Aconitum kusnezoffii is a perennial herbaceous medicinal plant of the family Ranunculaceae, with unique medicinal value. Damping off is one of the most important seedling diseases affecting A. kusnezoffii, occurring widely and often causing large-scale seedling death in the field. To clarify the species of the pathogen causing damping off in A. kusnezoffii and to formulate an effective control strategy, this study conducted pathogen identification, research on biological characteristics, and evaluation of fungicide inhibitory activity. Through morphological characteristics, cultural traits, and phylogenetic tree analysis, the pathogen causing damping off in A. kusnezoffii was identified as Rhizoctonia solani, belonging to the AG5 anastomosis group. The optimal temperature for mycelial growth of the pathogen was 25-30 ℃, with OA medium as the most suitable medium, pH 8 as the optimal pH, and sucrose and yeast as the best carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. The effect of light on mycelial growth was not significant. In evaluating the inhibitory activity of 45 chemical fungicides, including 30% hymexazol, and 4 biogenic fungicides, including 0.3% eugenol, it was found that 30% thifluzamide and 50% fludioxonil had significantly better inhibitory effects on R. solani than other tested agents, with EC_(50) values of 0.129 6,0.220 6 μg·mL~(-1), respectively. Among the biogenic fungicides, 0.3% eugenol also showed an ideal inhibitory effect on the pathogen, with an EC_(50) of 1.668 9 μg·mL~(-1). To prevent the development of resistance in the pathogen and to reduce the use of chemical fungicides, it is recommended that the three fungicides above be used in rotation during production. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the accurate diagnosis and effective control strategy for R. solani causing damping off in A. kusnezoffii.
Fungicides, Industrial/pharmacology* ; Plant Diseases/microbiology* ; Rhizoctonia/growth & development* ; Aconitum/microbiology* ; Phylogeny ; Mycelium/growth & development*

In order to compare the differences in growth and secondary metabolite accumulation of Panax quinquefolius between understory and field planting, growth indexes, photosynthetic characteristics, soil enzyme activities, secondary metabolite contents, and antioxidant activities of P. quinquefolius under different planting modes were examined and compared, and One-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) and correlation analyses were carried out by using the software SPSS 25.0 and GraphPad Prism 9.5. The Origin 2021 software was used for plotting. The results showed that compared with those under field planting, the plant height, leaf length, leaf width, photosynthetic rate, and chlorophyll content of P. quinquefolius under understory planting were significantly reduced, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) infestation rate and infestation intensity, ginsenoside content, and antioxidant activity were significantly increased. The activities of inter-root soil urease, sucrase, and catalase increased, while the activities of non-inter-root soil urease and alkaline phosphatase increased. Correlation analyses showed that the plant height and leaf length of P. quinquefolius plant were significantly positively correlated with net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, chlorophyll content, and electron transfer rate(P<0.05), while ginsenoside content was significantly negatively correlated with net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content, and electron transfer rate(P<0.05) and significantly positively correlated with AMF infestation rate and infestation intensity(P<0.05). In addition, ginsenoside content was significantly positively correlated with the activities of inter-root soil sucrase, urease, and catalase(P<0.05). This study provides basic data for revealing the mechanism of secondary metabolite accumulation in P. quinquefolius under understory planting and for exploring and practicing the ecological mode of P. quinquefolius under understory planting.
Panax/microbiology* ; China ; Secondary Metabolism ; Soil/chemistry* ; Photosynthesis ; Plant Leaves/metabolism* ; Chlorophyll/metabolism* ; Mycorrhizae

Originating from sporoderm-broken Ganoderma lucidum spores, Ganoderma lucidum spore oil(GLSO) is prepared by supercritical fluid extraction. Chemical composition studies show that GLSO mainly contains nonpolar substances, such as fatty acids, triglycerides, and steroids. GLSO is also famous for its edible and medical functions. It possesses various pharmacological effects, including anti-tumor, immune boosting, anti-fatigue, antioxidant property, and organ protection. This paper systematically summarizes the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of GLSO, aiming to provide a reference for its future research and application.
Reishi/chemistry* ; Spores, Fungal/chemistry* ; Humans ; Animals ; Oils/isolation & purification* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification*

