Transcriptome Analysis of Auricularia fibrillifera Fruit-body Responses to Drought Stress and Rehydration

Summary

This research examined how the edible mushroom Auricularia fibrillifera adapts to drought conditions and recovers when rehydrated. The study revealed complex molecular mechanisms that allow this fungus to survive dry conditions and quickly recover when water becomes available. This has important implications for both cultivation and human health. Key impacts on everyday life: • Improved understanding could lead to better mushroom cultivation techniques, increasing food production • Insights into drought tolerance mechanisms could help develop more resilient crops • The identified health-promoting compounds support the use of this mushroom as a nutritious food • The findings may lead to new methods for preserving and storing mushrooms • Understanding of rehydration mechanisms could benefit food processing technologies

Background

Drought stress severely restricts edible fungus production. The genus Auricularia has rare drought tolerance, rehydration capability, and is nutrient rich. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind these capabilities is important for breeding and cultivation.

Objective

To investigate the key genes and metabolic pathways involved in drought-stress and rehydration responses in Auricularia fibrillifera using transcriptome analysis, in order to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in drought tolerance and rehydration.

Results

The study identified 173.93 Mb clean reads, 26.09 Gb of data bulk, and 52,954 unigenes. Under drought-stress and rehydration conditions, 14,235 and 8,539 differentially expressed genes were detected respectively. Key pathways involved in drought response included tyrosine metabolism, caffeine metabolism, ribosome, phagosome, proline/arginine metabolism, peroxisome and MAPK signaling pathways. During rehydration, diterpenoid biosynthesis, butanoate metabolism, C5-branched dibasic acid, and aflatoxin biosynthesis pathways were significantly enriched. Gibberellins and γ-aminobutyric acid were important in recovery after rehydration.

Conclusion

The strong drought tolerance of A. fibrillifera appears to be mainly attributed to ROS scavenging, osmoregulation, signal transduction, cell wall remodeling, and phagocytosis mechanisms. GA4 and GABA promote rapid growth recovery after rehydration. The study identified important candidate genes related to drought stress and rehydration that could be valuable for genetic modification in Auricularia. Additionally, many genes related to antibiotics, vitamins, and other health-related ingredients were found, confirming A. fibrillifera’s nutritional value.
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