• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.553-557
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• 1999

Five fungi (mushrooms), Daedaleopsis styracina, Trichaptum abietium, Coriolus versicolor, Pisolithus tinctorius and Tricholomopsis decora, were screened and examined the fibrinolytic activity and specificity. The extracts of mushrooms showed a level of fibrinolytic activity that was about 3-4 times higher than that of plasmin 1.0 unit. In particular, Pisolithus tinctorius of them showed the greatest enzyme activity (4.71 plasmin unit/mL) by fibrin plate assay, and the highest specificity (1.32 plasmin unit/mL) using chromogenic substrate (N-p-Tosyl-Gly-Pro-Lys p-nitroanilide) by Tricholomopsis decora. And the same molecular mass 54 and 61kDa showing the fibrinolytic activity obtained from all fruiting bodies were confirmed, and it was found that Trichaptum abietium and Tricholomopsis decora have a strong fibrinolytic enzyme with an apparent size of 100 kDa and 84 kDa, respectively on SDS-fibrin zymography activity assay.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.224-230
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• 2015

A re-study was conducted based on morphological characters of 39 specimens known as Mycena stylobates, collected from 33 areas, Mt. Chiack, Kangwon-do, etc. from 1988 to 2015 and deposited in the Herbarium Conservation Center of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (HCCN). All specimens cited here were confirmed as a new to science, and designated as "Mycena yangsupensiae" which was described and illustrated in detail. Mycelial growth of four cultures from the fruiting bodies of Mycena sp. (KACC54181, KACC54182, KACC54183, and KACC54184) was high on the potato dextrose agar (PDA), at $25^{\circ}C$. These four taxa were confirmed as the same species, Mycena yangsupensiae, by the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing analysis. All collections cited here are deposited in HCCN, Suwon.

• Mycobiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.283-289
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• 2011

The wild edible mushroom, Lentinus lepideus has recently been cultivated for commercial use in Korea. While the mushroom has been widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes, the possible anti-hyperlipidemic action is unclear. The effects of dietary L. lepideus on plasma and feces biochemical and on the liver histological status were investigated in hypercholesterolemic rats. Six-wk-old female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three groups of 10 rats each. Biochemical and histological examinations were performed. A diet containing 5% L. lepideus fruiting bodies reduced plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, total lipid, phospholipids, and the ratio of low-density to high-density lipoprotein. Body weight was reduced. The diet did not adversely affect plasma biochemical and enzyme profiles. L. lepideus reduced significantly plasma ${\beta}$- and pre-${\beta}$-lipoprotein, while ${\alpha}$-lipoprotein content was increased. A histological study of hepatic cells by conventional hematoxylin-eosin and oil red O staining revealed normal findings for mushroom-fed hypercholesterolemic rats. The present study suggests that a diet supplemented with L. lepideus can provide health benefits by acting on the atherogenic lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic rats.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.148-150
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• 2011

Cordyceps militaris(CM) has been used as a traditional folk medicine to strengthen the immune system and regain energy for hundreds of years in Far East Asian countries. In the present studies, we determined that the stimulatory effect of Cordyceps militaris on testosterone production in male mouse rats. Results illustrated that changes of the body weight, food and water intake of the rats were not observed in this study but the concentration of testosterone in the serum of the rats was significantly increased by CM(p < 0.05). Therefore fruiting bodies of CM grown on the drone bee medium may be an integrative medicine for the treatment of reproductive problems caused by insufficient testosterone levels in human males.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.256-262
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• 2011

A 20.9-kDa metalloprotease was isolated from dried fruiting bodies of the wild basidiomycete mushroom Lepista nuda. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the protease was seen to be ATFVLTAATNTLFTA, thus displaying no similarity with the sequences of previously reported metalloproteases. The protease was purified using a procedure that entailed ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Cellulose, Q-Sepharose, and Mono S, and FPLC-gel filtration on Superdex 75. The protease functioned at an optimum pH of 7.0 and an optimum temperature of $50^{\circ}C$. It was also noted that the protease demonstrated a proteolytic activity of 1,756 U/mg toward casein. The $K_m$ of the purified protease toward casein was 6.36 mg/ml at a pH of 7.0 and with a temperature of $37^{\circ}C$, whereas the $V_{max}$ was 9.11 ${\mu}g\;ml^{-1}\;min^{-1}$. The activity of the protease was adversely affected by EDTA-2Na, suggesting that it is a metalloprotease. PMSF, EGTA, aprotinin, and leupeptin exerted no striking inhibitory effect. The activity of the protease was enhanced by $Fe^{2+}$, but was curtailed by $Cd^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, $Hg^{2+}$, $Pb^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, and $Fe^{2+}$ ions. The protease also exhibited inhibitory activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase with an $IC_{50}$ value of 4.00 ${\mu}M$. The $IC_{50}$ values toward hepatoma Hep G2 and leukemia L1210 cells in vitro were 4.99 ${\mu}M$ and 3.67 ${\mu}M$, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1769-1776
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• 2020

