Stage- and Rearing-Dependent Metabolomics Profiling of and Its Pipeline Products.

Cordyceps, a parasitic complex of the fungus (Berk.) (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) and the ghost moth (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae), is a historical ethnopharmacological commodity in China. Recently, artificial cultivation of Chinese cordyceps has been established to supplement the dwindling natural resources.

Discovery of the signal pathways and major bioactive compounds responsible for the anti-hypoxia effect of Chinese cordyceps.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Hypoxia will cause an increase in the rate of fatigue and aging. Chinese cordyceps, a parasitic Thitarodes insect-Ophiocordyceps sinensis fungus complex in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has long been used to ameliorate human conditions associated with aging and senescence, it is principally applied to treat fatigue, night sweating and other symptoms related to aging, and it may play the anti-aging and anti-fatigue effect by improving the body's hypoxia tolerance.

Aims Of The Study: The present study investigated the anti-hypoxia activity of Chinese cordyceps and explore the main corresponding signal pathways and bioactive compounds.

Toxicological safety evaluation of the cultivated Chinese cordyceps.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Chinese cordyceps, a parasitic Thitarodes insect-Ophiocordyceps sinensis fungus complex in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is one of the most valuable traditional Chinese medicines and health food for ameliorating conditions associated with aging and for treating fatigue, night sweats, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, respiratory, renal and liver diseases, and hyposexuality. The natural Chinese cordyceps resource is rare due to its harsh growing environment, limited geographical distribution and global climate warming. Artificial cultivation of Chinese cordyceps has been successfully established to meet its high demand in market.

Analysis of Volatile Components in Different and Insect Host Products.

The artificial production of mycelia and fruiting bodies and the Chinese cordyceps has been established. However, the volatile components from these products are not fully identified. An efficient, convenient, and widely used approach based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-QTOFMS) was developed for the extraction and the analysis of volatile compounds from three categories of 16 products, including fungus, hosts of , and the Chinese cordyceps.

Quorum Sensing Activity and Hyphal Growth by External Stimuli in the Entomopathogenic Fungus .

The entomopathogenic fungus is one of the best known and most precious medicines and health food in China. The blastospores-hyphae (dimorphism) transition of this fungus in host hemolymph is critical for the virulence and the mummification of host larvae. To regulate this transition, the effects of inoculum density and fifteen chemicals including fungal nutrients, fungal metabolites, quorum-sensing molecules (QSMs) and insect hormones on the dimorphism in were investigated in vitro.

Identification of the genes involved in growth characters of medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis, one of the well-known and precious fungal species in the world, parasitizes soil-dwelling larvae of ghost moths on the Tibetan Plateau. The genetic intractability of this extremely psychrophilic and slow-growing O. sinensis fungus is a major limitation on the molecular study.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of in Response to the Entomopathogenic Fungi and .

is a medicinal and economically important Lepidopteran insect species. The larvae infected by survive no more than four days, while those infected by can survive for several months before mummification. This provides a valuable comparative system to study interactions between an insect host and different pathogenic fungi.

Scratching Stimuli of Mycelia Influence Fruiting Body Production and ROS-Scavenging Gene Expression of .

The entomopathogenic fungus is a valuable medicinal ascomycete, which degenerates frequently during subsequent culture. To avoid economic losses during industrialized production, scratching stimuli of mycelia was introduced to improve the fruiting body production. The present results indicated that higher yields and biological efficiency were obtained from two degenerate strains (YN1-14 and YN2-7) but not from g38 (an insertional mutant in gene with higher yields and shorter growth periods).

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals molecular strategies of ghost moth Thitarodes armoricanus in response to hypoxia and anoxia.

Hypoxia or anoxia greatly impact the survival of many animal species. The ghost moth Thitarodes armoricanus is distributed in the Tibetan Plateau at an average elevation of approximate 4 km above sea level and has probably evolved a superior capacity to tolerate low oxygen levels. In this study, transcriptome analysis using high-throughput RNA-seq revealed common and different adaptation strategies of T.

Evaluation of Reference Genes for Reverse Transcription Quantitative PCR Studies of Physiological Responses in the Ghost Moth, Thitarodes armoricanus (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae).

Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the sensitive method to quantify the expression levels of target genes on the basis of endogenous control. An appropriate reference gene set for normalization is essential for reliable results. The ghost moth, Thitarodes armoricanus, a host species of a medicinal fungus, Ophiocordyceps sinensis, is an economically important member of the Lepidoptera.

Photorhabdus luminescens LN2 requires rpoS for nematicidal activity and nematode development.

Photorhabdus (Enterobacteriaceae) bacteria are pathogenic to insects and mutualistic with entomopathogenic Heterorhabditis nematodes. Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. akhurstii LN2, associated with Heterorhabditis indica LN2, shows nematicidal activity against H.

Identification of the Genes Involved in the Fruiting Body Production and Cordycepin Formation of Cordyceps militaris Fungus.

A mutant library of Cordyceps militaris was constructed by improved Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and screened for degradation features. Six mutants with altered characters in in vitro and in vivo fruiting body production, and cordycepin formation were found to contain a single copy T-DNA. T-DNA flanking sequences of these mutants were identified by thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR approach.

Draft Genome Sequence and Annotation of the Entomopathogenic Bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens LN2, Which Shows Nematicidal Activity against Heterorhabditis bacteriophora H06 Nematodes.

We present here the 5.6-Mb genome sequence of Photorhabdus luminescens strain LN2, a Gram-negative bacterium that is a symbiont of Heterorhabditis indica LN2 and shows nematicidal activity against Heterorhabditis bacteriophora H06 nematodes.

Differentially expressed genes of Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) challenged by chemical insecticides.

Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) termites are harmful social insects to wood constructions. The current control methods heavily depend on the chemical insecticides with increasing resistance. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes mediated by chemical insecticides will contribute to the understanding of the termite resistance to chemicals and to the establishment of alternative control measures.

Genetic and proteomic characterization of rpoB mutations and their effect on nematicidal activity in Photorhabdus luminescens LN2.

Rifampin resistant (Rif(R)) mutants of the insect pathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens LN2 from entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis indica LN2 were genetically and proteomically characterized. The Rif(R) mutants showed typical phase one characters of Photorhabdus bacteria, and insecticidal activity against Galleria mellonella larvae, but surprisingly influenced their nematicidal activity against axenic infective juveniles (IJs) of H. bacteriophora H06, an incompatible nematode host.

Expression and characterization of the chitinases from Serratia marcescens GEI strain for the control of Varroa destructor, a honey bee parasite.

Serratia marcescens GEI strain was isolated from the gut of the workers of Chinese honey bee Apis cerana and evaluated in the laboratory for the control of Varroa destructor, a parasite of western honey bee A. mellifera. The supernatant and the collected proteins by ammonium sulfate from the bacterial cultures showed a strong miticidal effect on the female mites, with 100% mite mortality in 5days.

Identification and characterization of a novel gene involved in the trans-specific nematicidal activity of Photorhabdus luminescens LN2.

Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. akhurstii LN2 from Heterorhabditis indica LN2 showed nematicidal activity against axenic Heterorhabditis bacteriophora H06 infective juveniles (IJs). Transposon mutagenesis identified an LN2 mutant that supports the growth of H06 nematodes.

Cloning and heterologous expression of insecticidal-protein-encoding genes from Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 in Enterobacter cloacae for termite control.

Enterobacter cloacae, one of the indigenous gut bacteria of the Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus), was genetically modified with a transposon Tn5 vector containing genes (tcdA1 and tcdB1) encoding orally insecticidal proteins from the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. laumondii TT01, a symbiont of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, for termite control. In the laboratory, termites were fed filter paper inoculated with the recombinant bacteria.

[Effect of ethyl pyruvate on peroxidation injury of intestinal mucosa in rats with severe abdominal infection].

Objective: To investigate the preventive effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on peroxidation injury to intestinal mucosa in rats with severe abdominal infection.

Methods: Thirty-six SD rats were divided randomly into three groups (n=30 in each group): control group (laparotomy only), infection group [cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was performed to reproduce severe abdominal infection model] and EP group (CLP plus 40 mg/kg EP subcutaneous injection, once per 8 hours). The changes in intestinal mucosa pathologic score were observed, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities in intestinal tissue, and serum MDA levels were determined at postoperative 24 and 48 hours.