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Proteomic Analysis of Coprinopsis cinerea under Conditions of Horizontal and Perpendicular Gravity

Summary

Researchers studied how mushrooms respond to gravity using Coprinopsis cinerea, a common lab fungus. They found that while the fungal threads (mycelium) don’t respond to gravity, the fruiting bodies do by growing away from the direction gravity pulls. Using advanced protein analysis techniques, they identified 51 proteins that change their levels depending on gravity direction, suggesting that gravity response is connected to how mushrooms develop their fruiting bodies.

Background

Coprinopsis cinerea is a model basidiomycete fungus with a short life cycle that develops fruiting bodies within two weeks. Most gravity response research has focused on plant systems, while fungal gravitropism mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the fungal response to gravity using a proteomics approach.

Objective

To examine the physical and molecular responses of Coprinopsis cinerea to gravity by comparing fruiting body development under horizontal versus perpendicular gravity conditions. To identify differentially expressed proteins and classify their functions in response to gravitational stress.

Results

Fruiting bodies grew opposite to gravity direction, while mycelium growth showed no gravitropic response. A total of 51 proteins were identified as differentially expressed between the two gravity conditions, with 6 up-regulated and 45 down-regulated under perpendicular conditions. Major functional groups included hydrolases and transferases (16%), signal transduction (15%), oxidoreductases and isomerases (11%), and carbohydrate metabolism (9%).

Conclusion

This is the first proteomic study evaluating C. cinerea’s molecular response to gravity, demonstrating that fruiting bodies actively respond to gravitational stimuli through differential protein expression. The identified proteins suggest that gravity response in fungi may be related to fruiting body development mechanisms, particularly involving signal transduction pathways.
  • Published in:Mycobiology,
  • Study Type:Experimental Study,
  • Source: PMID: 29138630
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