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Hydrophobin Gene Cmhyd4 Negatively Regulates Fruiting Body Development in Edible Fungi Cordyceps militaris

Summary

Scientists studied a gene called Cmhyd4 in Cordyceps militaris, an edible medicinal mushroom. By removing this gene, they found that the mushroom produced more fruiting bodies with higher levels of beneficial compounds like carotenoids and adenosine. This discovery could help mushroom farmers grow better quality mushrooms with improved nutritional value through selective breeding.

Background

Hydrophobins are small amphiphilic proteins secreted by fungi that regulate fruiting body development in macro fungi. Previous studies identified four hydrophobin-encoding genes in Cordyceps militaris with different transcript patterns during fruiting body development. Cmhyd4 was found to be primarily transcribed at the mycelial stage in darkness with minimal transcription during fruiting body development.

Objective

To investigate the role of the hydrophobin gene Cmhyd4 in fruiting body development and related physiological processes in Cordyceps militaris using reverse genetics approaches. The study aimed to determine whether Cmhyd4 plays a positive or negative regulatory role in fruiting body formation and other fungal developmental processes.

Results

Deletion of Cmhyd4 promoted conidial production, increased carotenoid and adenosine contents by 2-fold, enhanced stress resistance to osmotic and oxidative stress, and significantly improved fruiting body biological efficiency by increasing fruiting body density without affecting mycelial growth rate or conidia hydrophobicity. Overexpression of Cmhyd4 reduced conidia production and produced malformed fruiting bodies, while complementation restored wild-type phenotypes.

Conclusion

Cmhyd4 plays a negative regulatory role in fruiting body development, conidiation, secondary metabolite production, and stress resistance in Cordyceps militaris, distinguishing it from the positive regulatory role of Cmhyd1. These findings suggest Cmhyd4 could serve as a target gene for strain breeding to improve fruiting body yield and nutritional content in C. militaris cultivation.
  • Published in:International Journal of Molecular Sciences,
  • Study Type:Experimental Study,
  • Source: PMID: 36902017, DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054586
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