Scientists studied a medicinal mushroom called Taiwanofungus gaoligongensis to understand how different growing methods affect the production of beneficial compounds. They found that growing the mushroom in special bags with certain wood substrates produced far more of the valuable compounds (up to 12-fold more) compared to growing it on rice medium. By examining which genes were active in different growing conditions, they discovered how the mushroom’s cells control the production of these medicinal compounds, which could help farmers grow more potent medicinal mushrooms.