Rapid and Accurate Screening of Lysine-Producing Edible Mushrooms via the Homocitrate Synthase Gene as a Universal Molecular Marker

Abstract

Edible mushrooms are important nutraceutical sources of foods and drugs, which can produce various nutritional ingredients including all essential amino acids. The method of rapid screening for the strains producing specific functional components is very indispensable. Homocitrate synthase is one of the key enzymes in the α-aminoadipate pathway for lysine biosynthesis and has preferable sequence conservation in Agaricales. Based on the blast of homocitrate synthase homologous genes of strains of Agaricales, we achieved combinations of degenerate primers as molecular markers to rapidly screen the lysine-producing edible mushrooms. The experimental results revealed that the consistency between PCR amplification and HPLC analysis attained 82 and 75% in strains of Agaricales and Polyporales, respectively. The finding showed that the molecular marker has higher universality for screening edible mushroom resources of Agaricales. This PCR-based approach shows excellent potential in evaluating and discriminating edible wild-grown mushrooms with high lysine content in Agaricales.

Isolation, purification, and structural elucidation of Stropharia rugosoannulata polysaccharides with hypolipidemic effect

“…Mushrooms have a long history of consumption and are nutritious, tasty and high in protein, low in fat, essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and polysaccharides, making them a "healthy food" (3)(4)(5)(6). In addition, mushrooms are unique in their nutritional value as they ensure the body's need for nonsaturated fatty acids and prevent the harmful effects of too much saturated fatty acids (7)(8)(9).…”