As part of our current work to discover structurally and/or biologically novel compounds from Korean wild mushrooms, we isolated five ergostane-type steroids (1-5) from the fruiting bodies of Xerula furfuracea via repeated column chromatographic separations and HPLC purification. The chemical structures of the isolated steroids were shown to be (22E,24R)-24-methylcholesta-4,22-diene-3,6-dione (1), ergosta-7,22-diene-3β,5α,6β-triol (2), ergosta-7,22-diene-3β,5α,6β,9α-tetraol (3), (22E,24R)-5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,22-diene-3β-ol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), and (22E,24R)-5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,9,22-triene-3β-ol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5)based on comparison of the data regarding their spectroscopic and physical properties with those of previous studies. Notably, this is the first report on the presence of the identified steroids (1-5) in this mushroom. We tested compounds 1-5 to determine their effects on adipogenesis and osteogenesis in the mouse mesenchymal stem cell line C3H10T1/2 and found that compounds 4 and 5 suppressed the differentiation of stem cells into adipocytes. Notably, in addition to its suppressive effect on adipogenesis, compound 5 was also shown to promote the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. These findings demonstrate that the bioactive compounds isolated might be effective for the treatment of menopause-associated syndromes, such as osteoporosis and obesity, as the isolated compounds were shown to suppress adipogenesis and/or promote osteogenesis of stem cells.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.280-287
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• 2015

In this study, transcriptome analysis of twelve laccase genes in Pleurotus ostreatus revealed that their expression was differentially regulated at different developmental stages. Lacc5 and Lacc12 were specifically expressed in fruiting bodies and primordia, respectively, whereas Lacc6 was expressed at all developmental stages. Lacc1 and Lacc3 were specific to the mycelial stage in solid medium. In order to investigate their biochemical characteristics, these laccases were heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris using the pPICHOLI-2 expression vector. Expression of the laccases was facilitated by intermittent addition of methanol as an inducer and sole carbon source, in order to reduce the toxic effects associated with high methanol concentration. The highest expression was observed when the recombinant yeast cells were grown for 5 days at $15^{\circ}C$ with intermittent addition of 1% methanol at a 12-hr interval. Investigation of enzyme kinetics using 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) as a substrate revealed that the primordium-specific laccase Lacc12 was 5.4-fold less active than Lacc6 at low substrate concentration with respect to ABTS oxidation activity. The optimal pH and temperature of Lacc12 were 0.5 pH units and $5^{\circ}C$higher than those of Lacc6. Lacc12 showed maximal activity at pH 3.5 and $50^{\circ}C$, which may reflect the physiological conditions at the primordiation stage.

• Mycobiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.54-61
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• 2007

Two isolates of Tricholoma matsutake T-008 and T-034, preserved in Entomopathogenic Fungal Culture Collection (EFCC) of Korea, were used in the present study. The isolates had 100% Bootstrap homology with Tricholoma matsutake U62964 and T. matsutake AB188557 and AF309538 preserved in Gene Bank of NCBI. Mycelial growth of T. matsutake was highest in TMM and MYA at $25^{\circ}C$. The highest dry wt. of mycelium was obtained after 65 days of culture, when 6 mycelial discs were inoculated in 100 ml of broth in 250 ml shaking flask. Mycelial mats were observed in clumped condition at the inoculation sites of pine forest after two weeks of inoculation. After 5 months of inoculation, mycelia mats were observed growing inside soil and walls of a few inoculation sites, while mycelial mats growth up to $5{\sim}8$ cm were observed in the roots of pine tree after 6 months. The survival rate of the inoculum was about 40% of the total inoculation sites. The survival rate was found below 20% when the mycelium was inoculated in the summer. The reasons for low survival rates of the mycelium were mainly due to dry season and the soil-borne small animals such as earthworm and mole. After one year of inoculation, no external difference was observed between the artificially inoculated mycelia and the naturally existing mycelia of T. matsutake. The present study showed that fruiting bodies of T. matsutake could be produced by artificial inoculation under the appropriate environmental conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2010

Dead insects infected with fungi were collected from mountains and islands in several locations in Korea from 2003 to 2007. Morphological characteristics of the fungal fruiting bodies produced on the insect samples were examined. A total of 542 entomopathogenic fungal isolates were obtained from the insect samples and identified based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. Three species of Beauveria, eight species of Cordyceps and four species of Isaria were mainly isolated from the insect samples. The other entomopathogenic fungi isolated from the insect samples were Metarhizium anisopliae, Nomuraea rileyi, Paecilomyces sp. and Verticillium sp.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2017

Armillaria species are non-obligate root pathogens, as well as facultative parasites. The genus consists of about 40 species with worldwide distribution that are difficult to identify morphologically. Their hosts include conifers, hardwoods, vines, and even herbs. These fungi contribute to natural thinning and succession of vegetation in forests and decompose wood to develop edible fruiting bodies from spring to autumn. Its genets have a lifespan of up to 2000 years and have been found to occupy as much as 960 ha of forest land. Recently, forest tending work such as thinning of forests has resulted in the creation of tree stumps that support the growth of Armillaria, and these mushrooms have become an income source in mountainous areas. Therefore, identification of these species is needed. We review the difficulties in identification, suggest a species identification key for Korean indigenous species, and discuss the significance of Armillaria in terms of forest ecology and plant pathology.