Maturational Alteration Of Differential Expressions Of Gc:At-Biased Genotypes Of Cordyceps Sinensis Fungi And Paecilomyces Hepiali In Cordyceps Sinensis

We reported simultaneous detections of the rDNA of Paecilomyces hepiali (Ph) and Hirsutella sinensis (Hs) in Cordyceps sinensis (Cs), a precious Chinese herb, and the altered phenotypes of Cs mutants with Cs maturation. In this study we performed Southern blotting analysis and found dramatic maturational increases in the biomasses of Ph and Hs rDNA. Two moieties are shown on the Hs blot when the genomic Cs DNA was prepared with EcoRI. MassARRAY SNP genotyping revealed both GC‐ and AT‐biased mutants in Cs stroma. The AT‐biases did not express in premature Cs caterpillar, but highly predominately in premature stroma. The GC‐bias expresses oppositely in the premature Cs compartments. The differential expressions were altered non‐proportionally with Cs maturation. The expression of the AT‐biases was similar to that for Ph. When Cs stroma genomic DNA was used as the template, inversely orientated rDNA and EcoRI‐digestible PCR products within ITS regions were increased proportionally to the increases in stroma height, indicating Cs maturation‐related DNA mutations and reverse fusion of chromosomes. In conclusion, Cs maturation associates with augmented biomasses of both Ph and Cs mutant genes and altered differential expressions of Cs fungi with GC:AT‐biased genotypes, representing an element in Cs lifecycle important to the anamorph‐telemorph connection of this natural herb.