Objective The medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its anamorph Hirsutella sinensis have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for their immunomodulatory properties. Alterations of the gut microbiota have been described in obesity and type 2 diabetes. We examined the possibility that H. sinensis mycelium (HSM) and isolated fractions containing polysaccharides may prevent diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota. Design High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were treated with HSM or fractions containing polysaccharides of different molecular weights. The effects of HSM and polysaccharides on the gut microbiota were assessed by horizontal faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), antibiotic treatment and 16S rDNA-based microbiota analysis. Results Fraction H1 containing high-molecular weight polysaccharides (>300 kDa) considerably reduced body weight gain (∼50% reduction) and metabolic disorders in HFD-fed mice. These effects were associated with increased expression of thermogenesis protein markers in adipose tissues, enhanced gut integrity, reduced intestinal and systemic inflammation and improved insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that H1 polysaccharides selectively promoted the growth of Parabacteroides goldsteinii, a commensal bacterium whose level was reduced in HFD-fed mice. FMT combined with antibiotic treatment showed that neomycin-sensitive gut bacteria negatively correlated with obesity traits and were required for H1’s anti-obesogenic effects. Notably, oral treatment of HFD-fed mice with live P. goldsteinii reduced obesity and was associated with increased adipose tissue thermogenesis, enhanced intestinal integrity and reduced levels of inflammation and insulin resistance. Conclusions HSM polysaccharides and the gut bacterium P. goldsteinii represent novel prebiotics and probiotics that may be used to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Gut commensal Parabacteroides goldsteinii plays a predominant role in the anti-obesity effects of polysaccharides isolated from Hirsutella sinensis.

Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to 
the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Moreover, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology. We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers. We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.

The amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/7896/1/Paterson_Cordyceps%5b1%5d.pdf

Cordyceps – A traditional Chinese medicine and another fungal therapeutic biofactory?

This is a continuation of the papers “Towards a classification of Sordariomycetes” (2015) and “Families of Sordariomycetes” (2016) in which we compile a treatment of the class Sordariomycetes. The present treatment is needed as our knowledge has rapidly increased, from 32 orders, 105 families and 1331 genera in 2016, to 45 orders, 167 families and 1499 genera (with 308 genera incertae sedis) at the time of publication. In this treatment we provide notes on each order, families and short notes on each genus. We provide up-to-date DNA based phylogenies for 45 orders and 163 families. Three new genera and 16 new species are introduced with illustrations and descriptions, while 23 new records and three new species combinations are provided. We also list 308 taxa in Sordariomycetes genera incertae sedis. For each family we provide general descriptions and illustrate the type genus or another genus, the latter where the placement has generally been confirmed with molecular data. Both the sexual and asexual morphs representative of a family are illustrated where available. Notes on ecological and economic considerations are also given.

/pdf/refined-families-of-sordariomycetes-51nqnnqqt9.pdf

Refined families of Sordariomycetes

Correlation evaluation of antioxidant properties on the monosaccharide components and glycosyl linkages of polysaccharide with different measuring methods

Qingshu Zeng

Papers

Hypoglycemic activity of polysaccharide, with antioxidation, isolated from cultured Cordyceps mycelia.