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Long-Distance Translocation of Protein During Morphogenesis of the Fruiting Body in the Filamentous Fungus, Agaricus bisporus

Summary

This research discovered that mushroom-forming fungi can transport proteins over long distances from the vegetative growth in compost to the developing mushrooms. This previously unknown capability has important implications for mushroom cultivation and biotechnology. Impact on everyday life: – Could lead to improved mushroom crops without genetic modification of the edible mushrooms – Enables new ways to produce valuable proteins in mushroom farming – Demonstrates safer methods for applying biotechnology to food production – May lead to enhanced nutritional value of cultivated mushrooms – Provides new understanding of how fungi grow and develop

Background

Agaricus bisporus is a commercially important mushroom fungus cultivated in a bi-layered substrate consisting of compost and peat. The fungus typically grows from mycelial inoculants representing a single genotype placed in both layers. Understanding protein expression and translocation patterns during fruiting body development is important for biotechnology applications.

Objective

To examine A. bisporus as a heterologous protein expression system and investigate the contributions of mycelial inoculants from different substrate layers in fruiting body morphogenesis using β-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter protein.

Results

The study revealed that fruiting bodies could express GUS activity while lacking the GUS transgene when the lower layer contained GUS-expressing mycelium and the upper layer contained wild-type mycelium. This demonstrated long-distance protein translocation from the vegetative mycelium in the compost to the developing fruiting body. The effectiveness of translocation depended on using promoters active in vegetative mycelium rather than fruiting body-specific promoters.

Conclusion

The research discovered a previously unknown phenomenon of long-distance protein translocation in A. bisporus from vegetative mycelium to developing fruiting bodies. This finding has implications for recombinant protein expression and crop improvement strategies. The translocation process allows for the production of transgene-free mushrooms that still express beneficial proteins translocated from transgenic mycelium in the lower substrate layer.
  • Published in:PLoS One,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028412
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