Eight previously undescribed lanostane triterpenoids, including five nortriterpenoids with 26 carbons, ganothenoids A-E (1-5), and three lanostanoids, ganothenoids F-H (6-8), along with 24 known ones (9-32), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganodrma theaecolum. The structures of the novel compounds were elucidated using comprehensive spectroscopic methods, including electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) calculations. Compounds 1-32 were assessed for their neuroprotective effects against H₂O₂-induced damage in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, as well as their inhibitory activities against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and α-glucosidase. Compound 4 demonstrated the most potent neuroprotective activity against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress by suppressing G₀/G₁ phase cell cycle arrest, reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and inhibiting cell apoptosis through modulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 protein (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2 associated X-protein (Bax) protein expression. Compounds 26, 12, and 28 exhibited PTP1B inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values ranging from 13.92 to 56.94 μmol·L^-1, while compound 12 alone displayed significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase with an IC₅₀ value of 43.56 μmol·L^-1. Additionally, enzyme kinetic analyses and molecular docking simulations were conducted for compounds 26 and 12 with PTP1B and α-glucosidase, respectively.
Humans ; Fruiting Bodies, Fungal/chemistry* ; Triterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Neuroprotective Agents/isolation & purification* ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1/metabolism* ; Ganoderma/chemistry* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Hypoglycemic Agents/isolation & purification* ; Molecular Structure ; alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Hydrogen Peroxide/toxicity* ; Molecular Docking Simulation

Soil cadmium pollution can adversely affect the cultivation of the ornamental plant, Coleus scutellarioides. Upon cadmium contamination of the soil, the growth of C. scutellarioides is impeded, and it may even succumb to the toxic accumulation of cadmium. In this study, we investigated the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the adaptation of C. scutellarioides to cadmium stress, by measuring the physiological metabolism and the degree of root damage of C. scutellarioides, with Aspergillus oryzae as the test fungi. The results indicated that cadmium stress increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (Pro) within the cells of C. scutellarioides, but inhibited mycorrhizal infestation rate, root vigour and growth rate to a great degree. With the same cadmium concentration, the inoculation of AMF significantly improved the physiological indexes of C. scutellarioides. The maximum decrease of MDA content was 42.16%, and the content of secondary metabolites rosemarinic acid and anthocyanosides could be increased by up to 27.43% and 25.72%, respectively. Meanwhile, the increase of root vigour was as high as 35.35%, and the DNA damage of the root system was obviously repaired. In conclusion, the inoculation of AMF can promote the accumulation of secondary metabolites, alleviate root damage, and enhance the tolerance to cadmium stress in C. scutellarioides.
Cadmium/toxicity* ; Mycorrhizae/physiology* ; Plant Roots/drug effects* ; Soil Pollutants/toxicity* ; Stress, Physiological ; Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism*

This study aimed to provide a scientific basis for the application of the mycorrhizal planting technology of Dendrobium officinale by investigating the effects of mycorrhizal planting on the fingerprints of D. officinale and the content of six chemical components. Seventeen samples of D. officinale under mycorrhizal and conventional planting were collected from four regions, such as Jinhua of Zhejiang. The HPLC fingerprints were established to evaluate the similarity of the samples. The content of six chemical components of the samples was determined by HPLC. There were 15 common peaks in the fingerprints, and five of them were identified by marker compounds, which were naringenin, 4,4'-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybibenzyl, 3,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxybibenzyl, 3',4-dihydroxy-3,5'-dimethoxybibenzyl(gigantol), and 3,4-dihydroxy-4',5-dimethoxybibenzyl(DDB-2). The similarities of the fingerprints of mycorrhizal and conventional planting samples and the control fingerprint were in the ranges of 0.733-0.936 and 0.834-0.942, respectively. The influences of mycorrhizal planting on fingerprints were related to planting regions, the germplasm of D. officianle, and the amount of fungal agent. The content of six chemical components in the samples varied greatly, and the content of DDB-2 was the highest, ranging from 69.83 to 488.47 μg·g~(-1). The mycorrhizal planting samples from Chongming of Shanghai and Taizhou of Jiangsu showed an increase in the content of 5-6 components, while samples from Zhangzhou of Fujian and Jinhua of Zhejiang showed an increase in the content of 1-2 components. The results showed that mycorrhizal planting technology did not change the chemical profile of small molecular chemical components of D. officinale, but affected the content of chemical components such as bibenzyls, which has a good application prospect.
Dendrobium/chemistry* ; Mycorrhizae ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

