Korean Journal of Mycology (Kor. J. Mycol.)
Indexed in SCOPUS, KCI, DOAJ
OPEN ACCESS, PEER REVIEWED
pISSN 0253-651X
eISSN 2383-5249
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Selection of Functional Lentinula edodes Strains with High Ergothioneine Content using Mono-mono Hybridization

Forest Microbiology Division, Forest Bioresources Department, National Institute of Forest Science,
Suwon 16631, Korea

Correspondence to kasymbio@korea.kr

Korean Journal of Mycology (Kor J Mycol) December, 2021, 49(4):507-514.
https://doi.org/10.4489/KJM.20210049
Accepted: December 07, 2021; Revised: November 26, 2021; Received: October 08, 2021
Published: December, 2021.
© 2021 THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF MYCOLOGY.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

Lentinula edodes have been cultivated extensively not only in South Korea but also in other Asian countries. In terms of taste and nutrition, it is a valuable mushroom that is comparable to other mushrooms. L. edodes contains various physiologically active compounds that promote human health. One compound, ergothioneine, exerts a powerful antioxidant function that inhibits cellular senescence. As it is not biosynthesized by plants or animals, L. edodes is very important for ergothioneine supply. The L. edodes cultivars Bambithyang (NIFoS 3404) and Sansanhyang (NIFoS 3420) of the National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS) had higher ergothioneine content than the other cultivars, and 11 strains were obtained using mono-mono hybridization between them. The strains were inoculated into sawdust media to obtain fruiting bodies, and the ergothioneine content of each hybrid strain was confirmed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Among the 11 strains, NIFoS 5108 had a higher ergothioneine content than the parental strains, Bambithyang (NIFoS 3404) and Sansanhyang (NIFoS 3420). This study revealed that it is possible to develop cultivars with improved specific functions using mono-mono hybridization.

Keywords

Ergothioneine, Lentinula edodes, Mono-mono hybridization

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