• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.26 no.3 s.86
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• pp.306-313
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• 1998

The occurrences of ectomycorrhizal fungi were investigated in a pine-mushroom forest at Hongcheon, Korea. The fairy rings of Tricholoma matsutake were figured by the sporocarp places of T. matsutake for three years $(1995{\sim}1997)$, and the occurrences of other ectomycorrhizal fungi were surveyed with x and y dimensions for two years $(1996{\sim}1997)$. The diameters of fairy rings of T. matsutake ranged from 2m to 10m, which indicated that the age of the fairy rings as $10{\sim}50$ years when we consider that the growth of the fairy ring used to show about 10 cm per year. Russula bella, R. sororia, R. delica and Cantharellus minor were the major species occurred on the site during the survey period, and each species occupied 16.0%, 12.8%, 12.4% and 7.0% of total mushroom occurrence, respectively. From the results, we could conclude that the surveyed stand was a productivity-declining forest from the view point of pine-mushroom production. In addition, Amanita pantherina, Suillus bovinus, Ramaria flaccida and Laccaria amethystea were considered to be the indicator species for declining of pine-mushroom productivity since some fruiting bodies of the species appeared around the fairy ring of T. matsutake.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.327-332
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• 2015

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene is known to be expressed in plants, and is involved in the differentiation, growth and synthesis of secondary metabolites. However, its expression in fungi remains to be explored. To understand its expression in mushroom fungi, the PAL gene of the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes (Fvpal) was cloned and characterized. The cloned Fvpal consists of 2,175 bp, coding for a polypeptide containing 724 amino acids and having 11 introns. The translated amino acid sequence of Fvpal shares a high identity (66%) with that of ectomycorrhizal fungus Tricholoma matsutake. Distinctively, the Fvpal expression in the mycelium was higher in minimal medium supplemented with L-tyrosine than with other aromatic amino acids. During cultivation of the mushroom on sawdust medium, Fvpal expression in the fruit body correspondingly increased as the mushroom grew. In the fruiting body, Fvpal was expressed more in the stipe than in the pileus. These results suggest that F. velutipes PAL activity differs in the different organs of the mushroom. Overall, this is first report to show that the PAL gene expression is associated with mushroom growth in fungi.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.354-359
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• 2023

Tricholoma matsutake has been the most valuable ectomycorrhizal fungi in Asia because of its unique flavor and taste. However, due to the difficulty of artificial cultivation, the cultivation of T. matsutake has relied on natural growth in forests. To cultivate the T. matsutake artificially, microorganisms in fairy rings were introduced. In this study, we isolated 30 fungal species of microfungi from the soil of fairy rings. Among them, one single fungal strain showed a promoting effect on the growth of T. matsutake. The growth effect was confirmed by measuring the growth area of T. matsutake and enzyme activities including a-amylase, cellulase, and b-glucosidase. In comparison with control, microfungal metabolite increased the growth area of T. matsutake by 213% and the enzyme activity of T. matsutake by 110-200%. The isolated fungal strain was identified as Penicillium citreonigrum by BLAST on the NCBI database. The Discovery of this microfungal strain is expected to contribute to artificial cultivation of T. matsutake.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.334-337
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• 2018

Amanita virgineoides Bas is an ectomycorrhizal mushroom belonging to the family Amanitaceae in the order Agaricales. This fungus usually grows solely on damp soil in coniferous or deciduous forests from summer to autumn. Although Korean people consume A. virgineoides, some studies indicate that it can be poisonous. During our biodiversity survey of four specific regions i.e., Yongin, Eumseong, and Chungju from 2016 to 2018, A. virgineoides specimens were collected on the sixth rotation. We analyzed the temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and vegetation surrounding the A. virgineoides fruiting bodies to reveal the environmental factors that influenced mushroom formation. It was found to usually grow in August, the hottest season in Korea. For 60 days before forming the fruiting body, temperatures were found to be between 20 and $30^{\circ}C$. More evidence is necessary to ensure that change in temperature is the major environmental factor that determines A. virgineoides fruiting.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.27 no.5 s.92
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• pp.345-348
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• 1999

Tricholoma matsutake, an ectomycorrhizal fungus, is the most expensive mushroom at the region of northeastern Asia. Since the mushroom is edible, it is very serious to have a parasitic fungus on the surface of fruit-body. We discovered a necrotrophic mycoparasite of T. matsutake. We tried to illustrate the feature of mycoparasite on T. matsutake in detail, and it was identified as Syzygites megalocarpus.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-32
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• 2023

To investigate the effect of thinning intensity on environmental factors and ectomycorrhizal mushroom fruiting in forest ecosystems, we studied canopy closure, throughfall, soil temperature, soil moisture, light response of understory vegetation, and ectomycorrhizal mushroom fruiting in a 10-year-old pine forest after 34%, 45%, and 60% thinning. Canopy closure was significantly higher in the 34% treatment and control plots, ranging from 80-85% in April. However, in November, all thinning treatment plots showed a decrease of approximately 5-10% compared with the control plot. The 60% treatment plot had over 200 mm of additional throughfall compared with the control plot, and monthly throughfall was significantly higher by more than 100 mm in October. The soil temperature in each treatment plot increased significantly by up to 1℃ or more compared with the control plot as the thinning rate increased. The soil moisture increased by more than 5% in the thinning treatment plots during rainfall, particularly in the 34% treatment plot, where the rate of moisture decrease was slower. The photosynthetic rate of major tree species (excluding Pinus densiflora)was highest in Quercus mongolica, with a rate of 7 µmolCO₂·m^-2·s^-1. At a lightintensity of 800 μmol·m^-2·s^-1, Q. mongolica showed the highest photosynthetic level of 6 ± 0.3 μmolCO₂·m^-2·s^-1 in the 45% treatment. The photosynthetic rate of Fraxinus sieboldiana and Styrax japonicus increased as the thinning intensity increased. The Shannon-Wiener index of mycorrhizal mushrooms did not significantly differ among treatments, but the fresh weight of mushrooms was approximately 360-840 g higher in the 34% and 45% treatments than in the control. Additionally, the fresh weight of fungi in the 60% treatment was 860 g less than that in the control. There were more individuals of Amanita citrina in the control than in the thinning treatment, while Suillus bovinus numbers increased by more than 10 times in the 34% thinning treatment compared with the control.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.1055-1059
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• 2013

