Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Reveal the Effects of Different Fermentation Times on Antioxidant Activities of Ophiocordyceps sinensis

Min He; Tao Wang; Chuyu Tang; Mengjun Xiao; Xiaojian Pu; Jianzhao Qi; Yuling Li; Xiuzhang Li

doi:10.3390/jof11010051

Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Reveal the Effects of Different Fermentation Times on Antioxidant Activities of Ophiocordyceps sinensis

J Fungi (Basel). 2025 Jan 9;11(1):51. doi: 10.3390/jof11010051.

Authors

Min He¹, Tao Wang¹, Chuyu Tang¹, Mengjun Xiao¹, Xiaojian Pu¹, Jianzhao Qi², Yuling Li¹, Xiuzhang Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China.
² Center of Edible Fungi, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China.

Abstract

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a fungus that is cultured through fermentation from wild Chinese cordyceps. While studies have examined its metabolites, the evaluation of its antioxidant capacity remains to be conducted. The antioxidant results of O. sinensis indicate that the ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), antioxidant capacity (2.74 ± 0.12 μmol Trolox/g), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) free radical scavenging rate (60.21 ± 0.51%), and the hydroxyl free radical scavenging rate (91.83 ± 0.68%) reached a maximum on day 30. Using LC-MS/MS to measure the metabolites on D24, D30, and D36, we found that the majority of the differential accumulated metabolites (DAMs) primarily accumulate in lipids, organoheterocyclic compounds, and organic acids and their derivatives. Notably, the DAMs exhibiting high peaks include acetylcarnitine, glutathione, linoleic acid, and L-propionylcarnitine, among others. The transcriptome analysis results indicate that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) exhibiting high expression peaks on D30 primarily included lnaA, af470, and ZEB1; high expression peaks on D24 comprised SPBC29A3.09c and YBT1; high expression peaks on D36 included dtxS1, PA1538, and katG. The combined analysis revealed significant and extremely significant positive and negative correlations between all the DAMs and DEGs. The primary enriched pathways (p < 0.05) included glutathione metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, carbon metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and phenylalanine metabolism. The metabolic pathway map revealed that the DAMs and DEGs influencing the antioxidant activity of O. sinensis were significantly up-regulated on D30 but down-regulated on D36. The correlation analysis suggests that an increase in the content of DEGs and DAMs promotes an increase in the levels of enzyme and non-enzyme substances, ultimately enhancing the antioxidant capacity of O. sinensis. These findings serve as a reference of how DAMs and DEGs affect the antioxidant activity of O. sinensis. This may contribute to the enhanced development and application of O. sinensis.

Keywords: LC-MS/MS; Ophiocordyceps sinensis; antioxidant activity; transcriptome; untargeted metabolomics.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the major science and technology projects of the Qinghai Province (2021-SF-A4); the Chinese Academy of Sciences-People’s Government of Qinghai Province on Sanjiangyuan National Park (LHZX-2022-01); the Protective Harvesting and Utilization Project for Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Qinghai Province (QHCY-2023-057); Qinghai Province Science and Technology Commissioner Special Project (2024-NK-P67).