The CcSO gene plays a critical role in the development of asexual fruiting bodies in Cordyceps cicadae.

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Citation abstract

Cordyceps cicadae is a rare and valuable traditional edible-medicinal fungus. Its asexual fruiting bodies exhibit significant pharmacological properties. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the development of its asexual fruiting bodies remain poorly understood. To explore this phenomenon, we cloned CcSO, a homolog of the SO gene from Neurospora crassa, and generated both overexpression and knockout strains to investigate its role in fruiting body development. Our results showed that deletion of CcSO completely inhibited fruiting body formation, significantly reduced H 2 O 2 and O 2 - content, compared to the wild-type strain. In contrast, overexpression of CcSO accelerated sporulation and promoted asexual fruiting body formation, accompanied by elevated O 2 - levels and reduced H 2 O 2 content. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that during hyphal growth, CcSO, Slt2, and Rlm1 were co-regulated, suggesting their involvement in vegetative development. However, during fruiting body development, the expression of Slt2 and Rlm1 did not show a clear correlation with morphogenesis. Moreover, CcSO knockout strains exhibited increased virulence in infection assays using the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) but failed to form fruiting bodies. Taken together, these findings indicate that CcSO plays a crucial role in regulating asexual fruiting body development in C. cicadae, potentially through modulating ROS homeostasis and maintaining cell wall integrity.