The ectomycorrhizal fungus Tricholoma matsutake grows symbiotically with Pinus densiflora. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (E.C. 4.3.1.24) catalyzes the conversion of L-phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid. The role of fungal phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, however, has not been clear until now. In this study, the gene encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), which was isolated from T. matsutake, was cloned and characterized. The PAL gene (tmpal) consists of 2,160 nucleotides, coding for a polypeptide containing 719 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of tmpal from T. matsutake shows high identity (70%) with that from Laccaria bicolor. Comparative analysis of the PAL genes among T. matsutake and other species of the class Agaricomycetes showed that both active sites and binding sites were significantly conserved among these genes. The transcriptional analysis of the PAL gene revealed a differential gene expression pattern depending on the developmental stages (mycelium, primordium, stipe, pileus, and gills) of T. matsutake. These results suggest that the PAL gene in T. matsutake plays an important role in multiple physiological functions.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.271-280
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• 2018

The ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Tricholoma is one of mushroom groups that cannot be cultivated artificially. To use this mushroom as applicable resource for food production, it is necessary to obtain information about their mycelial growth properties in various environmental conditions. This study investigated the mycelial growth of four domestic isolates of Tricholoma species (T. bakamatsutake, T. fulvocastaneum, T. matsutake, T. terreum) at different physical and chemical conditions. The optimal physical conditions for their mycelia growth were found to be a temperature range of $20{\sim}25^{\circ}C$ and a pH range of 4.0~7.0 in dark condition. The growth of T. matsutake was retarded at high temperature ($30^{\circ}C$). Tests to determine the chemical factors that affected mycelial growth showed that the four Tricholoma spp. grew 1% saline. T. matsutake grew in up to 2% saline. In the presence of various heavy metals (50 ppm) and pesticides (suppliers' recommended concentration), mycelial growth was inhibited the most by cadmium and emamectin benzoate, respectively. However, all the four Tricholoma spp. grew with $Cu^+$. The growth of T. matsutake was not inhibited by abamectin, acetamiprid, and thiacloprid. Extracellular enzyme activities of amylase and ${\beta}$-glucosidase were detected only in T. bakamatsutake and T. fulvocastaneum. The results of the present study allowed us to determine suitable or harmful environmental conditions for the mycelial cultivation of the Tricholoma spp.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.657-679
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• 2010

Mushroom fruiting was investigated in pine and oak dominated forest stands in Songni National Park located in central Korea for six years from 2003 to 2008, in order to understand the relationship between mushroom diversity and the environmental factors, precipitation, temperature, soil moisture and vegetation. The most frequent fruiting families were those of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms, Tricholomataceae, Amanitaceae, Russulaceae, Cortinariaceae, and Boletaceae. The frequency of mushroom fruiting varied from 94 to 167 species per year, with July and August having the highest(13~90 species). Mushroom fruiting was positively correlated to precipitation(r=0.897), using Palmer Drought Severity Index for the long term period and Standard Precipitation Index for short term period. Soil moisture content also affected mushroom fruiting, with Lactarius chrysorrheus and Russula virescens fruiting only at soil moisture content higher than 20%. Positive correlation between mushroom fruiting and temperature was also noted(r=0.77), with optimum rates at $21{\sim}25^{\circ}C$. Tricholoma flayayirens, Amanita gymnopus, Lactarius piperatus, Inocybe asteropora and Xerocomus chrysenteron were able to fruit at temperatures higher than $25^{\circ}C$. However, Laccaria amethystea, Amanita virosa and Russula mariae fruited at relatively wide temperature range. The influence of vegetation on mushroom fruiting was likewise noted, with 38 species, including Suillus bovinus and Boletopsis leucomelas being specific to pine dominated stands, while 42 species, including Polyporus arcularius and Hericium erinaceum were specific to oak dominated stands. On the other hand, around 50 species, including Laccaria laccata and Lycoperdon parlatum, were able to fruit in both types of vegetation. In conclusion, mushroom fruiting greatly varies with changes in precipitation, soil moisture, temperature and vegetation.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2011

In order to confirm the presence of putative glucoamylase gene in Tricholoma matsutake genome, the genomic DNA was prepared from T. matsutake NBRC30773 strain and was used as template to clone the glucoamylases gene (TmGlu1). We obtained the nucleotide sequence of TmGlu1 and its franking region. The coding region (from ATG to stop codon) is 2,186 bp. The locations of exons and introns were determined from the nucleotide sequences of 3'- and 5'-RACE PCR and RT-PCR products. On the other hand, to investigate the relationship between composition of medium and glucoamylase expression, we checked the expression level of glucoamylase gene by realtime reverse transcription PCR and measurement of glucoamylase enzyme activity. It was found that enzyme activity of glucoamylase was very low in different medium. Expression of glucoamylases gene appeared to not be affected by different carbon source.