Search Results (390)

This study explores the purification, characterization, and application of laccases from Trametes hirsuta CS5 for degrading synthetic dyes as models of emerging contaminants. Purification involved ion exchange chromatography, molecular exclusion, and chromatofocusing, identifying th ree laccase isoforms: ThIa, ThIb, and ThII. Characterization included determining pH and temperature stability, kinetic parameters (K_m, K_cat), and inhibition constants (K_i) for inhibitors like NaN₃, SDS, TGA, EDTA, and DMSO, using 2,6-DMP and guaiacol as substrates. ThII exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency, with the lowest K_m and highest K_cat. Optimal activity was observed at pH 3.5 and 55 °C. Decolorization tests with nine dyes showed that ThII and ThIa were particularly effective against Acid Red 44, Orange II, Indigo Blue, Brilliant Blue R, and Remazol Brilliant Blue R. ThIb displayed higher activity towards Crystal Violet and Acid Green 27. Among substrates, guaiacol showed the highest K_cat, while 2,6-DMP was preferred overall. Inhibitor studies revealed NaN₃ as the most potent inhibitor. These results demonstrate the significant potential of T. hirsuta CS5 laccases, especially ThIa and ThII, as biocatalysts for degrading synthetic dyes and other xenobiotics. Their efficiency and stability under acidic and moderate temperature conditions position them as promising tools for sustainable wastewater treatment and environmental remediation. Full article

Central Asia, located at the heart of Eurasia, is renowned for its varied climate and vertical vegetative distribution, which support diverse biomes and position it as a global biodiversity hotspot. Despite this ecological richness, Central Asia’s fungal diversity, particularly wood-inhabiting macrofungi, remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the diversity, ecological roles, and potential distribution of poroid Hymenochaetoid fungi in the region. By conducting field surveys, collecting basidiomes, and reviewing the literature and herbarium records from five Central Asian countries, we compiled a comprehensive checklist of these fungi. In total, 43 Hymenochaetoid species belonging to 18 genera were identified, with Inonotus, Phellinus, and Phylloporia being the most species-rich. Notably, Inonotus hispidus and Phellinus igniarius were found to be the most widespread species. These macrofungi play essential ecological roles as saprotrophs and pathogens of various identified host plant families, aiding in lignin degradation and exhibiting diverse enzymatic activities. For the first time, we modelled the potential distribution patterns of Hymenochaetoid fungi in Central Asia, revealing that their distribution is strongly influenced by host plant availability and temperature-related factors. The three most critical variables were host plant density, annual temperature range (Bio7), and mean temperature of the warmest quarter (Bio10). The distribution of suitable habitats is uneven, with highly suitable areas (4.52%) concentrated in the mountainous border regions between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These results underscore the significance of specific environmental conditions for the growth and survival of Hymenochaetoid fungi in this region. Our findings highlight the urgent need for continued mycological and host plant research and expanded conservation initiatives to document and preserve macrofungal and botanical biodiversity in this under-explored area. In light of climate change, the collected mycological and botanical data provide a valuable reference for promoting forest health management globally. Full article

The basidiomycete Crucibulum laeve strain LE-BIN1700 (Agaricales, Nidulariaceae) is able to grow on agar media supplemented with individual components of lignocellulose such as lignin, cellulose, xylan, xyloglucan, arabinoxylan, starch and pectin, and also to effectively destroy and digest birch, alder and pine sawdust. C. laeve produces a unique repertoire of proteins for the saccharification of the plant biomass, including predominantly oxidative enzymes such as laccases (family AA1_1 CAZymes), GMC oxidoreductases (family AA3_2 CAZymes), FAD-oligosaccharide oxidase (family AA7 CAZymes) and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (family LPMO X325), as well as accompanying acetyl esterases and loosenine-like expansins. Metabolomic analysis revealed that, specifically, monosaccharides and carboxylic acids were the key low molecular metabolites in the C. laeve culture liquids in the experimental conditions. The proportion of monosaccharides and polyols in the total pool of identified compounds increased on the sawdust-containing media. Multiple copies of the family AA1_1, AA3_2, AA7 and LPMOs CAZyme genes, as well as eight genes encoding proteins of the YvrE superfamily (COG3386), which includes sugar lactone lactonases, were predicted in the C. laeve genome. According to metabolic pathway analysis, the litter saprotroph C. laeve can catabolize D-gluconic and D-galacturonic acids, and possibly other aldonic acids, which seems to confer certain ecological advantages. Full article

