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The New Phytologist May 2023Mechanisms of diversification in fungi are relatively poorly known. Many ectomycorrhizal symbionts show preference for particular host genera or families, so...
Mechanisms of diversification in fungi are relatively poorly known. Many ectomycorrhizal symbionts show preference for particular host genera or families, so host-symbiont selection may be an important driver of fungal diversification in ectomycorrhizal systems. However, whether ectomycorrhizal hosts and symbionts show correlated evolutionary patterns remains untested, and it is unknown whether fungal specialisation also occurs in systems dominated by hosts from the same genus. We use metabarcoding of ectomycorrhizal fungi collected with hyphal ingrowth bags from Nothofagus forests across southern New Zealand to investigate host-symbiont specialisation and correlated evolution. We examine how ectomycorrhizal communities differ between host species and look for patterns of host-symbiont cophylogeny. We found substantial differences in ectomycorrhizal communities associated with different host taxa, particularly between hosts from different subgenera (Lophozonia and Fuscospora), but also between more closely related hosts. Twenty-four per cent of fungal taxa tested showed affiliations to particular hosts, and tests for cophylogeny revealed significant correlations between host relatedness and the fungal phylogeny that extended to substantial evolutionary depth. These results provide new evidence of correlated evolution in ectomycorrhizal systems, indicating that preferences among closely related host species may represent an important evolutionary driver for local lineage diversification in ectomycorrhizal fungi.
Topics: Mycorrhizae; Biodiversity; Forests; Hyphae; Host Specificity; Phylogeny
PubMed: 36751898
DOI: 10.1111/nph.18802 -
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... Mar 2022The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity, determine and quantify the phenolic compounds and other compounds, and evaluate the cellular...
Biochemical characterization and biological properties of mycelium extracts from Lepista sordida GMA-05 and Trametes hirsuta GMA-01: new mushroom strains isolated in Brazil.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity, determine and quantify the phenolic compounds and other compounds, and evaluate the cellular cytotoxicity of mycelium extracts of two new Basidiomycete mushrooms strains isolated in Brazil and identified as Lepista sordida GMA-05 and Trametes hirsuta GMA-01. Higher amounts of proteins, free amino acids, total and reducing carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds as chlorogenic, ferulic, caffeic, and gallic acids were found in extracts of T. hirsuta and L. sordida. Protocatechuic acid was found only in aqueous extracts of L. sordida. The TLC of the extracts showed the predominance of glucose and smaller amounts of xylose. It was observed through UPLC-MS higher amounts of phenolic compounds. The aqueous extract from T. hirsuta had the most noteworthy results in the antioxidant assays, especially the ABTS test. The cytotoxic activity was evaluated using two different cell lineages and showed higher toxicity for L. sordida in macrophages J774-A1. However, in Vero cells, it was 12.6-fold less toxic when compared to T. hirsuta. Thus, both mushrooms show potential as functional foods or additives, presenting phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and low cytotoxic activity in the tested cells.
Topics: Agaricales; Animals; Antioxidants; Brazil; Chlorocebus aethiops; Chromatography, Liquid; Mycelium; Plant Extracts; Polyporaceae; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Trametes; Vero Cells
PubMed: 35076897
DOI: 10.1007/s42770-021-00670-5 -
International Journal of Medical... 2021: mycelium (HSM) has potent anti-pulmonary fibrotic activities and has been proposed as an effective treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Macrophages are the...
