The lysine-specific proteinase from Armillaria mellea is a member of a novel class of metalloendopeptidases located in Basidiomycetes.

The fruiting body of the basidiomycete fungus Armillaria mellea produces a lysine-specific proteinase which exhibits both potent fibrinolytic activity and a remarkable resistance to denaturing agents. An improved purification protocol has been developed for this enzyme and the sequence of the 26 N-terminal amino acid residues of the pure protein has been determined by gas-phase sequencing. Searches of the SwissProt database showed that the N-terminal sequence of A. mellea proteinase is highly similar to those of lysine-specific metalloendopeptidases from the basidiomycetes Grifola frondosa and Pleurotus ostreatus. These results support the view that the A. mellea proteinase is a member of a novel class of lysine-specific metalloendopeptidases which may be exclusive to basidiomycete fungi.     

Two new sesquiterpene esters from Armillaria mellea

Two new sesquiterpene aryl esters 15-hydroxy-5′-O-methylmelledonal and 5′-O-methylmelledonal, were isolated from the culture broth extract     

Construction of cDNA libraries from cultures of Armillaria mellea

• 1.1. Conditions were established for growth of mycelial cultures of Armillaria mellea such that the production of its lysine-specific proteinase was maximized. Proteinase synthesis was confirmed by immunoprecipitation.
• 2.2. Mycelia grown under these same conditions were used as a source of RNA and this RNA was translatable in a wheat germ translation system to produce proteins with M_r in the range < 10,000–> 90,000
• 3.3. Double-stranded cDNA was prepared and was inserted into the EcoR1 site of λgt10 and λgt11 using an adaptor ligation strategy. Packaging of these materials yielded large cDNA libraries. That from λgt10 contained 2.9 sx 10⁶ pfu/ml with 70% recombinants whereas that from λgt11 contained 2.2 × 10⁶ pfu/ml with 60% recombinants.

     

蜜环菌粉正己烷提取物抗神经炎症研究

蜜环菌是一种药食兼用真菌,其提取物有多种药用价值,本文通过动物体内实验对其抗神经炎症作用进行探究。利用1-甲基-4-苯基-1,2,3,6-四氢吡啶（MPTP）建立了帕金森病小鼠模型,设置空白组、模型组、蜜环菌粉正己烷提取物高低剂量组（10mg/kg、20mg/kg）,连续灌胃给药12d,对小鼠体重、行为学指标、纹状体TH蛋白、Iba-1蛋白、iNOS酶活及相关mRNA表达进行探究。结果发现蜜环菌粉正己烷提取物组能缓解MPTP造模引起的体重减少,对小鼠行为迟缓有显著性改善,增加纹状体TH蛋白表达,抑制Iba-1蛋白过表达,同时对纹状体内炎症因子iNOS及相关mRNA表达有明显的抑制作用。因此,蜜环菌粉正己烷提取物有良好的抗神经炎症活性,可能是通过抑制小胶质细胞的过度激活,抑制iNOS酶活等途径发挥作用。     

Stimulation of Armillaria mellea by phenolic fungicides

Phenolic fungicides, which were initially fungicidal to mycelium of Armillaria mellea on the surface of well‐colonised wood billets, eventually stimulated the growth of A. mellea. An extensive growth of rhizomorphs was produced from A. mellea inoculum, which had been exposed to phenolic chemicals for 3 months, compared to few or no rhizomorphs produced from inoculum exposed to water or a suspension of a non‐phenolic fungicide, fenpropidin. Inoculated privet plants grown either in pots or under field conditions were treated with a range of fungicides; fenpropidin, phenyl phenol, cresylic acid or water (control) was applied every 6 months over 21/2 yr. Fenpropidin caused a slightly (but significantly) lower incidence of infection than occurred in untreated plants, but the phenolic fungicides, cresylic acid and phenyl phenol, did not reduce the incidence of infection. The severity of infection (% root circumference colonised at 5 cm depth) was greater following cresylic acid treatments than the other fungicides or water‐treated controls. Use of phenolic fungicides such as cresylic acid for the control of A. mellea may therefore be counter‐productive.     

