title: Cloning of mating-type gene MAT1-1 from the caterpillar medicinal mushroom, Cordyceps militaris (Ascomycetes) using TAIL-PCR technology.
abstract: Cordyceps militaris and Ophiocordyceps sinensis (syn. Cordyceps sinensis), 2 well-known traditional Chinese medicines, contain the same bioactive components and share a similar developmental process. In this study, one C. militaris strain preserved in our laboratory was proven to be a MAT1 mating-type strain using a polymerase chain reaction-based mating-type assay. A 5000-bp nucleotide sequence of the mating-type MAT1-1 from C. militaris was amplified by thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction, but genes within the mating-type MAT1-2 remain undetectable. Sequence analysis shows that the mating-type gene MAT1-1 idiomorph contains 2 genes, MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-1-2. The MAT1-1-1 gene consists of 1480-bp nucleotides that encode 456 amino acids and contain the conserved a-box domain interrupted by 2 introns; the MAT1-1-2 gene consists of 1066 nucleotides that encode 377 amino acids interrupted by one intron. The intervening distance between MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-1-2 is 778 bp. The C. militaris MAT1-1 idiomorph organization is the same as that of Cordyceps takaomontana. The MAT1-1 mating-type idiomorph of both Cordyceps species lacks the MAT1-1-3 gene, which is typically present in Pyrenomycetes. These studies provide some insights for further study of the morphological development of C. militaris and will eventually benefit the domestication of O. sinensis.
authors.affiliation: Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ran
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.affiliation: Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Plant Biotechnology Research Center, Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South) Ministry of Agriculture, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dan-Dan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Tibet Shenglong Industry Co. Ltd., Lhasa, Tibet, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Plant Biotechnology Research Center, School of Agriculture and Biology, Fudan-SJTU-Nottingham Plant Biotechnology R&D Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xuanwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular / Q000379:methods; D032661:Cordyceps / Q000235:genetics*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D023061:Gene Order; D049770:Genes, Mating Type, Fungal; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal