Biomass and Cordycepin Production by the Medicinal Mushroom Cordyceps militaris-A Review of Various Aspects and Recent Trends towards the Exploitation of a Valuable Fungus.

Dimitrios Kontogiannatos,Georgios Koutrotsios,Savvina Xekalaki,Georgios I Zervakis

doi:10.3390/jof7110986

Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Georgios Koutrotsios + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110986

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Abstract

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic ascomycete with similar pharmacological importance to that of the wild caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis. C. militaris has attracted significant research and commercial interest due to its content in bioactive compounds beneficial to human health and the relative ease of cultivation under laboratory conditions. However, room for improvement exists in the commercial-scale cultivation of C. militaris and concerns issues principally related to appropriate strain selection, genetic degeneration of cultures, and substrate optimization. In particular, culture degeneration—usually expressed by abnormal fruit body formation and reduced sporulation—results in important economic losses and is holding back investors and potential growers (mainly in Western countries) from further developing this highly promising sector. In the present review, the main factors that influence the generation of biomass and metabolites (with emphasis on cordycepin biosynthesis) by C. militaris are presented and evaluated in conjunction with the use of a wide range of supplements or additives towards the enhancement of fungal productivity in large-scale cultivation processes. Moreover, physiological and genetic factors that increase or reduce the manifestation of strain degeneration in C. militaris are outlined. Finally, methodologies for developing protocols to be used in C. militaris functional biology studies are discussed.

Highlights

Published: 19 November 2021Cordyceps is a large and diverse genus of the family Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) comprising 627 species according to MycoBank
We present data related to key factors influencing biomass and metabolite production in C. militaris by placing emphasis on culture degeneration, substrate composition, and the use of supplements
The ethnopharmacological importance of C. militaris has been widely analyzed in the past by many researchers [2,10,13,70,122,123,124] since this fungus is considered to be a valuable source of metabolites that act directly on various human metabolic pathways

Summary

Introduction

Cordyceps is a large and diverse genus of the family Cordycipitaceae (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) comprising 627 species according to MycoBank (https://www.mycobank.org; 12 November 2021). Noteworthy is the recent discovery of a ProTide modified form of cordycepin named NUC-7738, which presents up to 40 times greater potency for killing cancer cells than the original compound [8] Such findings will most certainly have to be accompanied/supported by the necessary technological advancements in large-scale C. militaris biomass production to meet increased demand in cordycepin. Commercial exploitation of C. militaris is still in need of improvement in several aspects related to fruit body production, metabolite biosynthesis, and fungal pathogenicity to target insects. We discuss genetic and cultivation aspects that affect cordycepin biosynthesis and ascomata formation in C. militaris as well as functional genomics and genetic engineering processes that could substantially enhance the exploitation of this fungus and the generation of value-added products

The Effect of Culture Degeneration on the Yield and Quality of Fruit Bodies

Findings

Conclusions