Characterisation of potential antidiabetic-related proteins from Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél. (grey oyster mushroom) by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry

What are the 100 most cited fungal genera?

The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are invisible to the unaided eye, but they represent a major component of biodiversity on our planet, and play essential ecological roles, supporting life as we know it. Although approximately 20 000 fungal genera are presently recognised, the ecology of most remains undetermined. Despite all this diversity, the mycological community actively researches some fungal genera more commonly than others. This poses an interesting question: why have some fungal genera impacted mycology and related fields more than others? To address this issue, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to identify the top 100 most cited fungal genera. A thorough database search of the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed was performed to establish which genera are most cited. The most cited 10 genera are Saccharomyces, Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Botrytis, Pichia, Cryptococcus and Alternaria. Case studies are presented for the 100 most cited genera with general background, notes on their ecology and economic significance and important research advances. This paper provides a historic overview of scientific research of these genera and the prospect for further research. Citation: Bhunjun CS, Chen YJ, Phukhamsakda C, Boekhout T, Groenewald JZ, McKenzie EHC, Francisco EC, Frisvad JC, Groenewald M, Hurdeal VG, Luangsa-ard J, Perrone G, Visagie CM, Bai FY, Błaszkowski J, Braun U, de Souza FA, de Queiroz MB, Dutta AK, Gonkhom D, Goto BT, Guarnaccia V, Hagen F, Houbraken J, Lachance MA, Li JJ, Luo KY, Magurno F, Mongkolsamrit S, Robert V, Roy N, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe DN, Wang DQ, Wei DP, Zhao CL, Aiphuk W, Ajayi-Oyetunde O, Arantes TD, Araujo JC, Begerow D, Bakhshi M, Barbosa RN, Behrens FH, Bensch K, Bezerra JDP, Bilański P, Bradley CA, Bubner B, Burgess TI, Buyck B, Čadež N, Cai L, Calaça FJS, Campbell LJ, Chaverri P, Chen YY, Chethana KWT, Coetzee B, Costa MM, Chen Q, Custódio FA, Dai YC, Damm U, de Azevedo Santiago ALCM, De Miccolis Angelini RM, Dijksterhuis J, Dissanayake AJ, Doilom M, Dong W, Alvarez-Duarte E, Fischer M, Gajanayake AJ, Gené J, Gomdola D, Gomes AAM, Hausner G, He MQ, Hou L, Iturrieta-González I, Jami F, Jankowiak R, Jayawardena RS, Kandemir H, Kiss L, Kobmoo N, Kowalski T, Landi L, Lin CG, Liu JK, Liu XB, Loizides M, Luangharn T, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Makhathini Mkhwanazi GJ, Manawasinghe IS, Marin-Felix Y, McTaggart AR, Moreau PA, Morozova OV, Mostert L, Osiewacz HD, Pem D, Phookamsak R, Pollastro S, Pordel A, Poyntner C, Phillips AJL, Phonemany M, Promputtha I, Rathnayaka AR, Rodrigues AM, Romanazzi G, Rothmann L, Salgado-Salazar C, Sandoval-Denis M, Saupe SJ, Scholler M, Scott P, Shivas RG, Silar P, Souza-Motta CM, Silva-Filho AGS, Spies CFJ, Stchigel AM, Sterflinger K, Summerbell RC, Svetasheva TY, Takamatsu S, Theelen B, Theodoro RC, Thines M, Thongklang N, Torres R, Turchetti B, van den Brule T, Wang XW, Wartchow F, Welti S, Wijesinghe SN, Wu F, Xu R, Yang ZL, Yilmaz N, Yurkov A, Zhao L, Zhao RL, Zhou N, Hyde KD, Crous PW (2024). What are the 100 most cited fungal genera? Studies in Mycology 108: 1-411. doi: 10.3114/sim.2024.108.01.

Applications of MALDI-MS/MS-Based Proteomics in Biomedical Research

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) is one of the most widely used techniques in proteomics to achieve structural identification and characterization of proteins and peptides, including their variety of proteoforms due to post-translational modifications (PTMs) or protein–protein interactions (PPIs). MALDI-MS and MALDI tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) have been developed as analytical techniques to study small and large molecules, offering picomole to femtomole sensitivity and enabling the direct analysis of biological samples, such as biofluids, solid tissues, tissue/cell homogenates, and cell culture lysates, with a minimized procedure of sample preparation. In the last decades, structural identification of peptides and proteins achieved by MALDI-MS/MS helped researchers and clinicians to decipher molecular function, biological process, cellular component, and related pathways of the gene products as well as their involvement in pathogenesis of diseases. In this review, we highlight the applications of MALDI ionization source and tandem approaches for MS for analyzing biomedical relevant peptides and proteins. Furthermore, one of the most relevant applications of MALDI-MS/MS is to provide “molecular pictures”, which offer in situ information about molecular weight proteins without labeling of potential targets. Histology-directed MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) uses MALDI-ToF/ToF or other MALDI tandem mass spectrometers for accurate sequence analysis of peptide biomarkers and biological active compounds directly in tissues, to assure complementary and essential spatial data compared with those obtained by LC-ESI-MS/MS technique.

