Research Topic: Biosynthetic pathways

Recent developments of tools for genome and metabolome studies in basidiomycete fungi and their application to natural product research

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Mushrooms and related fungi in the basidiomycete group produce many useful medicines and agricultural chemicals. Scientists have traditionally struggled to study these fungi because they grow slowly and have complex genomes. Recent technological breakthroughs—including faster DNA sequencing and gene-editing tools—are now making it much easier to discover and understand the helpful compounds these fungi produce, potentially leading to new medicines.

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Quantitative Characterization of Gene Regulatory Circuits Associated With Fungal Secondary Metabolism to Discover Novel Natural Products

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Scientists developed a special technology using tiny channels and fluorescent markers to understand how fungi control their genes that produce valuable compounds. By precisely measuring how different genes turn on and off in individual fungal cells, they can now predict and control when and how much of useful medicines and other bioactive molecules are made. They successfully used this knowledge to create new pathways that produce novel compounds, including new types of dendrobine molecules never seen before.

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The First Whole Genome Sequence and Methylation Profile of Gerronema lapidescens QL01

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Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of Lei Wan (Gerronema lapidescens), a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating parasitic infections and digestive problems. The research reveals the mushroom’s genetic blueprint, including genes responsible for producing beneficial compounds and adapting to rocky mountain environments. This foundational work aims to enable sustainable cultivation of this rare fungus and development of new medicinal treatments, addressing current conservation threats from over-harvesting.

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Identification of the High Mannose N-Glycan Isomers Undescribed by Conventional Multicellular Eukaryotic Biosynthetic Pathways

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Researchers developed a new method to identify the sugar structures attached to proteins in various foods and organisms. They discovered that many of these sugar structures are different from what scientists previously thought based on standard biological pathways. Using advanced mass spectrometry technology, they created a database to quickly identify these novel sugar structures, which could help better understand how organisms modify their proteins.

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Tracing the Origin and Evolution of the Fungal Mycophenolic Acid Biosynthesis Pathway

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Mycophenolic acid is an important drug that helps transplant patients by preventing their immune systems from rejecting new organs. Scientists studied the genes that fungi use to make this drug and found it in several fungal species. They discovered that this ability to produce the drug evolved a long time ago in fungi but was lost in most species over time, remaining only in a few special fungi.

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Influences of substrate and tissue type on erinacine production and biosynthetic gene expression in Hericium erinaceus

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Researchers studied how different growing conditions affect erinacine production in lion’s mane mushroom mycelium. They found that the type of nutrients provided (substrate) significantly influences which erinacines are produced, even when the genes responsible for making these compounds show similar activity levels. Mycelium produced much more erinacines than fruit bodies, and specific nutrients could be used to encourage production of specific beneficial compounds.

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