Two new species of Fistulina (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) from the Northern Hemisphere.

Phylogenetic and morphological analyses on samples of Fistulina from East Asia and North America were carried out, and two new species were described, namely, Fistulina americana and Fistulina orientalis, both previously known as Fistulina hepatica. The former is characterized by lateral stipitate basidiocarps, relatively small pores (7-8 per mm), a monomitic hyphal system with both clamp connections and simple septa, and ellipsoid basidiospores of 4-4.8 × 3-3.3 µm, and the species has been found on Quercus in North-East USA. F. orientalis is characterized by lateral stipitate basidiocarps, very small pores (11-12 per mm) with pruinose dissepiments, a monomitic hyphal system with both clamp connections and simple septa, and ovoid to subglobose basidiospores of 3-4 × 2.7-3 µm, and the species has been found on Castanopsis in East Asia. Phylogenetically, samples of F. americana and F. orientalis form two new lineages nested in the Fistulina clade.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the edible mushroom Grifola frondosa.

The culinary-medicinal mushroom Grifola frondosa is widely cultivated in East Asia. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of G. frondosa was determined using Illumina sequencing. The circular molecule was 197,486 bp in length with a content of 25.01% GC, which was one of the largest mitochondrial genomes in the order Polyporales. A total of 39 known genes encoding 13 common mitochondrial genes, 24 tRNA genes, 1 ribosomal protein s3 gene (rps3), and 1 DNA polymerase gene (dpo) were predicted in this genome. The phylogenetic analysis showed that G. frondosa clustered together with Sparassis crispa, Laetiporus sulphureus, Wolfiporia cocos, and Taiwanofungus camphoratus. The complete mitochondrial genome reported here may provide new insight into genetic information and evolution for further studies.

Identification of a Novel Anti-cancer Protein, FIP-bbo, from Botryobasidium botryosum and Protein Structure Analysis using Molecular Dynamic Simulation.

Fungal immunoregulatory proteins (FIP) are effective small molecule proteins with broad-spectrum immunomodulatory and anti-cancer activities and can be potential agents for the development of clinical drugs and health food additives. In this study, a new member of FIP named FIP-bbo was obtained through Botryobasidium botryosum genome mining. FIP-bbo has the typical characteristics of FIP but is genetically distant from other FIPs. Recombinant FIP-bbo (rFIP-bbo) was produced in an optimized E. coli expression system, and the pure protein was isolated using a Ni-NTA column. Antineoplastic experiments suggested that FIP-bbo is similar to LZ-8 in inhibiting various cancer cells (Hela, Spac-1, and A549) at lower concentrations, but it is not as potent as LZ-8. The molecular mechanism by which FIP-bbo, FIP-fve, and LZ-8 are cytotoxic to cancer cells has been discussed based on molecular dynamics simulation. Point mutations that may improve the thermal stability of FIP-fve and FIP-bbo were predicted. These results not only present a new candidate protein for the development of anticancer adjuvants, but also provide an approach for designing FIPs with high anticancer activity.