with molasses culture medium, are the best choice for the production of iron-enriched mycelial biomass.

The current management practice of digestate from biogas plants involves its use for land application as a fertilizer. Nevertheless, the inadequate handling of digestate may cause environmental risks due to losses of ammonia, methane and nitrous oxide. Therefore, the key goals of digestate management are to maximize its value by developing new digestate products, reducing its dependency on soil application and the consequent air pollution. The high nitrogen and lignin content in solid digestate make it a suitable substrate for edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation. To this aim, the mycelial growth rate and degradation capacity of the lignocellulosic component from corn silage digestate, undigested wheat straw and their mixture were investigated on Cyclocybe aegerita, Coprinus comatus, Morchella importuna, Pleurotus cornucopiae and Pleurotus ostreatus . The structural modification of the substrates was performed by using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Preliminary in vitro results demonstrated the ability of P. ostreatus , P. cornucopiae and M. importuna to grow and decay hemicellulose and lignin of digestate. Cultivation trials were carried out on C. aegerita , P. cornucopiae and P. ostreatus . Pleurotus ostreatus showed the highest biological efficiency and fruiting body production in the presence of the digestate; moreover, P. ostreatus and P. cornucopiae were able to degrade the lignin. These results provide attractive perspectives both for more sustainable digestate management and for the improvement of mushroom cultivation efficiency.

The present paper reviewed publications on the nematocidal activity of edible mushrooms (EM) and their potential use as sustainable tools for the control of parasitic nematodes affecting agriculture and livestock industry. Nematodes are organisms living in the soil and animals' guts where they may live as parasites severely affecting economically important crops and farm animals, thus causing economic losses to worldwide agriculture. Traditionally, parasitic nematodes have been controlled using commercial pesticides and anthelmintic (AH) drugs. Over the years, nematodes developed resistance to the AH drugs, reducing the usefulness of many commercial drugs. Also, the use of pesticides/anthelmintic drugs to control nematodes can have important negative impacts on the environment. Different EM have been not only used as food but also studied as alternative methods for controlling several diseases including parasitic nematodes. The present paper reviewed publications from the last decades about the nematocidal activity of EM and assessed their potential use as sustainable tools for the control of nematodes affecting agriculture and livestock industry. A reduced number of reports on the effect of EM against nematodes were found, and an even smaller number of reports regarding the potential AH activity of chemical compounds isolated from EM products were found. However, those studies have produced promising results that certainly deserve further investigation. It is concluded that EM, their fractions and extracts, and some compounds contained in them may have biotechnological application for the control of animal and plant parasitic nematodes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Gloria Sarahi Castañeda-Ramírez et al.)

