Publication Date

2024

Keywords

Ganoderma, fungus, cytotoxicity, comparative genomics, secondary metabolite clusters, biosynthetic gene clusters

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum is a mushroom-forming fungus that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. G. lucidum, also known as lingzhi or reishi, is consumed in several Asian cultures to promote health and longevity. Bioactive molecules isolated from mushroom fruiting bodies have been demonstrated to have cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines. Triterpenes and polysaccharides are the two major groups of compounds that exhibit antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties both in in vitro and animal studies. These anticarcinogenic compounds have already demonstrated apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest. Genes involved in the production of triterpenoids are organized into clusters known as secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and can be identified from genome and transcriptome sequencing efforts. However, very few of the widely available Ganoderma species in the US have been explored for anti-cancer properties. In this project, we aim to analyze the anti-cancer potential of multiple Ganoderma species, at the sequence level, as well as using in vitro cancer cell lines. Publicly available genome sequence data for eight Ganoderma species will be leveraged to explore secondary metabolite gene clusters associated with terpenoid biosynthesis. Observations from the secondary metabolite gene cluster analysis will be analyzed and correlated to cytotoxicity studies. This study will help establish the pharmaceutical and nutritional role of natural products from Ganoderma and create opportunities to develop market-ready health products.

This Research has been presented

Yes, this project was presented at the Undergraduate Student Research Symposium USS held at NSU on April 3-4, 2024.

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