: mycelium (HSM) has potent anti-pulmonary fibrotic activities and has been proposed as an effective treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Macrophages are the main innate immune cells in the lung tissue, playing key roles in pulmonary fibrosis repair and homeostasis. Excessive macrophage autophagy plays a vital role in pulmonary fibrosis. The protective effect of HSM on macrophages of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrotic mice remain unclear. : In this study, we collected lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples from pulmonary fibrotic mice. Meanwhile, alveolar macrophages were isolated and murine macrophage RAW264.7 cell line was cultured for further study of HSM autophagy. First, we found that HSM decreased the number of autophagosomes, as well as the levels of LC3B and ATG5, and increased the protein level of P62 during the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Meanwhile, HSM reduced alveolar macrophages infiltration into the BALF and inhibited their accumulation in the fibrotic lung tissue. Flow cytometry analysis showed that HSM administration inhibited the autophagy marker LC3B expression in CD11bCD11c alveolar macrophages in BLM-induced lung fibrosis without affecting CD11bCD11c interstitial macrophages. Transmission electron microscopy and JC-1 staining for mitochondrial membrane potential of alveolar macrophages also verified that the HSM significantly decreased autophagy in the alveolar macrophages of BLM-treated mice. , autophagosomes-lysosome fusion inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) was pre-incubated with RAW264.7 cells, and HSM reduced CQ-induced autophagosomes accumulation. TLR4 signaling inhibitor CLI095 reversed the above effects, suggesting HSM could reduce the cumulation of autophagosomes dependent on TLR4. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated TLR4-related autophagy was significantly inhibited by HSM treatment. In addition, the protein expressions of TLR4 and phospho-NF-κB p65 were markedly inhibited in cells treated with HSM. : These results indicated that HSM could inhibit the autophagy of alveolar macrophages through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway to achieve anti-fibrotic effect.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Biological Products; Bleomycin; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Hypocreales; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis; Macrophages, Alveolar; Male; Mice; Mycelium; RAW 264.7 Cells; Sequestosome-1 Protein; Signal Transduction; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; Sulfonamides; Toll-Like Receptor 4; Transcription Factor RelA
PubMed: 33746598
DOI: 10.7150/ijms.51654 -
International Microbiology : the... Jan 2021Sporothrix schenckii is a thermally dimorphic fungus. In a saprotrophic environment or culturing at 25 °C, it grows as mycelia, whereas in host tissues or culturing at...
PURPOSE
Sporothrix schenckii is a thermally dimorphic fungus. In a saprotrophic environment or culturing at 25 °C, it grows as mycelia, whereas in host tissues or culturing at 37 °C, it undergoes dimorphic transition and division into pathogenic yeast cells. S. schenckii can cause serious disseminated sporotrichosis in immunocompromised hosts and presents an emerging global health problem. The mycelium-to-yeast transition was a consequence of the adaptive process to different environment. Some studies showed that the transition was significantly related to the virulence and pathogenesis of dimorphic fungi. However the genetic mechanisms of this complicated biological process are poorly understood.
METHOD
Our study presented a comparative transcriptomic analysis perspective on temperature stress in a visceral isolates of S. schenckii, obtaining more genetic information related to dimorphic transition.
RESULTS
The 9.38 Gbp dataset was generated and assembled into 14,423 unigenes. Compared with gene and protein databases, 9561 unigenes were annotated. Comparative analysis identified 1259 genes expressed differentially in mycelium and yeast phase, and were categorized into a number of important biological processes, such as synthesis and metabolism, transmembrane transport, biocatalysis, oxidation reduction, and cellular signal transduction.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggested that temperature-dependent transition was tightly associated with stress adaptation, growth and development, signal regulation, adhesion, and colonization, which was predicted to be related with virulence and pathogenesis. Collection of these data should offer fine-scale insights into the mechanisms of dimorphism and pathogenesis of S. schenckii, and meanwhile facilitate the evolutionary and function studies of other dimorphic fungi.
Topics: Animals; Fungal Proteins; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Humans; Mycelium; Sporothrix; Sporotrichosis; Stress, Physiological; Temperature; Transcription, Genetic
PubMed: 32691258
DOI: 10.1007/s10123-020-00136-y -
Scientific Reports Nov 2023Gradient porous structures (GPS) are characterized by structural variations along a specific direction, leading to enhanced mechanical and functional properties compared...