Trichoderma longibrachiatum EF5 is an endophytic fungal antagonist of rice. It is used for the control of soil-borne fungal pathogens-Sclerotium rolfsii and Macrophomina phaseolina. We demonstrate that T. longibrachiatum EF5 inhibits the growth of these pathogens on direct interaction as well as via the production of the microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). The mVOCs reduced mycelial growth and inhibited the production of sclerotia by altering the mycelial structure. We profiled 138 mVOCs, when T. longibrachiatum EF5 interacted with the two pathogens. During these interactions, several compounds are up- or downregulated by T. longibrachiatum EF5, including longifolene, caryophyllene,1-Butanol 2-methyl, cedrene, and cuprenene. These compounds are involved in the biosynthetic pathways of the sesquiterpenoid and alkane, and the degradation pathway of trimethylamine. We provide an insight into the multiple modes by which T. longibrachiatum EF5 exerts antagonistic actions, such as hyperparasitism, competitions, and antibiosis via mVOCs. In contrast to their antimicrobial properties, these metabolites could also promote plant growth., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Hypsizygus marmoreus is an important commercial edible fungus, but the lack of basic studies on this fungus has hindered further development of its commercial value. In this study, we found that the treatment of damaged vegetative mycelia with 1 mM l-ascorbic acid (ASA) significantly increased the antioxidant enzyme activities (GPX, GR, CAT and SOD) and antioxidant contents (GSH and ASA) and reduced the ROS levels (H 2 O 2 and O 2 - ) in mechanically damaged mycelia. Additionally, this treatment increased mycelial biomass. At the reproductive stage, our results demonstrated that the treatment of damaged H. marmoreus mycelia with 2.24 mM ASA significantly increased the antioxidant enzyme activities (GPX, GR, GST, TRXR and CAT), endogenous ASA contents and GSH/GSSG ratios in different developmental stages and significantly decreased the MDA and H 2 O 2 contents. Furthermore, this study showed that the expression levels of the antioxidant enzyme genes were consistent with the enzyme activities. Damaged mycelia treated with ASA regenerated 2-3 d earlier than the control group and showed significantly enhanced fruiting body production. These results suggested that exogenous ASA regulated mycelia intracellular ASA content to increase mycelial antioxidant abilities, induce the regeneration of damaged mycelia and regulate the development of fruiting bodies in H. marmoreus., (Copyright © 2020 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The ability of Coriolus versicolor medicinal mushroom to grow and accumulate selenium during submerged cultivation in a selenium-fortified medium is examined in this paper. For selenium supplementation, commercial selenium yeast was used. Control, nonenriched sample and reference cultures cultivated in the medium enriched with commercial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were also prepared. The mushroom demonstrated a high ability to accumulate selenium from the added source (around 970 and 1,300 µg/g of dry mycelium weight for samples enriched with selenium in a concentration of 10 and 20 mg Se/L, respectively). The addition of selenium significantly (p ≤ .05) increased the biomass yield, whereas the addition of nonenriched yeast had no significant (p ≤ .05) impact. Furthermore, regression analysis showed statistically significant (p ≤ .05) and positive correlations between the content of Se and Fe (r = .92), Se and Cu (r = .92), Se and Mn (r = .98), and Se and Sr (r = .96), suggesting that selenium incorporation was followed by incorporation of these elements, and led to mineral enrichment of the obtained mycelium. Methanol extracts prepared from mycelium biomass demonstrated a better inhibitory effect on Gram-positive bacterial strains with minimal inhibitory concentrations between <0.3125 and 40 mg/ml. The obtained results showed that selenium yeast could be used for obtaining a potential novel food supplement: mushroom biomass with high selenium content and enhanced mineral composition., (© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The commercial production of Morchella mushrooms calls for urgent breeding of excellent varieties or strains with appropriate tools, such as protoplast fusion. However, the protoplast fusion in morels has not been studied. In this paper, interspecific hybridization between cultivated morels of M. importuna and M. sextelata by PEG-induced protoplast fusion was conducted. Apart from functional complementation of double inactivated protoplasts, the fusants were characterized by cultural and cultivated characters and molecular markers of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The results suggested that the hybrids and their parents showed significant difference in their inoculum recovery time, mycelial growth rate, yield of cultivation and total amino acid content of ascocarps. Moreover, positive barrage reactions were observed between parental strains as well as between each parent and a hybrid line. A dendrogram created on the basis of RAPD fingerprints exhibited three major clusters, in which morel hybrids showed intra-cluster variations, M. sextelata #6 formed an out group, while M. importuna #4 was phylogenetically closer to morel hybrids. All the results demonstrated that real fusants were obtained in our study. Protoplast fusion may provide an ideal alternative for new strain selection, and thus will promote the healthy development of morel industry.

