Earticle

Roridin E, a constituent of Podostroma cornu-damae, has excellent medicinal properties and exhibits powerful anticancer effects. However, being a poisonous mushroom, P. cornu-damae is difficult to find in its natural environment. Therefore, only a limited amount of roridin E is isolated from P. cornu-damae. We isolated roridin E from mycelial culture medium of P. cornu-damae and examined its effects on five breast cancer cell lines. The purity of the isolated roridin E was 96%. It exhibited anticancer effects on all five breast cancer cell lines, with an IC50 of at least 0.0006 mg/L. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the investigation of effects of roridin E isolated from the mycelium of P. cornu-damae mushrooms on five breast cancer cell lines. However, safety issues should be investigated and addressed in future studies before roridin E is used in clinical settings.

White rot fungus Cerrena unicolor IUM 5400 produced ethanol from diverse sugars, including glucose, mannose, galactose, and cellobiose at 0.38, 0.28, 0.08, and 0.27 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed, respectively. The fungus produced relatively high amounts of ethanol from xylose (0.28 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed); however, the ethanol conversion rate of arabinose was relatively low (at 0.08 g of ethanol per g sugar consumed). When cultured in a basal medium containing 20 g/L rice straw or corn stalks, C. unicolor IUM 5400 produced 0.18 g and 0.18 g of ethanol per g of rice straw and corn stalks, respectively. The results suggest that C. unicolor IUM 5400 is a white rot fungus that can effectively hydrolyze cellulose or hemicellulose to sugars and simultaneously convert them to ethanol.

Ganoderma applanatum is one of the most popular medicinal mushrooms due to the various biologically active components it produces. In order to study for the possibility of artificially cultivating G. applanatum, we investigated the growth status of G. applanatum mycelium using oak sawdust bottle(850 ml). It took approximately 17~27 days for G. applanatum cultivation and 15~16 days for G. lucidum cultivation with sawdust until the mycelial growth was complete. The weight of dried fruiting bodies showed that G. applanatum GBGA-01 weighed 16.0±7.4 g, and G. lucidum ASI 7125 weighed 7.9±2.7g. The thickness of the pileus was measured as 10.6±2.6 mm for G. applanatum GBGA-01, 16.3±8.7 mm for G. applanatum ASI 52823 and 8.6±3.5 mm for G. lucidum ASI 7125. The color of Ganoderma spp. showed that L degree was 55.5±1.1 for the contex of G. applanatum GBGA-01, 47.7±2.2 for the contex of G. applanatum ASI 52823 and 39.6±2.9 for the contex of G. lucidum ASI 7125.

In this study, we aimed to compare the mycelial growth of Pleurotus ostreatus after medium supplementation with various amino acids at different concentrations to select the optimal medium nutrient composition for mycelial growth. The mycelial growth of P. ostreatus was investigated after adding four amino acids (tryptophan, threonine, methionine, and lysine) at 0.5% or 1% to the medium.The rate of P. ostreatus mycelial growthwas faster in the potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium supplemented with threonine at 0.5% or 1% than that of the control, whereas it was inhibited by tryptophan treatment. Supplementation of sawdust mediumwith all amino acids, except tryptophan, at 0.5% did not alter the mycelial growth, compared to the controls. However, addition of any amino acid to sawdust medium at a higher concentration (1%) inhibited the mycelial growth. The laccase acitivity of P. ostreatus mycelium cultured in PDA medium was the highest when threonine was added, and the lowest when tryptophane was added, consistent with the results of the mycelial growth. Therefore, the addition of threonine, methionine, or lysine to PDA medium at a concentration of 0.5-1%was effective for increasing the mycelial growth of P. ostreatus; however, it inhibited mycelial growth insawdust medium, suggesting that the effects of amino acids dependedon the medium nutrient composition.

