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The authors have recently investigated the chemical components and bioactivity of fungus comb from Macrotermes gilvus Hagen mounds. The ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts of the fungus comb contained active compounds which are preventing the growth of Aspergillus foeti-dus, one of the most economically important wood-staining fungi in Indonesia. In this present study, the bioactivity of the fungus comb extracts was examined against the white-rot fungus Schizophyllum commune Fr. For the purpose of generating a realistic in-service type of environment, the extracts were evaluated according to modified EN-113 after impregnated into wood samples by the vacuum-pressure method, following in-vitro antimicrobial susceptibility test. The results showed that ethyl acetate extract at concentrations ranging from 2 to 6% and methanol extract at a concentration of 6% presented high bioactivity against S. commune. This result was established through optical microscopy images, which demonstrated the absence of fungal mycelia in the vessels of wood samples treated with EtOAc extract at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6%, as well as MeOH extract with a concentration of 6%. The toxic values of the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were determined to be 6.17% and 7.72%, respectively. Based on UPLC-HRMS analysis, azelaic acid, and erucamide were discovered as the dominant components in ethyl acetate extracts, which are anticipated to be the most active compounds. It appears that ethyl acetate extract, as well as methanol extract, can be considered as novel preservative sources for controlling wood-decaying fungi.

Production of commercially interesting sesquiterpenes was previously examined in plants and microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . We here investigate the potential of the mushroom Schizophyllum commune for the production of sesquiterpenes. Genomic analysis of S. commune revealed that the mevalonate pathway required for the synthesis of the farnesyl diphosphate substrate for sesquiterpene production is operational. Introduction of a valencene synthase gene resulted in production of the sesquiterpene (+)-valencene, both in mycelium and in fruiting bodies. Levels of (+)-valencene in culture media of strains containing a mutated RGS regulatory protein gene ( thn ) were increased fourfold compared to those in wild-type transformants. Up to 16 mg L −1 (+)-valencene was produced in these strains. In addition, the amount of (+)-valencene containing n -dodecane recovered from the culture medium increased sixfold to sevenfold in the thn mutant strains due to the absence of schizophyllan.

The cost of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic materials is relatively high because the additional processes of delignification and saccharification are required. Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) simultaneously uses the multiple processes of delignification, saccharification, and fermentation in a single reactor and has the potential to solve the problem of cost. Some wood-degrading basidiomycetes have lignin- and cellulose-degrading abilities as well as ethanol fermentation ability. The white rot fungus Schizophyllum commune NBRC 4928 was selected as a strong fermenter from a previous study. The lignin-degrading fungus Bjerkandera adusta and polysaccharide-degrading fungus Fomitopsis palustris were respectively added to S. commune ethanol fermentations to help degrade lignocellulosic materials. Bjerkandera adusta produced more ligninase under aerobic conditions, so a switching aeration condition was adopted. The mixed culture of S. commune and B. adusta promoted direct ethanol production from cedar wood. Fomitopsis palustris produced enzymes that released glucose from both carboxymethylcellulose and microcrystalline cellulose. The mixed culture of S. commune and F. palustris did not enhance ethanol production from cedar. The combination of S. commune and cellulase significantly increased the rate of ethanol production. The results suggest that CBP for ethanol production from cellulosic material can be achieved by using multiple fungi in one reactor.

We expect that sexual selection may play an important role in the evolution of mushroom-forming basidiomycete fungi. Although these fungi do not have separate sexes, they do play female and male roles: the acceptance and the donation of a nucleus, respectively. The primary mycelium (monokaryon) of basidiomycete fungi, growing from a germinating sexual spore, is hermaphroditic, but it loses female function upon the acceptance of a second nucleus. The resulting dikaryon with two different nuclei in each cell retains a male potential as both nuclei can fertilize receptive mycelia. We tested the occurrence of sexual selection in the model species of mushroom-forming basidiomycetes, Schizophyllum commune, by pairing monokaryons with fully compatible dikaryons. In most pairings, we found a strong bias for one of the two nuclei although both were compatible with the monokaryon when paired alone. This shows that sexual selection can occur in mushroom-forming basidiomycetes. Since the winning nucleus of a dikaryon occasionally varied depending on the receiving monokaryon, we infer that sexual selection can operate through choosiness of the receiving individual (analogous to female choice). However, in other cases the same nucleus won, irrespective of the receiving monokaryon, suggesting that competition between the two nuclei of the donating mycelium (analogous to male–male competition) might also play a role.

Several transformation strains of Coprinopsis cinerea carry the defective tryptophan synthase allele trp1-1,1-6 which can be complemented by introduction of the trp1 super(+) wild-type gene. Regularly in C. cinerea, single-trp1 super(+)-vector transformations yield about half the numbers of clones than cotransformations with a non-trp1 super(+)-plasmid done in parallel. The effect is also observed with the orthologous Schizophyllum commune trpB super(+) gene shown here to function as a selection marker in C. cinerea. Parts of single-trp1 + - or single-trpB + -vector transformants are apparently lost. This paradoxical phenomenon relates to de-regulation of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis pathways. Adding tryptophan precursors to protoplast regeneration agar or feeding with other aromatic amino acids increases loss of single-trp1 super(+)-vector transformants and also sets off loss of clones in cotransformation with a non-trp1 super(+)-plasmid. Feedback control by tryptophan and cross-pathway control by tyrosine and phenylalanine are both active in the process. We deduce from the observations that more cotransformants than single-vector transformants are obtained by in average less disturbance of the tryptophan biosynthesis pathway. DNA in C. cinerea transformation usually integrates into the genome at multiple ectopic places. Integration events for a single vector per nucleus should statistically be 2-fold higher in single-vector transformations than in cotransformations in which the two different molecules compete for the same potential integration sites. Integration of more trp1 super(+) copies into the genome might more likely lead to sudden tryptophan overproduction with subsequent rigid shut-down of the pathway. Blocking ectopic DNA integration in a Delta ku70 mutant abolished the effect of doubling clone numbers in cotransformations due to preferred single trp1 super(+) integration by homologous recombination at its native genomic site.

