• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1223-1232
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• 2017

Cordyceps militaris, a member of Ascomycota, a mushroom referred to as caterpillar Dong-chung-ha-cho, is commercially valuable because of its high content of bioactive substances, including cordycepin, and its potential for artificial cultivation. Cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) is highly associated with the pharmacological effects of C. militaris. C. militaris is heterothallic in that two mating-type loci, idiomorph MAT1-1 and MAT1-2, exist discretely in two different spores. In this study, nine C. militaris strains were mated with each other to prepare newly bred strains that produced a larger amount of cordycepin than the parent strains. Nine strains of C. militaris were identified by comparing the internal transcribed spacer sequence, and a total of 12 single spores were isolated from the nine strains of C. militaris. After the MAT idiomorph was confirmed by PCR, 36 mating combinations were performed with six single spores with MAT1-1 and the others with MAT1-2. Eight mating combinations were successfully mated, producing stroma with perithecia. Cordycepin content analysis of all strains by high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that the KASP4-bred strain produced the maximum cordycepin among all strains, regardless of the medium and stroma parts. Finally, universal rice primer-PCR was performed to demonstrate that the bred strains were genetically different from the parental strains and new C. militaris strains. These results may be related to the recombination of genes during mating. The newly produced strains can be used to meet the industrial demand for cordycepin. In addition, breeding through mating suggests the possibility of producing numerous cordycepin-producing C. militaris strains.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.158-161
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• 2005

We have isolated fractions from Cordyceps militaris and Paecilomyces japonica and investigated their effects on the activity of rat liver cytosolic glucokinase, a key metabolic enzyme involved in carbohydrate metabolism. The dried powder of the C. militaris and P. japonica were successively extracted with ethanol and with 70% ethanol. The residue was exhaustively extracted with hot water. The extract was dialyzed against water, and to the non-dialyzable solution was added 2 volumes of ethanol. The precipitate was collected by centrifugation dispered in water, and lyophilized to afford fraction A. The residue after hot-water extraction was suspended in 5% sodium carbonate. The final residue was suspended in 5% NaOH. The alkaline suspension was purified in a similar manner as described above to afford fraction B. Hepatic glucokinase activities of the fraction A extracted from C. militaris and P. japonica were 371.4 and 379%, respectively. The fraction B was 314.2 and 147.4%. The activity of fraction B of C. militaris extracts was higher than that of P. japonica. Liver cytosolic glucokinase activity of rats fed normal diet supplemented with 0.1% C. militaris was 1316%. In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that C. militaris extracts were able to prevent sudden postprandial peaks in blood glucose as a result of a marked increase in the liver cytosolic glucokinase activities.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.254-257
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• 2022

Owing to its excellent nutritional value, eggs are among the most important components of the human diet. Gender and environmental factors, such as feed composition, may alter the nutritional profile and quality of eggs. Feed additives have recently been used to enhance the health and productivity of hens, which has resulted in the production of higher-quality eggs. The fungus Cordyceps militaris, a well-established source of traditional medicines, contains potential bioactive metabolites, which prompted us to examine the effects of C. militaris-supplemented diets on the quality of hens' eggs. The hens of two species (Gallus gallus domesticus and Araucana) were fed with one of three different diets: a control diet and diets supplemented with 2% or 5% of C. militaris. Egg quality was determined by measuring the Haugh Unit, yolk color, and shell thickness. In addition, egg and shell densities together with the ratio of yolk to albumen were calculated. Eggshell thickness and yolk color were both enhanced by the addition of C. militaris, whereas Haugh Unit values were somewhat reduced. Egg size, eggshell weight, and yolk and albumen production were all enhanced by C. militaris supplementation. Notably, in hens fed the 2% C. militaris-supplemented diet, enhancement was more evident in the yolk than in the albumen. The overall quality of the egg yolk was enhanced when 2% C. militaris was added to the hens' diet, which led to increases in both yolk color and quantity. Eggshell thickness and weight were also higher among eggs laid by hens fed the supplemented diets. Although these effects differed depending on the chicken species, we established that, in general, C. militaris contributes to improving egg quality.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.696-706
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• 2020

Cordyceps has been used in traditional Chinese medicine more than 2000 year ago. In this study, the new Cordyceps militaris was founded and isolated from O-dae mountain in Korea, and was identified its genetic characteristics. The newly isolation strain HB8 was most closet to Cordyceps militaris W141449 (99.82%), Cordyceps militaris JLCY-LI819 (99.82%) and Cordyceps militaris 4642 (99.81%), respectively. the genotypic result was show that train HB8 was belonging to the Cordyceps militaris genus, therefore, Cordycep militaris HB8 proposed with accession number MT835161. This study we find the optimal condition for production of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris HB8 was 8 mg/g (200 g of pupa, 1 g of KH₂PO₄, 0.5 g of K₂HPO₄, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO₄, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h) and the optimum condition for the production of adenosine was 2.6 mg/g (15 g of skim milk powder, 1 g of KH₂PO₄, 0.5 g of K₂HPO₄, 20 g of glucose, 1 g of MgSO₄, 0.05 g of vitamin B1, and 1 mg of NAA per liter; light condition 300-700 Lux and day/night was 14 h/10 h).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1178-1187
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• 2024

