Characterisation and comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes of false, yellow, black and blushing morels provide insights on their structure and evolution.

species have considerable significance in terrestrial ecosystems, exhibiting a range of ecological lifestyles along the saprotrophism-to-symbiosis continuum. However, the mitochondrial genomes of these ascomycetous fungi have not been thoroughly studied, thereby impeding a comprehensive understanding of their genetic makeup and ecological role. In this study, we analysed the mitogenomes of 30 species, including yellow, black, blushing and false morels.

Breaking into nature's secret medicine cabinet: lichens - a biochemical goldmine ready for discovery.

Secondary metabolites are a crucial source of bioactive compounds playing a key role in the development of new pharmaceuticals. Recently, biosynthetic research has benefited significantly from progress on various fronts, including reduced sequencing costs, improved genome/metabolome mining strategies, and expanding tools/databases to compare and characterize chemical diversity. Steady advances in these fields are crucial for research on non-modal organisms such as lichen-forming fungi (LFF).

Biology, genetics, and ecology of the cosmopolitan ectomycorrhizal ascomycete .

The ascomycete is a cosmopolitan and ecologically significant ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungus that forms symbiotic associations with diverse host plants worldwide. As the only known ECM species within the large class Dothideomycetes, exhibits several characteristics that distinguish it from other ECM fungi. This fungus significantly contributes to ecosystem stability and development as an early colonizer of primary forest succession.

Comparative transcriptomics and metabolomics provide insight into degeneration-related physiological mechanisms of Morchella importuna after long-term preservation.

Ascomycetes fungi are often prone to degeneration. Agricultural production of the prized ascomycete mushroom Morchella importuna (black morel) typically suffers from reduced yield and malformed ascocarps owing to culture degeneration. This study compared M.

Rhizosphere microbiome assembly, drivers and functions in perennial ligneous plant health.

Plants shape and interact continuously with their rhizospheric microbiota, which play a key role in plant health and resilience. However, plant-associated microbial community can be shaped by several factors including plant phenotype and cropping system. Thus, understanding the interplay between microbiome assembly during the onset of plant-pathogen interactions and long-lasting resistance traits in ligneous plants remains a major challenge.

Intraspecific diploidization of a halophyte root fungus drives heterosis.

How organisms respond to environmental stress is a key topic in evolutionary biology. This study focused on the genomic evolution of Laburnicola rhizohalophila, a dark-septate endophytic fungus from roots of a halophyte. Chromosome-level assemblies were generated from five representative isolates from structured subpopulations.

Extreme overall mushroom genome expansion in Mycena s.s. irrespective of plant hosts or substrate specializations.

Mycena s.s. is a ubiquitous mushroom genus whose members degrade multiple dead plant substrates and opportunistically invade living plant roots.

Sesquiterpenes of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus microcarpus alter root growth and promote host colonization.

Trees form symbioses with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, maintained in part through mutual benefit to both organisms. Our understanding of the signaling events leading to the successful interaction between the two partners requires further study. This is especially true for understanding the role of volatile signals produced by ECM fungi.

Comparative analysis of simulated colonization and degradation by on oak wafer and corn stalk.

Introduction: The depolymerization of lignocellulose biomass by white-rot fungi has been an important research topic. However, few simulated in-situ analyses have been conducted to uncover the decay.

Methods: In this study, the white-rot Lentinula edodes was used to colonize the wood and non-wood substrates, and then hyphal transcriptional response and substrate degradation were analyzed during the spatial-temporal colonization on different type substrates to better understand the depolymerization of lignocellulose.

The cultivation regimes of trigger shifts in the community assemblage and ecological traits of soil bacteria.

The successful large-scale cultivation of morel mushrooms () requires a comprehensive understanding of the soil bacterial communities associated with morel-farming beds, as the interactions between fungi and bacteria play a crucial role in shaping the soil microbiome. In this study, we investigated the temporal distribution and ecological characteristics of soil bacteria associated with morel fruiting bodies at different stages, specifically the conidial and primordial stages, under two cropping regimes, non-continuous cropping (NCC) and continuous cropping (CC). Our findings revealed a significant reduction in the yield of morel primordia during the third year following 2 years of CC (0.

Stable functional structure despite high taxonomic variability across fungal communities in soils of old-growth montane forests.