All known bioluminescent fungi are basidiomycetes belonging to the Agaricales. They emit 520–530 nm wavelength light 24 h per day in a circadian rhythm. The number of known bioluminescent fungi has more than doubled in the past 15 years from 64 to 132 species. We currently recognize five distinct lineages of bioluminescent Agaricales belonging to the Omphalotaceae (18 species), Physalacriaceae (14), Mycenaceae (96), Lucentipes lineage (3), and Cyphellopsidaceae (1). They are distributed across the globe with the highest diversity occurring on woody or leafy substrates in subtropical closed canopy forests with high plant diversity. With the caveat that most regions of the world have not been extensively sampled for bioluminescent fungi, the areas with the most known species are Japan (36), South America (30), North America (27), Malesia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia (26), Europe (23), Central America (21), China (13), Africa (10), Australasia, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia (11), and the Pacific Islands (5). Recent studies have elucidated the biochemical and genetic pathways of fungal bioluminescence and suggest the phenomenon originated a single time early in the evolution of the Agaricales. Multiple independent evolutionary losses explain the absence of luminescence in many species found within the five lineages and in the majority of Agaricales. Full article

Basidiomycetes produce huge numbers of spores that can disperse over various distances. High spore concentrations are typically observed near the fruiting bodies, with their abundance in the air influenced by the specific habitat in which the fungi grow. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration of airborne Boletus-type spores in a forest environment and evaluate the thesis that their dispersion beyond the forest is limited. Fungal spores were sampled in the summer and fall of 2022 in the forest, at its edge, and 1500 m away from the forest. The highest spore concentration was recorded in the forest interior, where approximately 76% of the total spores were detected. A noticeable decline in spore concentrations was observed at the forest edge, with a further significant reduction in open areas, including arable fields and mosaics of crops and heterogeneous plots, where spore presence accounted for only 12.1% of the total. During mushroom picking, airborne Boletus-type spores in the forest were unexpectedly high, so they could pose a threat to sensitized people. Full article

Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are a speciality UK crop with an economic value of at least 31M GBP annually. Currently, the major constraints to production are losses associated with root canker disease due to a range of fungal pathogens, among which Itersonilia pastinacae is of most concern to growers. With limited research conducted on this species, this work aimed to provide a much-needed characterisation of isolates from across the UK, continental Europe, and New Zealand. Previously, up to four separate Itersonilia species have been proposed based on the formation of chlamydospores and host specificity: I. pastinacae, I. perplexans, I. pyriformans, and I. pannonica. However, Itersonilia spp. isolates principally from parsnip, but also from a range of other hosts, which were found to infect both parsnip roots and leaves in pathogenicity tests. In growth rate assays, isolates were found to grow at temperatures of 0–25 °C and produce both chlamydospores and ballistospores across the same range of temperatures, although chlamydospore production was found to decrease as temperature increased. Following whole genome sequencing, specific primers were designed for the molecular characterisation of the isolates using six housekeeping genes and three highly variable functional genes. Phylogenetic analysis separated isolates into two and six clades, respectively, but the grouping was not associated with hosts or locations. Based on the results of this research, there was no evidence to support more than a single species of Itersonilia among the isolates studied. Full article