Cordyceps militaris is a significant edible fungus that produces a variety of bioactive compounds. We have previously established a uridine/uracil auxotrophic mutant and a corresponding Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system for genetic characterization in C. militaris using pyrG as a screening marker. In this study, we constructed an ATMT system based on a dual pyrG and hisB auxotrophic mutant of C. militaris. Using the uridine/uracil auxotrophic mutant as the background and pyrG as a selection marker, the hisB gene encoding imidazole glycerophosphate dehydratase, required for histidine biosynthesis, was knocked out by homologous recombination to construct a histidine auxotrophic C. militaris mutant. Then, pyrG in the histidine auxotrophic mutant was deleted to construct a ΔpyrG ΔhisB dual auxotrophic mutant. Further, we established an ATMT transformation system based on the dual auxotrophic C. militaris by using GFP and DsRed as reporter genes. Finally, to demonstrate the application of this dual transformation system for studies of gene function, knock out and complementation of the photoreceptor gene CmWC-1 in the dual auxotrophic C. militaris were performed. The newly constructed ATMT system with histidine and uridine/uracil auxotrophic markers provides a promising tool for genetic modifications in the medicinal fungus C. militaris.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.875-881
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• 2012

This study was performed to observe the effects of the feeding physiological activity substance in Cordyceps militaris hot-water extract intake on the improvement of lipid components and metabolic enzyme activities in the serum of dietary hyperlipidemic rats (SD strain, male) fed the experimental diets for 5 weeks. The concentrations of cholesterol (total cholesterol, ${\beta}$-lipoprotein, LDL-cholesterol, free cholesterol and cholesteryl ester), atherosclerotic index, triglyceride (TG), phospholipid (PL) and blood glucose in sera were remarkably lower in the Cordyceps militaris extract intake group than in the hyperlipidemic rats. In the ratio of HDL-cholesterol concentration was higher percentage in the Cordyceps militaris extract intake group than in the hyperlipidemic rats. The activities aminotransferase (AST, ALT) in sera were rather lower in the Cordyceps militaris extract administration than in the hyperlipidemic rats. From the above research, Cordyceps militaris extract were effective on the improvement of the lipid compositions in sera of dietary hyperlipidemic rats.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.236-238
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• 2005

The effect of light on production of cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) was investigated using Cordyceps militaris. Among Cordyceps spp. tested, C. militaris KCTC 6064 was the best for cordycepin production, After 120-hr cultivation of C. militaris KCTC 6064 at $24^{\circ}C$ in YMG broth with light (1,000 lux), 51.6 mg/l of cordycepin was produced. In general, production of cordycepin with light illumination was better than that without light. Cordycepin production under light illumination was enhanced up 96-hr cultivation, whereas after 96-hr, cordycepin production was decreased.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2006

Cordyceps, one of the well-known traditional Chinese medicines, consists of the dried fungus C. sinensis growing on the larva of caterpillar. It is commonly used as a tonic of restoring vital body functions. In order to evaluate the pharmacological effects of C. militaris, the anti-oxidation and antiaging effect of cultured C. militaris growing on pupa of silkworm Bombyx mori, were investigated. The results showed! that the contents of lipofusin in myocardium were reduced and the SOD activity in the liver were elevated in a dose-dependent manner while no effect was observed for blood GSH-Px activity and liver MDA content in mice perfused with the cultured C. militaris compared to those untreated mice. Furthermore, the average life span, maximum life span and 50% death time of the fruit flies treated with cultured C. militaris were markedly prolonged. The results suggest that the cultured C. militaris growing on pupa of silkworm possesses anti-oxidation and delay senescence activity.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.512-517
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• 2020

Cordyceps militaris has been reported to the diverse pharmaceutical effects including cancer, inflammatory diseases, and bacteria or virus infection. However, the effect of C. militaris on exercise performance has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effect of C. militaris on exercise performance. To evaluate exercise performance, we prepared C. militaris ethyl acetate extract (CMEE) and conducted grip strength tests every week after administration. Additionally, blood samples were collected at the end of the experiment for biochemical analysis. The administration of CMEE slightly increased grip strength, and this result was similar to the red ginseng treated group. According to the result of biochemical analysis, CMEE had an effect on the biomarkers related to ATP generation pathway but had little influence on the muscle fatigue related biomarkers. Therefore, C. militaris has the possibility of improving exercise performance, which could be associated with the increase in ATP production rather than the decrease in muscle fatigue during exercise.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.479-486
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• 2008

The cultural characteristics and antibacterial activities of Cordyceps militaris and Paecilomyces tenuipes were compared. The mycelial growth was the highest on MCM (Mushroom Complete Medium) for C. militaris and on YMA (Yeast Malt Agar) for P. tenuipes. But the mycelial density on MMM (Mushroom Minimal Medium) was lower than other on media. The optimum mycelial growth was observed at $25^{\circ}C$. C. militaris was low mycelial growth when it was transferred over 5 times generation. The carbon source for the optimum mycelial growth was fructose of monosaccharide, maltose of disaccharide and dextrin of polysaccharide. The calcium nitrate of organonitrogen was found the best mycelial growth on C. militaris, while the sodium nitrate observed to be well for mycelial growth on P. tenuipes. The ammonium tartrate was observed to be the best among the inorganonitrogen used for mycelial growth. Antibacterial activities were found out just C. militaris against Bacillus cereus of Gram (+).