Omics data reveal the unusual asexual-fruiting nature and secondary metabolic potentials of the medicinal fungus Cordyceps cicadae

BMC Genomics

Research Article

Ying Yin¹  Chengshu Wang¹  Shuai Zhan¹  Feifei Luo²  Kai Cen³  Yuzhen Lu³  Huizhan Zhang⁴  Guohua Xiao⁵  Chunru Li⁶  Zengzhi Li⁶ 

[1]CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200032, Shanghai, China

[2]CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200032, Shanghai, China

[3]School of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, China

[4]CAS Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200032, Shanghai, China

[5]University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

[6]School of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, China

[7]School of Computer Science, Fudan University, 200433, Shanghai, China

[8]Zhejiang BioAsia Institute of Life Science, 314000, Pinghu, China

关键词: Cordyceps cicadae;    Genomics;    Mating type;    Asexual fruiting;    Secondary metabolism;    Bioactive metabolites;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12864-017-4060-4

 received in 2017-04-16, accepted in 2017-08-14,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAscomycete Cordyceps species have been using as valued traditional Chinese medicines. Particularly, the fruiting bodies of Cordyceps cicadae (syn. Isaria cicadae) have long been utilized for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. However, the genetics and bioactive chemicals in this fungus have been largely unexplored.ResultsIn this study, we performed comprehensive omics analyses of C. cicadae, and found that, in contrast to other Cordyceps fungi, C. cicadae produces asexual fruiting bodies with the production of conidial spores instead of the meiotic ascospores. Genome sequencing and comparative genomic analysis indicate that the protein families encoded by C. cicadae are typical of entomopathogenic fungi, including the expansion of proteases and chitinases for targeting insect hosts. Interestingly, we found that the MAT1-2 mating-type locus of the sequenced strain contains an abnormally truncated MAT1-1-1 gene. Gene deletions revealed that asexual fruiting of C. cicadae is independent of the MAT locus control. RNA-seq transcriptome data also indicate that, compared to growth in a liquid culture, the putative genes involved in mating and meiosis processes were not up-regulated during fungal fruiting, further supporting asexual reproduction in this fungus. The genome of C. cicadae encodes an array of conservative and divergent gene clusters for secondary metabolisms. Based on our analysis, the production of known carcinogenic metabolites by this fungus could be potentially precluded. However, the confirmed production of oosporein raises health concerns about the frequent consumption of fungal fruiting bodies.ConclusionsThe results of this study expand our knowledge of fungal genetics that asexual fruiting can occur independent of the MAT locus control. The obtained genomic and metabolomic data will benefit future investigations of this fungus for medicinal uses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017