Optimization of exopolysaccharide production from Armillaria mellea in submerged cultures

Aims: To study the optimization of submerged culture conditions for exopolysaccharide (EPS) production by Armillaria mellea in shake‐flask cultures and also to evaluate the performance of an optimized culture medium in a 5‐l stirred tank fermenter. Methods and Results: Shake flask cultures for EPS optimal nutritional production contained having the following composition (in g l^?1): glucose 40, yeast extract 3, KH₂PO₄ 4 and MgSO₄ 2 at an optimal temperature of 22°C and an initial of pH 4·0. The optimal culture medium was then cultivated in a 5‐l stirred tank fermenter at 1 vvm (volume of aeration per volume of bioreactor per min) aeration rate, 150 rev min^?1 agitation speed, controlled pH 4·0 and 22°C. In the optimal culture medium, the maximum EPS production in a 5‐l stirred tank fermenter was 588 mg l^?1, c. twice as great as that in the basal medium. The maximum productivity for EPS (Q_p) and product yield (Y_P/S) were 42·02 mg l^?1 d^?1 and 26·89 mg g^?1, respectively. Conclusions: The optimal culture conditions we proposed in this study enhanced the EPS production of A. mellea from submerged cultures. Significance and Impact of the Study: The optimal culturing conditions we have found will be a suitable starting point for a scale‐up of the fermentation process, helping to develop the production of related medicines and health foods from A. mellea.     

Structural elucidation and immunological activity of a polysaccharide from the fruiting body of Armillaria mellea

The water-soluble polysaccharide (AMP), with a molecular mass of 7.8 × 10³ Da as determined by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), was obtained from the fruiting body of Armillaria mellea. Methylation, Smith degradation, acetolysis, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and acid hydrolysis studies were conducted to elucidate its structure. The results indicated that AMP consisted of a backbone composed of (1→6)-linked-α-d-glucopyranosyl, (1→2,6)-linked-α-d-glucopyranosyl and (1→6)-linked-α-d-galactopyranosyl residues in the ratio of 3:1:1, and terminated with one single terminal (1→)-β-d-glucopyranosyl at the O-2 position of (1→2,6)-linked-α-d-glucopyranosyl, on average, along the main chain. Preliminary tests in vitro showed that AMP has stimulating effects on murine lymphocyte proliferation induced by concanavalin A or lipopolysaccharide in a dose-dependent manner. It is a possible potential immunopotentiating agent for use in health-care food or medicine.     

Purification and characterization of fibrinolytic enzyme from cultured mycelia of Armillaria mellea

A fibrinolytic enzyme was purified from the cultured mycelia of Armillaria mellea by ion-exchange chromatography followed by gel filtration, and was designated A. mellea metalloprotease (AMMP). The purification protocol resulted in a 627-fold purification of the enzyme, with a final yield of 6.05%. The apparent molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 21kDa by SDS-PAGE, fibrin-zymography and gel filtration chromatography, which revealed a monomeric form of the enzyme. The optimal reaction pH value and temperature were, pH 6.0, and 33 degrees C, respectively. This protease effectively hydrolyzed fibrinogen, preferentially digesting the Aalpha-chain over the Bbeta- and r-chains. Enzyme activity was inhibited by Cu(2+) and Co(2+), but enhanced by the addition of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) ions. Furthermore, AMMP activity was potently inhibited by EDTA, and was found to exhibit a higher specificity for the substrate S-2586 for chymotrypsin, indicating that the enzyme is a chymotrypsin-like metalloprotease. The first 24 amino acid residues of the N-terminal sequence were MFSLSSRFFLYTLCL SAVAVSAAP, which is extremely similar to the 24 amino acid residues of the N-terminal sequence of the fruiting body of A. mellea. These data suggest that the fibrinolytic enzyme AMMP, obtained from the A. mellea exhibits a profound fibrinolytic activity. The mycelia of A. mellea may thus represent a potential source of new therapeutic agents to treat thrombosis.     

蜜环菌油超声提取工艺优化及其化学成分分析

研究了料液比、超声时间、超声温度及超声功率对蜜环菌出油率的影响,并通过正交试验确定了提取蜜环菌油最佳工艺。结果表明:最佳提取工艺是料液比(g∶m L)1∶4,时间30 min,温度40℃,功率400 W。应用气相色谱-质谱联用技术研究了野生蜜环菌子实体中油类成分及其相对含量,确认其中9个成分,分别为亚油酸、硬脂酸、软脂酸、羊脂酸、正壬酸、月桂酸、肉豆蒄酸、正十五烷酸和反式棕榈油酸。     

Structures of melleolides B-D,three antibacterial sesquiterpenoids from Armillaria mellea

The structures of melleolides B-D, three new protoilludene sesquiterpenoid O-methylorsellinates isolated from a culture of Armillaria mellea, have been elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral data.     

Specificity and inhibition studies of Armillaria mellea protease.

