Genome sequence of the model mushroom Schizophyllum commune

TLDR

Much remains to be learned about the biology of mushroom‑forming fungi, which are an important source of food, secondary metabolites, and industrial enzymes, and the wood‑degrading fungus Schizophyllum commune is a genetically tractable model for studying mushroom development and lignocellulose degradation. The study aims to provide better insight into the mechanisms underlying mushroom formation to improve commercial mushroom production and industrial enzyme and pharmaceutical applications. Comparative analyses of its 38.5‑megabase genome, encoding 13,210 predicted genes, reveal a unique wood‑degrading machinery. The genome sequence identifies genes involved in fruiting body formation and lignocellulose degradation, shows that one‑third of predicted transcription factors are differentially expressed during sexual development, and demonstrates that inactivation of fst4 blocks mushroom formation while inactivation of fst3 increases mushroom number but reduces size, with antisense transcripts potentially contributing to.

Abstract

Much remains to be learned about the biology of mushrooms, which are an important source of food as well as secondary metabolites and enzymes of biotechnological importance. Ohm et al. report the sequence of the genetically tractable species Schizophyllum commune and identify genes involved in the formation of fruiting bodies and the degradation of lignocellulose. Much remains to be learned about the biology of mushroom-forming fungi, which are an important source of food, secondary metabolites and industrial enzymes. The wood-degrading fungus Schizophyllum commune is both a genetically tractable model for studying mushroom development and a likely source of enzymes capable of efficient degradation of lignocellulosic biomass. Comparative analyses of its 38.5-megabase genome, which encodes 13,210 predicted genes, reveal the species's unique wood-degrading machinery. One-third of the 471 genes predicted to encode transcription factors are differentially expressed during sexual development of S. commune. Whereas inactivation of one of these, fst4, prevented mushroom formation, inactivation of another, fst3, resulted in more, albeit smaller, mushrooms than in the wild-type fungus. Antisense transcripts may also have a role in the formation of fruiting bodies. Better insight into the mechanisms underlying mushroom formation should affect commercial production of mushrooms and their industrial use for producing enzymes and pharmaceuticals.