A new dark brown variety of Flammulina velutipes, referred to as ‘Asakchoco’, was bred by crossing two monokaryons isolated from the ‘Yeoreumhyang2ho’ and ‘Guemhyang2ho’ varieties. The pileus color of the new variety is dark brown and the stipe color is ivory, with uniformity from the upper section to the base. In addition, the primordia formation is uniform compared to that of the control, and the advantage of this is that the pileus does not become deformed after the primordia formation. During bottle cultivation, the period necessary for mycelial growth was 40 d, for primordia formation was 8 d, and for fruiting body growth was 16 d. The total cultivation period was 64 d, which was 2 d shorter than that of the control. The pileus was smaller and thicker and the stipe diameter was the same, but the stipe length was longer than that of the control. The number of valid stipes per bottle was 441, 24% higher than that of the control (357), and the yield was 197 g, 19% higher than that of the control (166 g).

The oyster mushroom is a widely cultivated edible mushroom in Korea. It is a regionally specialized crop in Gyeonggi-do, where 68% of the national production is produced. The present study was conducted to develop a new, highquality cultivar with stable cultivation. ‘Manseon’ is a new variety of oyster mushroom suitable for bottle culture. It was produced by mating monokaryons isolated from ‘HB-18’ and ‘P15159-16’. The optimal temperature for ‘Manseon’ mycelial growth was 26–29 °C on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and for primordia formation and the growth of fruit bodies the optimal temperature was 18–19 °C on sawdust medium. Spawn running required 30 d, primordia formation required 4 d, and fruit body growth in the bottle culture required 4 d. Regarding the characteristics of the fruit bodies, the pilei were round and dark grayish brown, stipe color was white, and stipe shape was short and thick. The yield per bottle was 192.7 g/1,100 cc, which was 9% higher than that of the control strain (Suhan-1ho). The physical properties of springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and brittleness of stipe tissue were 87.9%, 77.4%, 445.1 kgf, and 389.6 kgf, respectively.

Recently, with the increasing global demand for Ganoderma lucidum as a material for functional beverages, varieties with enhanced functionality are needed. As part of this effort, 10 strains were selected from a collection of 160 G. lucidum strains, based on their quantity and fruiting body characteristics. These included four strains collected in Korea, three in Japan, and three of unknown origin. Approximately 44% of the 1,290 hybrid strains were secured. After two rounds of bag cultivation in oak sawdust, three strains (G-20-4, G-20-5, and G-20-7) were ultimately selected for single-timbered cultivation. Among these, G-20-4 demonstrated the earliest harvesting with a large size and a bright cap. Additionally, this strain exhibited the highest levels of total glucan, β-glucan, total triterpenoid, total polyphenol, and total flavonoid content.

This study was conducted to obtain basic data on domestic wild Lanopila nipponica K specimens collected in Jeollanam-do from 2015 to 2017 to investigate the characteristics of fruit bodies and analyze their nutritional components. L. nipponica K. was mainly found near hills, such as in persimmon fields around hills, on mountain trails, and in bamboo fields. L. nipponica K. occurred from July to mid-October, especially after the rainy season or a typhoon, when the air humidity was increased. Rainfall occurred for 8–15 days during the 20 days before the collection date, and the average temperature was ≥ 23oC. The size of the fruit body was 12.3–28 cm, and the weight varied depending on the size; however, the fruit body was estimated to grow overnight, reaching the size observed at its discovery. As aging progressed, the surface of the fruit body cracked, and it turned dark after 6 days. Spores were lump-shaped when the surface was cut with a knife. When the soil on the surface of the site where the fruit body was located was scratched, a white thread-shaped mycelium expanded. At the time of collection, the flesh of the fruit body was white, but it turned brown and fluffy as maturity progressed. On the sixth day after the mushroom was generated, it produced a pungent odor and became friable, resembling a black cotton ball. The surface of the fruit body was white and had a circular or elliptical shape. Crude protein content tended to be high at 59% of the dry weight. The antioxidant activity, determined using the DPPH radical scavenging analysis method, was 167 vitamin C equivalents/100 g. The spores were brown, approximately 6 μm in size, with protrusions on their surface.