The objective of this study was to exploit the decolorization potential of a newly isolated white-rot fungus Schizophyllum commune IBL-6 for the biodegradation of reactive textile dye Cibacron Red FN-2BL. In the initial decolorization study of 10 days, it was observed that S. commune IBL-6 was a better decolorizer of Cibacron Red FN-2BL. Various process parameters like composition of basal nutrient medium, pH, temperature, additional carbon and nitrogen sources, and initial dyestuff concentration were optimized to develop an economic decolorization process. The optimum dye decolorization was achieved in basal nutrient medium II containing 0.1% Cibacron Red FN-2BL and supplemented with 1% glucose after 3 days incubation at pH 4.5 and 30 °C. All the additional carbon sources were found to enhance decolorization process, whereas most of the nitrogen supplements caused fungal-growth inhibition. The pattern of enzymes involved in the biodegradation of this dye was studied, and manganese peroxidase was found to be the major peroxidase with minor lignin peroxidase and laccase activities.

The study focuses on assessing the impact of latitude and the Carpathian Mountains on the dispersal of the model fungus Schizophyllum commune , and to identify both trends in genetic flow and bottlenecks between populations. The Carpathian Mountains exert a more substantial pressure on the dispersal of fungus than the latitude factor. The Mantel test revealed a weak but statistically significant correlation between the genetic component and the geographical coordinates of the samples, confirming the impact of latitude on the spatial spread of fungal populations. The relative migration network revealed that the southern population disseminates its genetic material to the northern populations much more intensively. In contrast, the genotypes of the northern populations spread more slowly toward the south. The relationship density between research populations provided insight into long-past events and allowed us to identify an ecological bottleneck and the degree of overcoming consequences. We can reasonably claim that new S. commune genotypes enter the western part of the Carpathians from both the south and the north; however, the flow from the north is prevalent. Identifying bottlenecks provides reference points for reconstructing the synchronization of evolutionary events at both local and global scales within the species.

The demand for wood from community and plantation forests has increased as an alternative to natural forests. However, these fast-growing woods are often vulnerable to biodeterioration by wood-decaying fungi. Enhancing their durability through eco-friendly preservation methods is therefore essential. This study evaluated the antifungal efficacy of extracts from the leaves and seed shells of Pangium edule and from the leaves and fruits of Pinus merkusii against the wood-decaying fungus Schizophyllum commune at concentrations below 25 ppm. The extracts were tested at four concentration levels (5, 10, 15, and 20 ppm; w/v, mg extract per litre of agar) using the poisoned food technique on malt extract agar (MEA) medium. All extracts exhibited strong inhibitory activity, with the seed shell extract of P. edule achieving 100% inhibition (Antifungal Activity Index, AFA = 100%) across all concentrations. The fruit extract of P. merkusii produced AFA values ranging from 96% to 98%, while the leaf extracts from both species demonstrated slightly lower but still very strong activity (AFA > 80%). Notably, none of the treatments allowed complete fungal colony development compared to the control group. These findings suggest that both P. edule and P. merkusii extracts exhibit strong antifungal potential against S. commune in vitro. Further studies involving standardised wood-block decay tests are necessary to confirm their applicability as natural wood preservatives in practical use.

Growing colonies of the split-gill fungus Schizophyllum commune show action potential-like spikes of extracellular electrical potential. We analysed several days of electrical activity recording of the fungus and discovered three families of oscillatory patterns. Very slow activity at a scale of hours, slow activity at a scale of 10 min and very fast activity at scale of half-minute. We simulated the spiking behaviour using FitzHugh–Nagume model, uncovered mechanisms of spike shaping. We speculated that spikes of electrical potential might be associated with transportation of nutrients and metabolites.

Hole C0020A during Ocean Drilling Expedition 337 is the deepest hole in scientific ocean drilling (depth of 2466 m below the seafloor). The presence of microbial and fungal communities serves as firm evidence for life within sediments. The isolated from the core and cultivable in the laboratory strain S. commune 20R-7-F01, which has existed in a deep subseafloor environment for over 20 million years, is being considered a high-quality genome model for studying its evolution and environmental adaptation mechanism. We questioned the origin of the strain from the sediments using high mutagenic simple sequence repeats of DNA. The full genome analysis of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-motifs of DNA revealed no regularities in the quantitative distribution of motifs in different S. commune genomes. At of common trinucleotide motifs loci, strain 20R-7-F01 has the highest percentage of similarity (48.8%) among East Asian strains, which indicates an intensive genetic exchange. According to a multidimensional scaling of 1938 common simple sequence repeats of DNA loci, no signs were found that would indicate the spatial and temporal isolation of the 20R-7-F01 strain. The extreme insufficient of water, and oxygen, high temperature and pressure at the level of 2 km below the ocean floor, and the tetrapolar mating system make it impossible growth of mycelium with different nuclear status and formation of basidiocarps. The general obtained data confirm the terrestrial origin of S. commune strain 20R-7-F01 and the territory of the Far East of the Russian Federation (approximately Khabarovsk, Primorsky Krai) is the probable place of origin.