The diversity of macrofungi has been closely associated with forest diversity and stability. However, such a correlation has not been established for the forests of the Ningxia Autonomous Region due to the lack of systematic data on its macrofungal diversity. Therefore, for the present study, we collected 3130 macrofungal specimens from the forests of the Helan Mts., Luo Mts., and Liupan Mts. in Ningxia and assessed them using morphological and molecular approaches. We identified 468 species belonging to 157 genera, 72 families, 18 orders, 11 classes, and 2 phyla. Among them, 31 species were ascomycetes, and 437 species were basidiomycetes. Tricholomataceae, with 96 species of 22 genera, was the most species-rich family, and Inocybe was the most species-rich genus (6.2%). The Jaccard similarity index measurement revealed the highest similarity in macrofungal species (16.15%) between the Helan and Liupan Mountains and the lowest (7.72%) between the Luo and Liupan Mountains. Further analyses of the macrofungal population of Ningxia showed that 206 species possess considerable potential for utilization, including 172 edible, 70 medicinal, and 36 edible–medicinal ones. Meanwhile, 54 species were identified as being poisonous. In these forests, saprophytic fungi were the most abundant, with 318 species (67.95%), followed by symbiotic fungi (31.62%) and parasitic fungi (0.04%). Grouping based on the geographical distribution indicated that the fungi of Ningxia are composed mainly of the cosmopolitan and north temperate types. These observations unveil the diversity and community structure of macrofungi in Ningxia forests. Full article

Sugarcane is one of the main crops in Morelos State, Mexico. The presence of the insect pest Praelongorthezia acapulcoa (Morrison), commonly known as the fluted scale insect, was observed in sugarcane and rice crops, causing losses of up to 30% of production in both crops. In this work, a fungus isolated from the mycosic cadavers of P. acapulcoa was identified as the basidiomycete Phlebiopsis flavidoalba (Cooke) Hjortstam via morphological and molecular identification using the ITS, tef 1, and 28S regions. Its pathogenicity toward P. acapulcoa was verified in laboratory tests, causing a mortality rate higher than 60%. Its virulence toward P. acapulcoa, estimated as the mean lethal concentration (LC₅₀), was 9.7 × 10⁶ conidia mL⁻¹. This work constitutes the first report about a basidiomycete with direct entomopathogenic activity and biological control of the fluted scale insect, P. acapulcoa. Full article

Strain IBc-114 was isolated from a gray mold lesion and was identified as the fungus Schizophyllum commune. In this strain, two mycoviruses, Schizophyllum commune RNA virus 1 (ScRV1, C_AA053475.1) and Botrytis cinerea mitovirus 9 strain IBc-114 (BcMV9/IBc-114, C_AA053476.1), were isolated and characterized. ScRV1 has flexuous filamentous particles about 20 ± 2.1 nm in diameter and 1000 ± 94.2 nm in length. The genome of ScRV1 is 7370 nt in length and contains two open reading frames (ORFs) which encode a polyprotein and a coat protein, respectively. The polyprotein has 1967 aa, including a helicase domain and an RdRp domain which has the highest identity of 28.21% with that of Entomophthora benyvirus E (EbVE). The coat protein has 241 aa which is mostly phylogenetically close to the coat proteins of Alphatetraviridae. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of ScRV1 and viruses selected, ScRV1 might represent a new family (temporarily named Mycobenyviridae) of the order Hepelivirales. The genome of BcMV9/IBc-114 that infects S. commune is 2729 nt in length and has only one ORF encoding an RdRp protein with 719 aa. BcMV9/IBc-114 has the highest identity of 98.61% with Botrytis cinerea mitovirus 9 (BcMV9) (MT089704). ScRV1, but not BcMV9/IBc-114, has certain effects on the host growth of S. commune. Furthermore, BcMV9/IBc-114 has been demonstrated to replicate in the ascomycetous fungi Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and it negatively affects the growth and pathogenicity of B. cinerea, but it does not affect S. sclerotiorum. This is the first report of mycoviruses in S. commune and cross-phyla transmission of mitovirus in nature. Full article