Edible mushrooms are an important source of nutraceuticals and for the discovery of bioactive metabolites as pharmaceuticals. In this work, the OSMAC (One Strain, Many Active Compounds) approach was used to isolate two new compounds ( 1 and 2 ) along with seven known compounds ( 3 - 9 ) from a mycelial culture of a unique North American edible mushroom Hericium sp. The fruiting body was collected in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota (USA), and mycelial cultures were grown on four different solid and liquid media. Extracts from the mycelial cultures were screened for antimicrobial activity and only the extract from the Cheerios substrate culture exhibited antifungal activity. Bioassay guided fractionation and HPLC analysis were used to isolate nine pure compounds and the structures of the known compounds were established by analysis of the NMR and mass spectrometry data and comparison to published reports. Compound 1 is a new erinacerin alkaloid and 2 is an aldehyde derivative of 4-hydroxy chroman. Four chlorinated orcinol derivatives ( 3 - 6 ), a pyran ( 7 ), erinaceolactone ( 8 ), and erinacine ( 9 ) were identified. Compound 4 showed antifungal activity against C. albicans and C. neoformans (MIC = 31.3-62.5 μg/mL, respectively). Compound 4 also inhibited biofilm formation of C. albicans and C. neoformans at 7.8 μg/mL. These results suggest that mycelial cultures of edible fungi may provide useful, bioactive compounds.

Gastrodia elata is a heterotrophic plant that needed to be symbiotic with Armillaria. The obstacle of continuous cropping in G. elata is serious during the G. elata cultivation, and the mechanism of obstacle in G. elata continuous cropping had not been solved. The planting of G. elata-Phallus impudicus is a new sequential planting pattern adopted in Guizhou province, but the effect of the cultivation on soil microbial community structure is still unclear. In this study, we collected four soil samples for the research including the soil without planted G. elata as control(CK), rhizosphere soil samples tightly adhering to the G. elata surface(GE), rhizosphere soil samples tightly adhering to Armillaria which was symbiotic with G. elata(AGE), the rhizosphere soil of P. impudicus planting after G. elata cultivation(PI). In order to explore the mechanism, the research study on the soil of G. elata-P. impudicus by using ITS and 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technologies to detect soil microbial community structure including fungi and bacteria in the soil of CK, AGE, GE and PI. OTU clustering and PCA analysis of soil samples showed that the soil microbial diversity was relatively similar in AGE and GE. And the soil microbial in PI and CK clustered together. The results showed that AGE and GE had similar soil microbial diversity, as well as PI and CK. Compared with CK, the soil microbial diversity and abundance in AGE and GE were significantly increased. But the microbial diversity and abundance decreased in PI compared with AGE and GE. The annotation indicated that the abundance of Basidiomycota, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi decreased, and that of Ascomycota, Zygomycota and Proteobacteria increased in AGE and GE compared with CK. In contrast to AGE and GE, PI was the opposite. The abundance of Basidiomycota, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi increased in PI compared with AGE and GE. The abundance of microorganisms in the soil of PI and CK was similar. In addition, the co-culture of Armillaria and P. impudicus indicated that P. impudicus had obvious antagonistic effects on the growth of Armillaria. Therefore, it is speculated that the mechanism of G. elata-P. impudicus planting pattern related to the change of soil microbial. And we supposed that P. impudicus might inhibit the growth of Armillaria and change the soil microbial community structure and the abundance of soil microbial. And the soil microbial community structure was restored to a state close to that of uncultivated G. elata. Thus, the structure of soil microbial community planting G. elata could be restored by P. impudicus planting.

Gastrodia elata is a kind of precious traditional Chinese medicine. In the process of cultivation of G. elata, due to the influence of continuous cropping obstacles and other factors, the fungus materials and land that have been planted with G. elata are often abandoned, resulting in a great waste of resources. Based on the planting characteristics of G. elata and Phallus impudicus and the previous research experience in ecological agriculture, this paper analyzed the ecological adaptability characteristics of G. elata and P. impudicus, and summarized the key techniques of the G. elata-P. impudicus sequential planting pattern. Keeping track of the planting area, fungus-growing materials consumption and market sales of G. elata-P. impudicus sequential planting pattern, the ecological benefits of G. elata-P. impudicus sequential planting pattern from the aspects of utilization rate of fungus-growing materials were analyzed, the value of land resources per unit area, ecological environmental protection, labor cost and economic benefits were consi-dered. The technical principle of G. elata-P. impudicus sequential planting pattern was expounded according to their ecological habit, the season of harvest and planting, the difference of composition of fungus-growing materials, and the microbial ecology. The sequential planting pattern of G. elata-P. impudicus not only realized the double production of medicinal materials and edible fungi, reduced the waste of old fungus-growing materials, but also transformed the energy from nutrition-supplied fungi to edible and medicinal fungi, which guaranteed the ecological recycling and utilization of G. elata in the process of cultivation.