Gradient porous structures (GPS) are characterized by structural variations along a specific direction, leading to enhanced mechanical and functional properties compared to homogeneous structures. This study explores the potential of mycelium, the root part of a fungus, as a biomaterial for generating GPS. During the intentional growth of mycelium, the filamentous network undergoes structural changes as the hyphae grow away from the feed substrate. Through microstructural analysis of sections obtained from the mycelium tissue, systematic variations in fiber characteristics (such as fiber radii distribution, crosslink density, network density, segment length) and pore characteristics (including pore size, number, porosity) are observed. Furthermore, the mesoscale mechanical moduli of the mycelium networks exhibit a gradual variation in local elastic modulus, with a significant change of approximately 50% across a 30 mm thick mycelium tissue. The structure-property analysis reveals a direct correlation between the local mechanical moduli and the network crosslink density of the mycelium. This study presents the potential of controlling growth conditions to generate mycelium-based GPS with desired functional properties. This approach, which is both sustainable and economically viable, expands the applications of mycelium-based GPS to include filtration membranes, bio-scaffolds, tissue regeneration platforms, and more.
Topics: Tissue Scaffolds; Porosity; Biocompatible Materials; Elastic Modulus; Mycelium
PubMed: 37935723
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45842-5 -
Scientific Reports May 2024The ecological and economic benefits of mycelium composites offer a promising opportunity for supporting sustainable development in Africa. This study focuses on...
The ecological and economic benefits of mycelium composites offer a promising opportunity for supporting sustainable development in Africa. This study focuses on assessing the environmental impact of mycelium composites for building and construction (MCBs) by conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) in the context of Africa. It is demonstrated that the potential environmental impact of MCBs is substantially influenced by the use and source of electrical power for autoclaves, incubators, and ovens, making the culturing and post-processing phases the major environmental hotspots. The impact of MCB production is also relative to the energy mix of specific countries, being higher in countries that rely on fossil fuel energy (e.g., South Africa) and lower in those that rely more on renewable sources (e.g., Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC). Furthermore, the impact of MCB production is found to be sensitive to travel distance, suggesting that situating production facilities closer to agricultural, agro-industrial, and/or forestry waste sources could be more beneficial than interregional sourcing, for example. It is also demonstrated that MCBs have the potential to be a more ecologically sustainable alternative to some conventional construction materials (e.g., concrete) over an entire life cycle. Based on the insights obtained from this LCA, some recommendations have been proposed to address potential environmental repercussions pre-emptively and proactively: this is particularly important for nations, mainly in the Global South, that exhibit low resilience to climate change due to limited economic resources. Furthermore, with the rapid expansion of mycelium composite technology, there is a need to increase awareness about its potential environmental impact and, ultimately, to mitigate its potential contribution to pressing environmental concerns (e.g., global warming and climate change). Consequently, this study also adds to the existing body of literature on LCA studies, delineating key factors for consideration in future LCA studies and providing guidance for the sustainable establishment and expansion of this technology.
Topics: Mycelium; Africa; Construction Materials; Environment; Sustainable Development
PubMed: 38789584
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62561-7 -
BMJ Case Reports Jul 2021
Topics: Ear Canal; Ear, Middle; Humans; Hyphae; Nose
PubMed: 34312145
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2021-245388 -
Microbiology Spectrum Feb 2022Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a common, chronic, and relapsing skin disease. The roles of spp. in the pathogenesis of SD are still not clear due to the lack of direct...
Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a common, chronic, and relapsing skin disease. The roles of spp. in the pathogenesis of SD are still not clear due to the lack of direct evidence for the existence of hyphae within affected skin tissues. We set out to elucidate if mycelium contributes to the onset and development of SD and if mycelium is correlated with the clinical severity of SD patients. We detected hyphae in patients with SD using potassium hydroxide (KOH) and calcofluor white (CFW) staining. Fluorescent microscopy was performed for the analysis of fungal cell wall and morphological characteristics of under CFW staining. Culture growth in modified Dixon agar was used for DNA extraction and sequencing, and species were confirmed by a sequencing data BLAST search against the NCBI database. We demonstrated that hyphae were positively correlated with the clinical severity of SD patients (= 3.1738 × 10). All the patients responded well to antifungal treatment. There is no significant difference for species dominance across the variant groups. However, the exact molecular mechanisms of how spp. affect SD need to be further explored. The results show that spp. in the hyphal stage are restricted to SD patients compared with healthy controls, suggesting that the presence of hyphae contributes to the pathogenesis of SD. The results highlight the importance of the antifungal therapy for the future treatment of SD patients. Our results support the proposal that the hyphal form of could be one of the pathogenic factors that contribute to SD, which has been previously less well studied. This clinical observation paves the way for further investigations of the molecular mechanisms of hyphal pathogenicity in SD.
Topics: Adult; Antifungal Agents; Dermatitis, Seborrheic; Dermatomycoses; Female; Humans; Hyphae; Malassezia; Male; Middle Aged; Skin
PubMed: 35019692
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01169-21 -
Microbiology Spectrum Sep 2021Aspergillus oryzae is a safe filamentous fungus widely used in the food, medicine, and feed industries, but there is currently not enough research on the light response...
Aspergillus oryzae is a safe filamentous fungus widely used in the food, medicine, and feed industries, but there is currently not enough research on the light response of A. oryzae. In this study, 12 different light conditions were set and A. oryzae GDMCC 3.31 was continuously irradiated for 72 h to investigate the effect of light on mycelial growth and conidium production. Specifically, each light condition was the combination of one light wavelength (475, 520, or 630 nm) and one light intensity (20, 40, 60, or 80 μmol photon m s). The results show that mycelium growth was inhibited significantly by green light (wavelength of 520 nm and intensities of 20 and 60 μmol photon m s) and blue light (wavelength of 475 nm and intensity of 80 μmol photon m s). The production of conidia was suppressed only by blue light (wavelength of 475 nm and intensities of 40, 60, and 80 μmol photon m s), and those levels of inhibition increased when the intensity of blue light increased. When the strain was irradiated by blue light (80 μmol photon m s), the number of conidia was 57.4% less than that of the darkness group. However, within our set range of light intensities, A. oryzae GDMCC 3.31 was insensitive to red light (wavelength of 630 nm) in terms of mycelium growth and conidium production. Moreover, interaction effects between light wavelength and intensity were found to exist in terms of colony diameter and the number of conidia. This research investigated the light response of A. oryzae, which may provide a new method to regulate mixed strains in fermented foods by light. Studies on the monochromatic light response of Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa have gone deep into the molecular mechanism. However, research methods for the light response of A. oryzae remain in the use of white light sources. In this study, we first demonstrated that A. oryzae GDMCC 3.31 was sensitive to light wavelength and intensity. We have observed that blue light inhibited its growth and sporulation and the inhibitory effect increased with intensity. This research not only adds new content to the study of the photoreaction of Aspergillus but also brings new possibilities for the use of light to regulate mixed strains and ultimately improve the flavor quality of fermented foods.
Topics: Aspergillus oryzae; Light; Mycelium; Spores, Fungal
PubMed: 34346745
DOI: 10.1128/Spectrum.00213-21 -
Developmental Biology Jul 2019In filamentous fungi, the formation of hyphal branches is a critical process that supports the ability of mycelia to radiate across and colonize growth substrates.... (Review)
Review
In filamentous fungi, the formation of hyphal branches is a critical process that supports the ability of mycelia to radiate across and colonize growth substrates. Branching can occur at hyphal tips (apical branching) or from subapical hyphal compartments (lateral branching). The primary focus of this review is on lateral branching. Current understanding of the physiological and molecular mechanisms that underlie the formation of lateral branches is summarized. This includes emphasis on the spatial regulation of branch formation as well as the roles of the morphogenetic machinery in branch emergence. An improved understanding of hyphal branching will provide greater insight into the morphological differentiation of fungal mycelia.
Topics: Fungi; Hyphae
PubMed: 30831088
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.02.012