Highlighting the Potential of an Amazonian Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Ostreatus) through Comparison with Commercial Strains: Mycelial Growth and Protease Production in Different Culture Media.

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Citation abstract

The Amazon biome hosts a rich fungal biodiversity; however, the biotechnological potential of its macrofungi remains largely underexplored. This study evaluates and compares the mycelial growth and protease production of a wild Amazonian isolate of Pleurotus ostreatus (474) with two commercial strains (542 and 885) to identify unique biotechnological profiles. The strains were cultivated in nine different culture media, and their mycelial growth rates and major proteolytic activities were systematically measured. The wild Amazonian strain (474) exhibited significantly superior mycelial growth, reaching maximum growth on Oat Flakes Agar (OFA) within four days. In contrast, the commercial strains acted as specialized enzyme producers; strain 885 showed the highest cysteine protease activity (8.05 ± 0.15 UA/mL) on Malt Yeast Sucrose Agar (MYSA), while strain 542 exhibited the highest total protease (77.53 ± 0.67 UA/mL) and fibrinolytic activity (6.45 ± 0.00 mm²) on Malt Extract Agar (MEA). These results reveal a clear biotechnological trade-off, with the Amazonian isolate excelling in biomass accumulation and the commercial strains optimized for enzyme production. This study highlights the Amazonian strain as a promising candidate for rapid mycoprotein production and underscores the Amazon as a valuable source for expanding the functional diversity of P. ostreatus.