High-level production of cordycepin by the xylose-utilising Cordyceps militaris strain 147 in an optimised medium

Liangkun Long; Zhen Liu; Yizhou Wang; Qunying Lin; Shaojun Ding; Chuanhua Li; Chunying Deng

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129742

High-level production of cordycepin by the xylose-utilising Cordyceps militaris strain 147 in an optimised medium

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Nov:388:129742. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129742. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

Authors

Liangkun Long¹, Zhen Liu², Yizhou Wang², Qunying Lin³, Shaojun Ding¹, Chuanhua Li⁴, Chunying Deng⁵

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Co-Innovation Centre for Efficient Processing and Utilisation of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; Jiangsu Key Lab for the Chemistry & Utilisation of Agricultural and Forest Biomass, Nanjing 210037, China.
² Jiangsu Co-Innovation Centre for Efficient Processing and Utilisation of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
³ Nanjing Institute for the Comprehensive Utilisation of Wild Plants, Nanjing, 211111, China. Electronic address: linqunying1007@126.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Applied Mycological Resources and Utilisation, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Research Centre of Edible Fungi; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Institute of Edible Fungi, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China.
⁵ Guizhou Institute of Biology, Guizhou Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550009, China. Electronic address: mary_chunying@sina.com.

PMID: 37734485
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129742

Abstract

Cordycepin is an important active metabolite of Cordyceps militaris. Xylose, an attractive feedstock for producing chemicals through microbial fermentation, cannot be effectively utilised by many reported C. militaris strains. Herein, a xylose-utilising C. militaris strain 147 produced the highest level of cordycepin (3.03 g/L) in xylose culture. Xylose, alanine, and ammonium citrate were determined as the main affecting factors on the cordycepin production using a Plackett-Burman design. The combination of these factors was optimised using response surface methodology, and the maximal 6.54 g/L of cordycepin was produced by the fungus in the optimal medium. Transcriptome analysis revealed that xylose utilisation upregulated the transcriptional levels of genes participating in purine and energy metabolisms in the fungus, which may facilitate the formation of precursors for cordycepin biosynthesis. This investigation provides new insights into the efficient production of cordycepin and is conducive to the valorisation of biomass rich in xylose.

Keywords: Cordycepin; Cordyceps militaris; Medium optimisation; Transcriptome analysis; Xylose.