Cordyceps militaris has commercially been cultivated, but its degenerated subcultures have gradually resulted in the reduced production. In this study, the biological characteristics and DNA change of degenerated strains of C. militaris were analyzed in detail. The results showed that the degenerated strains exhibited the lower growth rate, and the deficiency in fruit body formation and pigment production. The degradation of strains was not attributable to DNA changes identified by RAPD and SRAP. Compared to normal strains, the biochemical indexes of degradation strains and normal strains showed that the carotenoid content of degradation strains was significantly lower, the activities of cellulase and amylase of degradation strains were slight lower, and the EPS content was lower, but the IPS was higher. All these results suggested that the degradation of C. militaris may be caused by the inhibition or in harmony of metabolite synthesis involved in the metabolic regulation, which should be further verified.
Keywords: Biochemical characteristics; Cordyceps militaris; Molecular identification; Strain degeneration.