Unravelling the Helianthus tuberosus L. (Jerusalem Artichoke, Kiku-Imo) Tuber Proteome by Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics

The present research investigates the tuber proteome of the ‘medicinal’ plant Jerusalem artichoke (abbreviated as JA) (Helianthus tuberosus L.) using a high-throughput proteomics technique. Although JA has been historically known to the Native Americans, it was introduced to Europe in the late 19th century and later spread to Japan (referred to as ‘kiku-imo’) as a folk remedy for diabetes. Genboku Takahashi research group has been working on the cultivation and utilization of kiku-imo tuber as a traditional/alternative medicine in daily life and researched on the lowering of blood sugar level, HbA1c, etc., in human subjects (unpublished data). Understanding the protein components of the tuber may shed light on its healing properties, especially related to diabetes. Using three commercially processed JA tuber products (dried powder and dried chips) we performed total protein extraction on the powdered samples using a label-free quantitate proteomic approach (mass spectrometry) and catalogued for the first time a comprehensive protein list for the JA tuber. A total of 2967 protein groups were identified, statistically analyzed, and further categorized into different protein classes using bioinformatics techniques. We discussed the association of these proteins to health and disease regulatory metabolism. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD030744.

Optimization of agro-residues as substrates for Pleurotus pulmonarius production

The "replacing wood by grass" project can partially resolve the conflict between mushroom production and balancing the ecosystem, while promoting agricultural economic sustainability. Pleurotus pulmonarius is an economically important edible and medicinal mushroom, which is traditionally produced using a substrate consisting of sawdust and cottonseed hulls, supplemented with wheat bran. A simplex lattice design was applied to systemically optimize the cultivation of P. pulmonarius using agro-residues as the main substrate to replace sawdust and cottonseed hulls. The effects of differing amounts of wheat straw, corn straw, and soybean straw on the variables of yield, mycelial growth rate, stipe length, pileus length, pileus width, and time to harvest were demonstrated. Results indicated that a mix of wheat straw, corn straw, and soybean straw may have significantly positive effects on each of these variables. The high yield comprehensive formula was then optimized to include 40.4% wheat straw, 20.3% corn straw, 18.3% soybean straw, combined with 20.0% wheat bran, and 1.0% light CaCO3 (C/N = 42.50). The biological efficiency was 15.2% greater than that of the control. Most encouraging was the indication that the high yield comprehensive formula may shorten the time to reach the reproductive stage by 6 days, compared with the control. Based on the results of this study, agro-residues may be used as a suitable substitution for sawdust and cottonseed hulls as the main cultivation substrates of P. pulmonarius. These results provide a theoretical basis for the "replacing wood by grass" project on edible mushroom cultivation.

Alpha-amylase inhibitors from mycelium of an oyster mushroom

The α-Amylase and α-glucosidase are two main enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. This study was aimed at detecting alpha-amylase inhibitory activity from edible mushroom mycelia. Oyster mushroom was collected from a natural source, from Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) campus and was maintained in vitro in mycelial form. Chloroform, acetone, methanol, and water were used separately for extraction of an active constituent from mycelial cells grown, for 7 days, in potato dextrose broth. The extracts were tested for alpha-amylase inhibitory activity. Chloroform, acetone, and methanol extracts were found to have alpha-amylase inhibitory activity, with IC₅₀ values of 1.71, 224, and 383 μg/mL, respectively. Aqueous extract had no enzyme inhibitory activity. The acetone extract inhibited α-amylase non-competitively whereas chloroform extract showed competitive inhibition. Acetone extraction yielded highest total phenolic content (TPC) of 0.524 mM of gallic acid equivalent, whereas chloroform extraction resulted in lowest TPC of 0.006 mM. The HPLC and absorbance maxima of acetone and chloroform extracts suggest that the bioactive component responsible for enzyme inhibition could be glycoproteins in chloroform extract and catechins (flavonoids) in acetone extract. Thus, the mushroom mycelia under study may be exploited for production and purification of a lead compound for the development of the α-amylase inhibitory drug.

Proteases of Wood Rot Fungi with Emphasis on the Genus Pleurotus

Proteases are present in all living organisms and they play an important role in physiological conditions. Cell growth and death, blood clotting, and immune defense are all examples of the importance of proteases in maintaining homeostasis. There is growing interest in proteases due to their use for industrial purposes. The search for proteases with specific characteristics is designed to reduce production costs and to find suitable properties for certain industrial sectors, as well as good producing organisms. Ninety percent of commercialized proteases are obtained from microbial sources and proteases from macromycetes have recently gained prominence in the search for new enzymes with specific characteristics. The production of proteases from saprophytic basidiomycetes has led to the identification of various classes of proteases. The genus Pleurotus has been extensively studied because of its ligninolytic enzymes. The characteristics of this genus are easy cultivation techniques, high yield, low nutrient requirements, and excellent adaptation. There are few studies in the literature about proteases of Pleurotus spp. This review gathers together information about proteases, especially those derived from basidiomycetes, and aims at stimulating further research about fungal proteases because of their physiological importance and their application in various industries such as biotechnology and medicine.