Background: Major advances over the past decade in molecular ecology are providing access to soil fungal diversity in forest ecosystems worldwide, but the diverse functions and metabolic capabilities of this microbial community remain largely elusive. We conducted a field survey in montane old-growth broadleaved and conifer forests, to investigate the relationship between soil fungal diversity and functional genetic traits. To assess the extent to which variation in community composition was associated with dominant tree species (oak, spruce, and fir) and environmental variations in the old-growth forests in the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Yunnan Province, we applied rDNA metabarcoding.

Phosphorus/nitrogen sensing and signaling in diverse root-fungus symbioses.

Establishing mutualistic relationships between plants and fungi is crucial for overcoming nutrient deficiencies in plants. This review highlights the intricate nutrient sensing and uptake mechanisms used by plants in response to phosphate and nitrogen starvation, as well as their interactions with plant immunity. The coordination of transport systems in both host plants and fungal partners ensures efficient nutrient uptake and assimilation, contributing to the long-term maintenance of these mutualistic associations.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Pd Nanoparticles into Wood Block (Pd@wood) as Efficient Catalyst for 4-Nitrophenol and Cr(VI) Reduction.

Palladium (Pd) nanoparticle catalysis has attracted increasing attention due to its efficient catalytic activity and its wide application in environmental protection and chemical synthesis. In this work, Pd nanoparticles (about 71 nm) were synthesized in aqueous solution by microwave-assisted thermal synthesis and immobilized in beech wood blocks as Pd@wood catalysts. The wood blocks were first hydrothermally treated with 10% NaOH solution to improve the internal structure and increase their porosity, thereby providing favorable attachment sites for the formed Pd nanoparticles.

Vertical and horizontal gene transfer shaped plant colonization and biomass degradation in the fungal genus Armillaria.

The fungal genus Armillaria contains necrotrophic pathogens and some of the largest terrestrial organisms that cause tremendous losses in diverse ecosystems, yet how they evolved pathogenicity in a clade of dominantly non-pathogenic wood degraders remains elusive. Here we show that Armillaria species, in addition to gene duplications and de novo gene origins, acquired at least 1,025 genes via 124 horizontal gene transfer events, primarily from Ascomycota. Horizontal gene transfer might have affected plant biomass degrading and virulence abilities of Armillaria, and provides an explanation for their unusual, soft rot-like wood decay strategy.

gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from oak forest soil.

A novel bacterial strain, designated BS-T2-15, isolated from forest soil in close proximity to decaying oak wood, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences as well as phylogenomic analyses based on coding sequences of 340 concatenated core proteins indicated that strain BS-T2-15 forms a distinct and robust lineage in the branch of the order . The amino acid identity and the percentage of conserved proteins between the genome of strain BS-T2-15 and genomes of closely related type strains ranged from 64.

DNA hypomethylation of the host tree impairs interaction with mutualistic ectomycorrhizal fungus.

Ectomycorrhizas are an intrinsic component of tree nutrition and responses to environmental variations. How epigenetic mechanisms might regulate these mutualistic interactions is unknown. By manipulating the level of expression of the chromatin remodeler DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION 1 (DDM1) and two demethylases DEMETER-LIKE (DML) in Populus tremula × Populus alba lines, we examined how host DNA methylation modulates multiple parameters of the responses to root colonization with the mutualistic fungus Laccaria bicolor.

Role of carbohydrate-active enzymes in mycorrhizal symbioses.

Mycorrhizal fungi form mutually beneficial interactions with a wide range of terrestrial plants. During this symbiosis, the associated fungus provides mineral nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, to its host plant in exchange of photosynthesis-derived carbohydrates. Genome sequencing of mycorrhizal fungi has shown that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi have a restricted set of plant-cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDE) genes, while orchid and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi have an extended PCWDE repertoire similar to soil decomposers and wood-decay fungi.

Visualization of Fungi During Wood Colonization and Decomposition by Microscopy: From Light to Electron Microscopy.

Fungi are the principal decomposers of wood together with xylophage insects and, as such, have a central role in nutrient cycling of forest ecosystems. These fungi are also envisaged as promising tools for converting wood and waste of wood industries into chemicals, as alternative to fossil chemicals. At the same time, wood decomposers pose a threat to wooden building materials and are intensively fought.