Taxonomy plays a central role in understanding the diversity of life, translating the products of biological exploration and discovery specimens and observations into systems of names that settle a “classification home” to taxa. The ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes family Thelephoraceae has been understudied in subtropical ecosystems. Many species of Thelephoraceae are important edible and medicinal fungi, with substantial economic value. Four new species, Thelephora resupinata, T. subtropica, T. yunnanensis, and Tomentella tenuifarinacea, are proposed based on a combination of the morphological features and molecular evidence. Thelephora resupinata is characterized by the resupinate basidiomata having a tuberculate pileal surface hymenial, and the presence of the subglobose to globose basidiospores (9–12 × 7–9 µm). T. subtropica is solitary coriaceous infundibuliform gray-brown basidiomata with a presence of the subclavate basidia and subglobose to globose basidiospores (6–8 × 5–7 µm). T. yunnanensis is typical of the laterally stipitate basidiomata having a smooth, umber to coffee hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae, and the presence of the subglobose basidiospores (7–10 × 6–8 µm). Tomentella tenuifarinacea is typical of the arachnoid basidiomata having a smooth, gray, or dark gray hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae, and the presence of the subglobose to globose basidiospores (7–9 × 6–8 µm). Sequences of ITS+nLSU+mtSSU genes were used for the phylogentic analyses using maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference methods. The three genes’ (ITS+nLSU+mtSSU) phylogenetic analysis showed that the genera Thelephora and Tomentella grouped together within the family Thelephoraceae and three new species were nested into the genus Thelephora, and one new species was nested into the genus Tomentella. Full article

Intracellular alcohol oxidase (AOX) was isolated from the basidiomycetous white rot fungus Cerrena unicolor FCL139. The enzyme was semi-purified (13-fold) using two-step chromatography with 30% activity recovery. The identity of the protein was confirmed by LC-MS/MS analysis, and its MW (72 kDa) and pI (6.18) were also determined. The kinetics parameters of the AOX reaction towards various substrates were analysed, which proved that, in addition to methanol (4.36 ± 0.27% of the oxidised substrate), AOX most potently oxidises aromatic alcohols, such as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (14.0 ± 0.8%), benzyl alcohol (4.2 ± 0.3%), anisyl alcohol (7.6 ± 0.4%), and veratryl alcohol (5.0 ± 0.3%). Moreover, the influence of selected commercially available proteases on the biocatalytic properties of AOX from C. unicolor was studied. It was proved that the digested enzyme lost its catalytic potential properties except when incubated with pepsin, which significantly boosted its activity up to 123%. Full article

Ustilago crameri is a pathogenic basidiomycete fungus that causes foxtail millet kernel smut (FMKS), a devastating grain disease in most foxtail millet growing regions of the world. Carbohydrate-Binding Modules (CBMs) are one of the important families of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in fungi and play a crucial role in fungal growth and development, as well as in pathogen infection. However, there is little information about the CBM family in U. crameri. Here, 11 CBM members were identified based on complete sequence analysis and functional annotation of the genome of U. crameri. According to phylogenetic analysis, they were divided into six groups. Gene structure and sequence composition analysis showed that these 11 UcCBM genes exhibit differences in gene structure and protein motifs. Furthermore, several cis-regulatory elements involved in plant hormones were detected in the promoter regions of these UcCBM genes. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis showed that UcCBM proteins were involved in carbohydrate metabolism, and multiple partner protein interactions with UcCBM were also detected. The expression of UcCBM genes during U. crameri infection is further clarified, and the results indicate that several UcCBM genes were induced by U. crameri infection. These results provide valuable information for elucidating the features of U. crameri CBMs’ family proteins and lay a crucial foundation for further research into their roles in interactions between U. crameri and foxtail millet. Full article

