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A New Omics Data Resource of Pleurocybella porrigens for Gene Discovery

Summary

This research provided the first comprehensive genetic analysis of Pleurocybella porrigens, a mushroom that caused fatal food poisoning in Japan. The study revealed the mushroom’s complete genetic makeup and how its genes are expressed, creating a valuable resource for understanding this and related fungi. Impact on everyday life: – Helps understand why certain mushrooms can be dangerous to eat – Advances our knowledge of edible vs. toxic mushrooms – Contributes to safer foraging and mushroom consumption – Aids development of better testing methods for mushroom toxicity – Provides insights for developing new medicines from fungi

Background

Pleurocybella porrigens is a mushroom-forming fungus traditionally consumed as food in Japan. In 2004, 55 people were poisoned after eating this mushroom, with 17 deaths from acute encephalopathy. Despite research efforts, the molecular mechanism causing the encephalopathy remains unknown. Prior to this study, genome and transcriptome sequence data for P. porrigens and related species were not available in public databases.

Objective

To generate and analyze comprehensive genome and transcriptome sequence data from P. porrigens fruiting bodies and mycelia using next-generation sequencing, in order to create a new omics data resource for gene discovery in basidiomycetes.

Results

The assembled genome was approximately 32Mb in size, consisting of 31,164 scaffolds. Analysis revealed P. porrigens has a unique genome signature compared to other Agaricales species. Transcriptome assembly yielded 45,390 unigenes in fruiting bodies and 26,216 in mycelia. The majority of unigenes appeared to be novel genes without significant counterparts in public databases. Only about 20% could be assigned GO terms or KEGG pathways. Expression analysis identified differentially expressed genes between fruiting bodies and mycelia.

Conclusion

The study generated comprehensive omics data revealing numerous novel genes in the basidiomycetes division. The results indicate current databases lack substantial omics information for basidiomycetes. This new large-scale data resource on P. porrigens will facilitate gene discovery and functional analysis in basidiomycetes fungi.
  • Published in:PLOS One,
  • Study Type:Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis,
  • Source: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069681
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