The phenomenon that waste of fungus-growing materials in the planting process of Gastrodia elata is very common. It has been proved by practice that the used fungus-growing materials planted with G. elata can be used to plant Phallus impudicus. But the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we compared the different infested-capacity of Armillaria gallica and Phallus impudicus by morphological anatomy of the used fungus-growing materials. We also compared the differences on the two fungi consumed the main contents of fungus-growing materials, cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, by using nitric acid-95% ethanol method, sulfuric acid method and tetrabromide method respectively, so that to explore the mechanism of A. gallica and P. impudicus recycle the fungus-growing materials, and to provide scientific basis for recycling the used fungus-growing materials of G. elata. The results showed that A. gallica had a strong ability to invade some parts outside the vascular cambium, but it had a weak ability to invade some parts inside the vascular cambium, while P. impudicus had a strong ability to invade the same parts. The contents of lignin and cellulose, which from inside and outside the vascular cambium of fungus-growing materials were significantly different. In the parts of outside the vascular cambium of fungus-growing materials, A. gallica degraded more lignin and cellulose, while P. impudicus degraded more hemicellulose. In the parts of inside the vascular cambium of fungus-growing materials, A. gallica degraded more cellulose, while P. impudicus degraded more hemicellulose. The present results suggested that A. gallica and P. impudicus made differential utilization of the carbon source in the fungus-growing materials to realize that P. impudicus recycle the used fungus-growing materials of G. elata. A. gallica used lignin and cellulose as the main carbon source, while P. impudicus used hemicellulose as the main carbon source.

The impact of five mushroom inoculum form, age, size, and precultivation medium on the lignocellulose-deconstracting enzyme (LCDE) production was evaluated in the submerged fermentation of mandarin marc. The results obtained evidence that an adaptation of individual fungi to lignocellulose during maintenance in culture collection and inoculum cultivation may be useful for the production of individual LCDE. Homogenization of submerged mycelium was beneficial for all LCDE production by Cerrena unicolor 305 and Ganoderna lucidum 447 and for LME secretion by Coriolopsis gallica 142 and Trametes multicolor 511. Finely chopped mycelial agar favored CMCase and xylanase production by T. multicolor 511 and LiP secretion by C. unicolor 305 and G. lucidum 447 while homogenized mycelial agar proved to be the worst form of inoculum for the production of most enzymes. Four-days inoculum was the most appropriate for the laccase and MnP production by G. lucidum 447 and T. multicolor 511 while the 7-days mycelium provided the highest yields of these enzymes in the cultivation of C. unicolor 305. Use of the 12-days homogenized mycelium from the late stationary phase resulted in lowest laccase activity of all fungi but provided the highest cellulase activity. Overall, the study showed that the LCDE activity and their accumulation profiles in the cultures with different inoculum size was species dependent.

This study examined biological characteristics, liquid fermentation, and cultivation of Fomitopsis pinicola. A single-factor test concluded that the optimal carbon and nitrogen sources for mycelial growth were soluble starch and yeast paste; the optimal culture temperature was 31°C, and the optimal pH was 6.0. The orthogonal experiment indicated that the optimal formula for mycelial culture was 25 g soluble starch, 2 g yeast extract, 1 g KH2PO4, and 1.5 g MgSO4 added to 1 L water. The optimal conditions for liquid fermentation culture consisted of the following: a loading volume 90 mL, inoculation volume 30 mL, and rotation speed 160 rpm. The optimal substrate formula for domestic culture was 20% corn cob, 30% sawdust, 20% wheat bran, 25% cotton seed shell, 3% corn meal, 1% gypsum, and 1% lime, which produced the highest yield of fruiting bodies. The results provided basic data for deep liquid fermentation culture and recommendations for the further development and utilization of F. pinicola.