Background/Objectives: The search for new antimicrobial molecules is important to expand the range of available drugs, as well as to overcome the drug resistance of pathogens. One of the promising sources of antibacterial and antifungal metabolites is basidial fungi, which have wide biosynthetic capabilities. Methods: The review summarized the results of studying the antimicrobial activity of extracts and metabolites from basidiomycetes published from 2018–2023. Results: In all studies, testing for antibacterial and antifungal activity was carried out in in vitro experiments. To obtain the extracts, mainly the fruiting bodies of basidiomycetes, as well as their mycelia and culture liquid were used. Antimicrobial activity was found in aqueous, methanol, and ethanol extracts. Antimicrobial metabolites of basidiomycetes were isolated mainly from the submerged culture of basidiomycetes. Metabolites active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and mycelial and yeast-like fungi were identified. Conclusions: Basidiomycete extracts and metabolites have shown activity against collectible strains of bacteria and fungi and multi-resistant and clinical strains of pathogenic bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the most active metabolites ranged from 1 to 16.7 µg/mL. Full article

Deconica is a relatively small genus, with only 90 names recorded in previous research. In this study, four new species of Deconica have been identified based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence from subtropical regions of China. This represents the first discovery of new species of Deconica in China. Morphologically, D. austrosinensis is characterized by medium-sized spores that are elliptical to elongated-ellipsoid in face view, and fusiform to sublageniform and slightly thick-walled pleurocystidia; D. furfuracea is identified by a well-developed and evanescent veil, medium-sized spores that are rhomboid to mitriform in face view, and fusiform to subclavate pleurocystidia that are rare and subacute at apex; D. fuscobrunnea is recognized by dark brown pileus, medium-sized spores that are rhomboid to mitriform in face view, an ixocutis pileipellis, lageniform cheilocystidia with a long neck and lacks pleurocystidia; D. ovispora is distinguished from other Deconica species by medium-sized spores that are ovoid in face view, an ixocutis pileipellis, lageniform cheilocystidia with a long to short neck, and lacks pleurocystidia. Their distinct taxonomic status is confirmed by the positions of the four new species in ITS + LSU phylogenetic trees. Detailed descriptions and morphological photographs of four new species are presented. Full article

Flame disinfection is a new technology that uses high temperatures to kill pathogens and control soil-borne diseases. In order to determine the feasibility of applying flame disinfection technology to flue-cured tobacco, a field experiment was conducted in Pianpo Village (test site I) and Lühuai Village (test site II), Luquan County, Yunnan Province. The effects of flame disinfection on soil-borne disease control, flue-cured tobacco growth agronomic traits, the tobacco yield and quality, and the soil microbial community in the flue-cured tobacco field were investigated. The results were as follows. (1) After flame disinfection, the control rates of the four main soil-borne diseases—black root rot, root rot, wilt, and root knot nematodes—were all over 70%. (2) Samples were taken from the experimental site of Pianpo Village at 0 and 114 days after disinfection (tobacco boom period) to study the effects of soil microbial communities by high-throughput sequencing. Compared with the control group, after 0 days of flame disinfection, the abundance of bacterial actinobacteria, Nocardia, Streptomyces, and fungal ascomycetes decreased, while the abundance of bacterial Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Arthrobacter, and mycospora increased. After 114 days of disinfection, the abundance of bacterial actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, chloromyces, and fungal ascomycetes decreased. The abundance of Mortierella was recovered, the abundance of Gibberella and Fusarium increased, and the abundance of Trichospora and Basidiomycetes decreased in both periods. (3) After flame disinfection treatment, the tobacco yield in the two experimental areas was increased by 50.80% and 54.70%, respectively, and the proportion of high-quality tobacco was also increased. In conclusion, flame disinfection before tobacco planting can improve the soil conditions, effectively control soil-borne tobacco diseases, and improve the quality and yield of tobacco leaves. Full article