The action of Armillaria mellea protease has been evaluated on a number of polypeptide substrates. It has been shown to split the Pro7-Lys8 bonds in both native and oxidised lysine-vasopressin and the Ser11-Lys12 bond in glucagon. No other splits were detected in these substrates. The enzyme also caused extensive degradation of S-carboxymethyl lysozyme, S-carcoxymethyl pepsinogen and oxidised ribonuclease. A. In each case the only new amino-terminal residue to appear was lysine. A. mellea protease was inhibited by the chelating agents 1,10-phenanthroline, alpha, alpha'-bipyridine and imidazole. The pK1 values (negative log10 of concentration required for 50% inhibition) for these three inhibitors were 3.9, 3.4 and 1.1, respectively. Lysine, S-2-aminoethylcysteine and short chain aliphatic amines also proved to be relatively good inhibitors of A. mellea protease while arginine was a poor inhibitor.     

Infection Foci of Armillaria mellea in First-rotation Hardwoods

Infection foci of Armillaria mellea, often 10–20 m indiameter, were discovered in first-rotation plantings of oakand beech on former arable or heathland sites—they werecommonly associated with thinning stumps containing the fungus.Since the foci were scattered and contained different mycelialtypes of A. mellea it seemed probable that they had arisen asa result of stump infection by basidiospores. There was evidencethat many years had elapsed between stump infection and theproduction of rhizomorphs, and that subsequent growth of thesedepended upon the presence of suitable living roots. Largeroaks seemed little affected whereas many small and medium-sizedtrees had been killed. Armillaria mellea, infection foci in plantations, tree stumps, basidiospores     

Bioluminescence characteristics of a tropical terrestrial fungus (Basidiomycetes).

Freshly collected samples of luminous mycelium of a terrestrial fungus from Panama were investigated for their bioluminescence characteristics. Taxonomic identification of fungal species could not be determined because of the lack of fruiting bodies. Fluorescence excited by 380 nm illumination had an emission spectrum with a main peak at 480 nm and additional chlorophyll peaks related to the wood substrate. Bioluminescence appeared as a continuous glow that did not show any diel variation. The light production was sensitive to temperature and decreased with temperatures higher or lower than ambient. Bioluminescence intensity was sensitive to hydration, increasing by a factor of 400 immediately after exposure to water and increasing by a factor of 1 million after several hours. This increase may have occurred through dilution of superoxide dismutase, which is a suppressive factor of bioluminescence in fungus tissue. The mycelium typically transports nutritive substances back to the fruiting body. The function of luminescent mycelium may be to increase the intensity of light from the fungus and more effectively attract nocturnal insects and other animals that serve as disseminating vectors for fungal spores.     

琼脂固体培养基培养蜜环菌菌索总DNA的提取

野外采集的蜜环菌[Armillaria mellea(Vahl.ex Fr.)Quel]在提取DNA前需要分离获得纯化的菌丝体。常规液体培养获得菌丝团的方法感杂率较高,采集固体培养基表面cellophane膜上形成的菌丝则难以获得足量的DNA提取材料。蜜环菌细胞内含有大量多醣类物质,也使得蜜环菌高质量DNA的提取存在一定的困难。本研究通过改进试验,提供一个直接从琼脂固体培养基培养的蜜环菌菌索中提取高质量DNA的方法。其中样品的预先冻融处理方法可以促使蜜环菌菌索与琼脂分离;而在裂解提取缓冲液裂解材料细胞后加入1.25 mol/L KAc溶液,则有利于除去蜜环菌细胞内的多醣类物质以及残留的少量琼脂。通过琼脂糖电泳、紫外分光光度计对DNA浓度及OD值的测定、ISSR引物的PCR扩增以及酶切产物的PCR扩增等方法的检测,结果均表明该方法提取的DNA质量较好,符合进一步进行分子生物学研究的要求。     

野生和人工培养的蜜环菌菌索营养成分比较

对野生和人工培养的蜜环菌菌索主要营养成分及氨基酸含量进行了测定和比较。结果表明：人工培养的蜜环菌菌索蛋白质、脂肪、多糖含量均高于野生菌索,二者的氨基酸组成相似,但人工培养的菌索氨基酸总量高于野生菌索。     

The Ecology of Armillaria mellea in Britain Biological Control

The first trial in Britain of a method developed and used inEast Africa to control Armillaria mellea is described. Contraryto experience in East Africa, colonization of hardwood rootsby A. mellea was not reduced either by ringbarking trees beforefelling, or by frill-girdling and poisoning. Five years afterfelling, roots of trees treated in this manner were found tobe fully colonized, while invasion of the roots of untreatedtrees appeared to be still in progress. However, the formerwere far less effective as food bases for A. mellea than thelatter. Further experimentation may-reveal whether the treatmentsdescribed are practical methods for reducing infection in plantationsestablished on infested hardwood sites. Stump poisoning (withno pre-felling treatment) may also prove effective.