Integration of Transcriptomics and Metabolomics for Understanding the Different Vegetative Growth in Morchella Sextelata

Abstract

Morchella sextelata is an edible and medicinal fungus with high nutritional, medicinal, and economic value. Recently, M. sextelata has been produced through artificial cultivation in China, but its stable production remains problematic because the details of its growth and development process are limitedly understood. Herein, to investigate the dynamic process of M. sextelata development, we integrated the transcriptomics and metabolomics data of M. sextelata from three developmental stages: the young mushroom period (YMP), marketable mature period (MMP), and physiological maturity period (PMP). The results showed that the transcriptome changed dynamically at different stages and demonstrated the significant enrichment of pathways that regulate plant growth and development, such as N-glycan biosynthesis and carbon and purine metabolism. Similarly, small-molecule metabolites, such as D-fructose-1,6-biphosphate, which was upregulated during the YMP, dihydromyricetin, which was upregulated during the MMP, and L-citrulline, which was upregulated during the PMP, also showed phase-dependent characteristics. Then, combined analysis of the transcriptome data and metabolome traits revealed that the transcriptome may affect metabolic molecules during different growth stages of M. sextelata via specific enzymes, such as α-glucosidase and glucanase, which were included in two opposite transcriptome modules. In summary, this integration of transcriptomics and metabolomics data for understanding the vegetative growth of M. sextelata during different developmental stages implicated several key genes, metabolites, and pathways involved in the vegetative growth. We believe that these findings will provide comprehensive insights into the dynamic process of growth and development in M. sextelata and new clues for optimizing the methods for its cultivation application.

Out of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau: Origin, evolution and historical biogeography of Morchella (both Elata and Esculenta clades)

“…As a famous edible mushroom, Morchella owns important ecological functions and has high commercial value around the world ( Dissanayake et al, 2021 ; Wu H. et al, 2021 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). It was popular research in taxonomy, species diversity, distribution, ecological diversity, phylogeny, biogeography, and artificial cultivation of Morchella species ( Annette et al, 1978 ; Dahlstrom et al, 2000 ; Hao et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2019 ; Ali et al, 2021 ; Cao et al, 2022 ; Deng et al, 2022 ). The distribution of Morchella exhibits a high level of cryptic speciation and provincialism due to phenotypic plasticity and unreliable morphological species recognition ( O’Donnell et al, 2011 ; Du et al, 2012a , 2015 , 2018 ; Richard et al, 2015 ;).…”

Transcriptomics combined with metabolomics unveiled the key genes and metabolites of mycelium growth in Morchella importuna

“…Dihydromonacolin L acid (compound ID: MW0148515), umbelliferone (compound ID: MW0139900), pheophorbide a (compound ID: MW0155495), N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine (compound ID: MW0108605), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (compound ID: MW0005091), and succinic acid (compound ID: MW0009773), which were involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were upregulated during the SD stage and downregulated in the SM stage. These accumulated secondary metabolites could mediate ecological interactions and may improve growth viability (Deng et al, 2021 ).…”

Large-Scale Field Cultivation of Morchella and Relevance of Basic Knowledge for Its Steady Production

“…Multiomics studies related to Morchella have been a prominent trend in recent years. The research subjects have mainly focused on the growth and development of M. importuna and M. sextelata , including the comparative transcriptome, metabolome, secretome, and proteome at the stage of the growth and development of mycelia, sclerotia, and ascomata [ 32 , 36 , 40 , 62 , 63 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ]. However, these studies have mostly concentrated at the upper level, and the exploration of functional genes, regulatory networks, or metabolic pathways that respond to development needs to be deepened.…”