Wild edible mycorrhizal mushrooms are among the most appreciated and prized mushrooms in the world. Despite the cultivation of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) mushrooms has been a growing subject of study worldwide, it has been hampered by the mutualistic lifestyle of the fungi. Although not being obligate symbionts, most of the species of ECM mushrooms only produce fruit bodies in association with trees or shrubs. In the present study, we aimed at understanding certain aspects of the ecology of four different edible ECM fungi: Lactarius deliciosus, Tricholoma equestre, T. portentosum and Boletus fragrans. Despite having a broad distribution worldwide, these fungi inhabit also Mediterranean habitats with understories typically dominated by rockroses (Cistaceae). Studying the ecology of these mutualistic fungi as well as the interaction with these species of shrubs is not only scientifically relevant but also pivotal for the discovery of profitable cultivation protocols. We evaluated the compatibility of these ECM species with five species within Cistaceae family - Cistus ladanifer, C. psilosepalus, C. salviifolius, Halimium halimifolium and Tuberaria lignosa. Each species of fungi proved to be able to establish mycorrhizas with at least 2 different plants species but varied in their host range of the tested Cistaceae. The dissimilarity in terms of host specificity between some fungal species seemed to be connected with the phylogenetic distances of the fungi. A correlation between the colonization percentage of the root systems and the mycelial growth rates in pure culture was found. The connection of these traits might be an important key to understanding the ecological competitor-colonizer tradeoffs of these ECM fungal species. Altogether, our study reports unknown plant-fungi combinations with economical relevance and also adds new insights about the ecology of these species of ECM fungi., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Due to increasing pressure on natural resources, subsistence agriculture communities in Uganda and Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing increasingly restricted access to diminishing natural resources that are a critical requirement of their livelihoods. Previously, common-pool resources like forests and grasslands have been either gazetted for conservation or leased for agriculture, the latter in particular for large-scale sugarcane production. Satisfying the increasing consumer demand for grassland or forestry products like wild mushrooms as food or medicine, requires innovative ethno-biological and industry development strategies to improve production capacity, while easing the pressure on diminishing natural resources and averting ecosystems degradation., Methods: This case study addresses traditional knowledge systems for artisanal mycoculture to identify cultivation practices that enhance sustainable utilization of natural resources. Multi-scalar stakeholder engagement across government and community sectors identified artisanal mushroom producers across five districts in Uganda. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews characterized artisanal production methods and identified locally used substrates for cultivation of different mushroom species., Results: Artisanal practices were characterized for the cultivation of six wild saprophytic mushroom species including Volvariella speciosa (akasukusuku), two Termitomyces sp. (obunegyere and another locally unnamed species), Agaricus sp. (ensyabire) and Agrocybe sp. (emponzira), and one exotic Pleurotus sp. (oyster) that are used as food or medicine. The substrates used for each species differed according to the mushroom's mode of decomposition, those being the following: tertiary decomposers such as those growing under rotting tree stumps or logs from forestry activity like the Agrocybe sp. known as emponzira which grows in forests, thickets, or near homesteads where big logs of hardwood have been left to rot. Also pieces of firewood are chipped off whenever need arises thus providing fuel; secondary decomposers growing on naturally composted grass associated with termites like the Termitomyces sp. known as obunegyere growing in protected sites in gardens, composted cattle manure for Agaricus sp. known as ensyabire in the kraal area where cattle manure is plenty, composted maize cobs for a locally unnamed Agaricus sp. on heaped cobs placed near homesteads; and primary decomposers growing on waste sorghum from brewing the traditional alcoholic drink, muramba for Pleurotus sp. (oyster), and banana and spear grass residue from banana juice processing like the Volvariella speciosa known as akasukusuku because it is associated with the banana plantation locally known in the Luganda language as olusuku and is usually heaped under ficus trees. Management practices also varied based on mode of decomposition and other ecological requirements such as the following: zero tillage and minimal disturbance in areas where obunegyere grow, heaping banana and spear grass residues under the cool ficus trees which also keep them away from banana stump that may cause infestation with nematodes and insects. Even within the generic practices accessibility by the users is critical for example placing logs near homes where children can use them to play, they can be used as fire wood and to even get off-season mushroom as household waste water can make the mushrooms grow., Conclusions: Our description of artisanal mycoculture methods that respond to conservation and utilization pressures, demonstrates the value of addressing traditional knowledge to improve ethno-biology and mycoculture industry practice. Traditional communities engage in multiple technological and organizational innovations and practices for sustainability and in the case of mushroom production to conserve the environment and culture, ensure variety, food and nutrition security, and income. The results of this study present opportunities to preserve ecosystem quality while developing an artisanal mycoculture system. They have also identified aspects of artisanal mycoculture that most urgently require further ethno-biological study and industry development. Future research and industry development can utilize the result of this study to boost artisanal production of wild saprophytic mushrooms in Sub-Saharan countries, for food or medicinal consumption, and environment conservation. Further development of production efficiencies in context with sustainable natural resource management is recommended.

