A Novel Gammapartitivirus That Causes Changes in Fungal Development and Multi-Stress Tolerance to Important Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps chanhua

This research discovered a new virus that infects the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps chanhua, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 1500 years. While the virus slows down the mushroom’s growth and makes it more sensitive to stress, it significantly increases the production of spores and fruiting bodies – the parts used for medicine. This discovery could lead to better ways of growing this valuable medicinal mushroom. Impacts on everyday life: – Could lead to more efficient production of medicinal mushroom products – May help reduce costs of traditional medicine supplements – Provides new understanding of how viruses can be used to enhance mushroom cultivation – Could contribute to development of improved medicinal mushroom strains – May help make traditional Chinese medicine more accessible to general public