Abstract
Background Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Zhi) is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used in the treatment of various human diseases in Asia countries. It is also a fungus with strong wood degradation ability with potential in bioenergy production. However, genes, pathways and mechanisms of these functions are still unknown.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe genome of G. lucidum was sequenced and assembled into a 39.9 megabases (Mb) draft genome, which encoded 12,080 protein-coding genes and ∼83% of them were similar to public sequences. We performed comprehensive annotation for G. lucidum genes and made comparisons with genes in other fungi genomes. Genes in the biosynthesis of the main G. lucidum active ingredients, ganoderic acids (GAs), were characterized. Among the GAs synthases, we identified a fusion gene, the N and C terminal of which are homologous to two different enzymes. Moreover, the fusion gene was only found in basidiomycetes. As a white rot fungus with wood degradation ability, abundant carbohydrate-active enzymes and ligninolytic enzymes were identified in the G. lucidum genome and were compared with other fungi.Conclusions/SignificanceThe genome sequence and well annotation of G. lucidum will provide new insights in function analyses including its medicinal mechanism. The characterization of genes in the triterpene biosynthesis and wood degradation will facilitate bio-engineering research in the production of its active ingredients and bioenergy.
Highlights
IntroductionG. lucidum is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used as a tonic for longevity and overall health in China for thousands of years [3]
The genome characteristics of G. lucidum The genome of monokaryotic G. lucidum was sequenced by whole genome shotgun strategy and produced 3,738 Mb clean data after filtering low quality and adapter contamination reads
In the third layer of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), under the ‘‘Xenobiotics Biodegradation and Metabolism’’ pathway category, we found that G. lucidum and other Agaricomycotina fungi had relatively more proteins involved in several degradation pathways including pathways of aminobenzoate, bisphenol, dioxin and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation (Table 2)
Summary
G. lucidum is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used as a tonic for longevity and overall health in China for thousands of years [3]. The accumulation of its active ingredients and the pharmacological mechanisms are mainly unknown. Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Zhi) is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used in the treatment of various human diseases in Asia countries. It is a fungus with strong wood degradation ability with potential in bioenergy production. Genes, pathways and mechanisms of these functions are still unknown
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