Beech mushrooms ( Hypsizygus marmoreus ) are largely relished for their characteristic earthy flavor, chewy-texture, and gustatory and nutritional properties in East Asian societies. Intriguingly, the aforementioned properties of beech mushroom can be subsumed under its elusive metabolome and subtle transcriptome regulating its various stages of growth and development. Herein, we carried out an integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling for different sized beech mushrooms across spatial components (cap and stipe) to delineate their signature pathways. We observed that metabolite profiles and differentially expressed gene (DEGs) displayed marked synergy for specific signature pathways according to mushroom sizes. Notably, the amino acid, nucleotide, and terpenoid metabolism-related metabolites and genes were more abundant in small-sized mushrooms. On the other hand, the relative levels of carbohydrates and TCA intermediate metabolites as well as corresponding genes were linearly increased with mushroom size. However, the composition of flavor-related metabolites was varying in different sized beech mushrooms. Our study explores the signature pathways associated with growth, development, nutritional, functional and organoleptic properties of different sized beech mushrooms., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Although it is logical to think that mycorrhizal mushroom production should be somehow related to the growth of the trees from which the fungi obtain carbohydrates, little is known about how mushroom yield patterns are related to tree performance. In this study, we delved into the understanding of the relationships between aboveground fungal productivity, tree radial growth patterns and climatic conditions across three latitudinally different bioclimatic regions encompassing Mediterranean, temperate and boreal forest ecosystems in Europe. For this purpose, we used a large assemblage of long-term data of weekly or biweekly mushroom yield monitoring in Spain, Switzerland and Finland. We analysed the relationships between annual mushroom yield (considering both biomass and number of sporocarps per unit area), tree ring features (tree ring, earlywood and latewood widths), and meteorological conditions (i.e. precipitation and temperature of summer and autumn) from different study sites and forest ecosystems, using both standard and partial correlations. Moreover, we fitted predictive models to estimate mushroom yield from mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal guilds based on climatic and dendrochronological variables. Significant synchronies between mushroom yield and climatic and dendrochronological variables were mostly found in drier Mediterranean sites, while few or no significant correlations were found in the boreal and temperate regions. We observed positive correlations between latewood growth and mycorrhizal mushroom biomass only in some Mediterranean sites, this relationship being mainly mediated by summer and autumn precipitation. Under more water-limited conditions, both the seasonal wood production and the mushroom yield are more sensitive to precipitation events, resulting in higher synchrony between both variables. This comparative study across diverse European forest biomes and types provides new insights into the relationship between mushroom productivity, tree growth and weather conditions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)