Foundation and application of Cordyceps - Elucidation of fungal infection mechanism and exploration of functional substances

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14912
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Bioorganic chemistry
• Research Institution: Shizuoka University
• Principal Investigator: Choi Jae-Hoon 静岡大学, 農学部, 助教 (40731633)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 道羅 英夫 静岡大学, 理学部, 准教授 (10311705) ; 河岸 洋和 静岡大学, グリーン科学技術研究所, 教授 (70183283) ; 朴 龍洙 静岡大学, グリーン科学技術研究所, 教授 (90238246)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: Cordyceps / ゲノム解析 / 機能性物質 / 交配型遺伝子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cordyceps is an ascomycete that is parasitic on lepidopteran insects and its fruit body is useful as a traditional Chinese medicine, but its molecular mechanism of infection and fruit body formation has many unclear points. It was revealed that a part of the MAT chromosome underwent recombination with other chromosomes in C. militaris, suggesting that the chromosome is unstable. In addition, it was revealed that the expression levels of gene clusters involved in cordycepin production differ between mating types. In addition, we succeeded in isolation of compounds showing toxicity against cancer cells.
Thus, in this study, we improved genome information useful for elucidation of biological phenomena such as infestation of C. militaris and the formation of fruiting bodies, and succeeded in isolation of functional substances.

Free Research Field

天然物化学