Large mushrooms possess a rich and diverse set of bioactive metabolites and are considered valuable bioresources. Phellinus igniarius is a large mushroom traditionally used for both medicinal and food purposes, but its classification and Latin name remain controversial. Using multigene segment alignment analysis, the researchers confirmed that Phellinus igniarius and similar species belong to a new genus and established the genus Sanghuangporus. The honeysuckle mushroom Sanghuangporus lonicericola is one of the identified Sanghuangporus species worldwide. Phellinus igniarius has attracted considerable attention due to its diverse medicinal properties, including polysaccharides, polyphenols, terpenes, and flavonoids. Triterpenes are the key pharmacologically active compounds of this genus, exhibiting antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor activities.
Triterpenoids have great potential for commercial application. Due to the rarity of wild Sanghuangporus resources in nature, effectively enhancing its biosynthetic efficiency and yield is of critical importance. Currently, progress has been made in enhancing the production of various secondary metabolites of Sanghuangporus by using chemical inducers to control submerged fermentation strategies. For example, polyunsaturated fatty acids, fungal elicitors11 and phytohormones (including methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid14) have been shown to increase triterpenoid production in Sanghuangporus. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) can regulate the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in plants. In this study, PBZ, a plant growth regulator widely used to regulate plant growth, yield, quality and physiological traits, was investigated. In particular, the use of PBZ can influence the terpenoid biosynthetic pathway in plants. Combination of gibberellins with PBZ increased the quinone methide triterpene (QT) content in Montevidia floribunda.The composition of the terpenoid pathway of lavender oil was altered after treatment with 400 ppm PBZ. However, there are no reports on the application of PBZ to mushrooms.
In addition to the studies focusing on the increase in triterpene production, some studies have also elucidated the regulatory mechanisms of triterpene biosynthesis in Moriformis under the influence of chemical inducers. Currently, studies are focusing on the alteration of the expression levels of structural genes related to triterpene biosynthesis in the MVA pathway, which leads to the increase in terpenoid production.12,14 However, the pathways underlying these known structural genes, especially the transcription factors regulating their expression, remain unclear in the regulatory mechanisms of triterpene biosynthesis in Moriformis.
In this study, the effects of different concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) on triterpene production and mycelial growth during submerged fermentation of honeysuckle (S. lonicericola) were investigated. Subsequently, metabolomics and transcriptomics were used to analyze the triterpene composition and gene expression patterns involved in triterpene biosynthesis during PBZ treatment. RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics data further identified the target transcription factor of MYB (SlMYB). Furthermore, mutants were generated to confirm the regulatory effect of SlMYB gene on triterpene biosynthesis and identify potential target genes. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) were used to confirm the interaction of SlMYB protein with the promoters of SlMYB target genes. In summary, the aim of this study was to stimulate triterpene biosynthesis using PBZ and identify a MYB transcription factor (SlMYB) that directly regulates triterpene biosynthetic genes including MVD, IDI, and FDPS in S. lonicericola in response to PBZ induction.
Induction of both IAA and PBZ significantly increased triterpenoid production in honeysuckle, but the induction effect of PBZ was more pronounced. Therefore, PBZ was found to be the best inducer at an additional concentration of 100 mg/L, which deserves further study.
Post time: Aug-19-2025