Candida albicans is the most abundant fungal species in oral cavity. As a smart opportunistic pathogen, it increases the virulence by switching its forms from yeasts to hyphae and becomes the major pathogenic agent for oral candidiasis. However, the overuse of current clinical antifungals and lack of new types of drugs highlight the challenges in the antifungal treatments because of the drug resistance and side effects. Anti-virulence strategy is proved as a practical way to develop new types of anti-infective drugs. Here, seven artemisinins, including artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, artemisinic acid, dihydroartemisinic acid, artesunate, artemether and arteether, were employed to target at the hyphal development, the most important virulence factor of C. albicans. Artemisinins failed to affect the growth, but significantly inhibited the hyphal development of C. albicans, including the clinical azole resistant isolates, and reduced their damage to oral epithelial cells, while arteether showed the strongest activities. The transcriptome suggested that arteether could affect the energy metabolism of C. albicans. Seven artemisinins were then proved to significantly inhibit the productions of ATP and cAMP, while reduced the hyphal inhibition on RAS1 overexpression strain indicating that artemisinins regulated the Ras1-cAMP-Efg1 pathway to inhibit the hyphal development. Importantly, arteether significantly inhibited the fungal burden and infections with no systemic toxicity in the murine oropharyngeal candidiasis models in vivo caused by both fluconazole sensitive and resistant strains. Our results for the first time indicated that artemisinins can be potential antifungal compounds against C. albicans infections by targeting at its hyphal development.
Animals ; Mice ; Candida albicans ; Candidiasis, Oral/drug therapy* ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology* ; Hyphae ; Artemisinins/pharmacology*

In Zherong county, Fujian province, the black spot of Pseudostellaria heterophylla often breaks out in the rainy season from April to June every year. As one of the main leaf diseases of P. heterophylla, black spot seriously affects the yield and quality of the medicinal material. To identify and characterize the pathogens causing black spot, we isolated the pathogens, identified them as a species of Alternaria according to Koch's postulates, and then tested their pathogenicity and biological characteristics. The results showed that the pathogens causing P. heterophylla black spot were A. gaisen, as evidenced by the similar colony morphology, spore characteristics, sporulation phenotype, and the same clade with A. gaisen on the phylogenetic tree(the maximum likelihood support rate of 100% and the Bayesian posterior probability of 1.00) built based on the tandem sequences of ITS, tef1, gapdh, endoPG, Alta1, OPA10-2, and KOG1077. The optimum conditions for mycelial growth of the pathogen were 25 ℃, pH 5-8, and 24 h dark culture. The lethal conditions for mycelia and spores were both treatment at 50 ℃ for 10 min. We reported for the first time the A. gaisen-caused black spot of P. heterophylla. The results could provide a theoretical basis for the diagnosis and control of P. heterophylla leaf spot diseases.
Bayes Theorem ; Phylogeny ; Caryophyllaceae ; Alternaria ; Mycelium

Uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase(UGT) is a highly conserved protein in plants, which usually functions in secondary metabolic pathways. This study used the Hidden Markov Model(HMM) to screen out members of UGT gene family in the whole genome of Dendrobium officinale, and 44 UGT genes were identified. Bioinformatics was used to analyze the structure, phylogeny, and promoter region components of D. officinale genes. The results showed that UGT gene family could be divided into four subfamilies, and UGT gene structure was relatively conserved in each subfamily, with nine conserved domains. The upstream promoter region of UGT gene contained a variety of cis-acting elements related to plant hormones and environmental factors, indicating that UGT gene expression may be induced by plant hormones and external environmental factors. UGT gene expression in different tissues of D. officinale was compared, and UGT gene expression was found in all parts of D. officinale. It was speculated that UGT gene played an important role in many tissues of D. officinale. Through transcriptome analysis of D. officinale mycorrhizal symbiosis environment, low temperature stress, and phosphorus deficiency stress, this study found that only one gene was up-regulated in all three conditions. The results of this study can help understand the functions of UGT gene family in Orchidaceae plants and provide a basis for further study on the molecular regulation mechanism of polysaccharide metabolism pathway in D. officinale.
Dendrobium/genetics* ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Glycosyltransferases/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Mycorrhizae ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*

It is unclear how VvLaeA functions in regulating the growth and development of Volvariella volvacea (Bull. ex. Fr.) Sing.. Firstly, bioinformatics analysis of VvLaeA was carried out in this study. Subsequently, the Vvgpd promoter and the open reading frame (ORF) fragment of VvlaeA were amplified and fused by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The fusion fragment was cloned into the pK2 (bar) plasmid. The recombinant construct pK2(bar)-OEVvlaeA was transfected into Beauveria bassiana by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Finally, the growth and development of the transformants were examined. The results showed that VvLaeA shared a low homology with similar proteins in other fungi. Compared with the wild type, the colony diameter of the transformant was significantly increased. However, the pigment deposition, conidial yields and germination rates were significantly decreased. The overexpression strains were more sensitive to stresses than that of the wild type. Further studies showed the conidial cell wall properties of the transformants were altered, and the expressions of genes related to the conidial development were significantly down-regulated. Collectively, VvLaeA increased the growth rate of B. bassiana strains and negatively regulated the pigmentation and conidial development, which shed a light for the functional identification of straw mushroom genes.
Beauveria/metabolism* ; Spores, Fungal ; Growth and Development