Roles of CcDFR and CcOMT9 in the cyanidin biosynthesis and development of Cordyceps cicadae

Zixuan Zeng; Yu Zou; Weiming Cai; Fu-Cheng Lin; Hongkai Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1353710

Roles of CcDFR and CcOMT9 in the cyanidin biosynthesis and development of Cordyceps cicadae

Front Microbiol. 2024 Mar 6:15:1353710. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1353710. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Zixuan Zeng¹, Yu Zou¹, Weiming Cai², Fu-Cheng Lin³, Hongkai Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
² Institute of Horticulture, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Cordyceps cicadae is a traditional Chinese medicinal fungus known for its rich production of bioactive substances, particularly cyanidin, an anthocyanin commonly found in plants with notable anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. This study revealed two key genes, CcDFR and CcOMT9, affecting cyanidin biosynthesis in C. cicadae.

Methods: The roles of these genes in cyanidin production, growth, and development were elucidated through the gene knockout method, phenotypic analysis, transcriptomics, and metabolomics.

Results: CcDFR deletion led to reduced cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), suppressed expression of cyanidin biosynthesis genes, impaired synnemata formation, decreased polysaccharide and adenosine content, and diminished chitinase activity. Meanwhile, the ΔCcOMT9 mutant exhibited an increase in C3G production, promoted expression of cyanidin biosynthesis genes and rising bioactive compounds, suppressed RNA methylation, and led to phenylalanine accumulation with no effect on fruiting body formation.

Discussion: We revealed a distinct anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway in C. cicadae and identified two genes with opposite functions, laying the foundation for future genetic modification of cyanidin-producing strains using modern biological techniques. This will shorten the production period of this valuable compound, facilitating the industrial-scale production of cyanidin.

Keywords: Cordyceps cicadae; bioactive substance; cyanidin-3-O-glucoside; gene function; growth and development.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by Zhejiang Science and Technology Major Program on Agriculture New Variety Breeding (Grant number 2021C02073-9).