AUTHOR=Lv Gongbo , Zhu Yue , Cheng Xiaojie , Cao Yan , Zeng Bin , Liu Xinping , He Bin 

TITLE=Transcriptomic Responses of Cordyceps militaris to Salt Treatment During Cordycepins Production

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.793795

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2021.793795

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=Cordycepin is a major bioactive compound found in Cordyceps militaris that exhibits a broad spectrum of biological activities. Hence, it potentially is a bioactive ingredient of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. However, overexploitation and low productivity of natural C. militaris is a barrier to commercialization which is insufficient to meet its existing market demands. In this study, a preliminary study of distinct concentrations of salt treatments towards C. militaris was conducted. Although the growth of C. militaris was inhibited by different salt treatments, the cordycepin production increased significantly accompanied by the improvement of salt concentration. Among them, the content of cordycepin in the 7% salt-treated group was five fold higher than that of the control group. Further transcriptome analysis of samples with four salt concentrations, coupled with GO Analysis and KEGG Pathway Enrichment, several differentially expressed genes were found. Finally, dynamic change of the expression patterns of four genes involved in the cordycepin biosynthesis pathway was observed by RT-PCR. Taken together, our study provides a global transcriptome characterization of the salt treatment adaptation process in C. militaris and facilitates the construction of industrial strains with a high cordycepin production and salt tolerance.