AUTHOR=Lyu Xiaomeng , Wang Qingji , Liu Ao , Liu Fang , Meng Li , Wang Panmeng , Zhang Yan , Wang Li , Li Zhuang , Wang Wei 

TITLE=The transcription factor Ste12-like increases the mycelial abiotic stress tolerance and regulates the fruiting body development of Flammulina filiformis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1139679

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1139679

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Flammulina filiformis</italic> is one of the most commercially important edible fungi worldwide, with its nutritional value and medicinal properties. It becomes a good model species to study the tolerance of abiotic stress during mycelia growth in edible mushroom cultivation. Transcription factor Ste12 has been reported to be involved in the regulation of stress tolerance and sexual reproduction in fungi.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In this study, identification and phylogenetic analysis of <italic>ste12-like</italic> was performed by bioinformatics methods. Four <italic>ste12-like</italic> overexpression transformants of <italic>F. filiformis</italic> were constructed by Agrobacterium <italic>tumefaciens</italic>-mediated transformation.</p></sec><sec><title>Results and Discussion</title><p>Phylogenetic analysis showed that Ste12-like contained conserved amino acid sequences. All the overexpression transformants were more tolerant to salt stress, cold stress and oxidative stress than wild-type strains. In the fruiting experiment, the number of fruiting bodies of overexpression transformants increased compared with wild-type strains, but the growth rate of stipes slowed down. It suggested that gene <italic>ste12-like</italic> was involved in the regulation of abiotic stress tolerance and fruiting body development in <italic>F. filiformis</italic>.</p></sec>