To investigate the effect of thinning intensity on environmental factors and ectomycorrhizal mushroom fruiting in forest ecosystems, we studied canopy closure, throughfall, soil temperature, soil moisture, light response of understory vegetation, and ectomycorrhizal mushroom fruiting in a 10-year-old pine forest after 34%, 45%, and 60% thinning. Canopy closure was significantly higher in the 34% treatment and control plots, ranging from 80–85% in April. However, in November, all thinning treatment plots showed a decrease of approximately 5–10% compared with the control plot. The 60% treatment plot had over 200 mm of additional throughfall compared with the control plot, and monthly throughfall was significantly higher by more than 100 mm in October. The soil temperature in each treatment plot increased significantly by up to 1°C or more compared with the control plot as the thinning rate increased. The soil moisture increased by more than 5% in the thinning treatment plots during rainfall, particularly in the 34% treatment plot, where the rate of moisture decrease was slower. The photosynthetic rate of major tree species (excluding Pinus densiflora)was highest in Quercus mongolica, with a rate of 7 μmolCO2·m-2·s-1. At a lightintensity of 800 μmol·m-2·s-1, Q. mongolica showed the highest photosynthetic level of 6 ± 0.3 μmolCO2·m-2·s-1 in the 45% treatment. The photosynthetic rate of Fraxinus sieboldiana and Styrax japonicus increased as the thinning intensity increased. The Shannon– Wiener index of mycorrhizal mushrooms did not significantly differ among treatments, but the fresh weight of mushrooms was approximately 360–840 g higher in the 34% and 45% treatments than in the control. Additionally, the fresh weight of fungi in the 60% treatment was 860 g less than that in the control. There were more individuals of Amanita citrina in the control than in the thinning treatment, while Suillus bovinus numbers increased by more than 10 times in the 34% thinning treatment compared with the control.

Volvariella bombycinais an edible mushroom commercially cultivated in Korea and other countries. In this study, the culture characteristics and optimal growth conditions of milky mushroom strains were determined. The growth temperature and pH range of V. bombycinawas extensively investigated between 15 and 35oC and pH 3–11. For efficient cultivation, 20 types of nutrient sources were selected, specifically, 21 carbon sources, 6 organic nitrogen sources, 7 inorganic nitrogen sources, 13 amino acids, 9 organic acids, and 13 inorganic salts. The impact of each of the selected nutrition sources and their concentration on growth was investigated. The optimum temperature and pH were determined to be 30oC and pH 8.0, respectively. The optimum concentration of medium elements required for mycelial growth of V. bombycinawas determined to be as follows: carbon source, 0.7% Soluble starch; organic nitrogen source, 0.7% Soytone; inorganic nitrogen source, 1.0% (NH4)2C4H4O6; amino acid, 0.1% cysteine; organic acid, 0.07% lactic acid; and inorganic salt, 0.07 mM CaCl2.

This study addresses the current demand of the Korean mushroom export industry to establish an export strategy and governing policies.The enoki mushroom exports increased by 89% in 2009 and 23% in 2010, resulting in the largest export volume (17,163 tons) and export value ($26,292,000) being recorded in 2010. In contrast, exports in 2020 yielded only $18,525,000, which was 29% lower than that in 2010. In case of king oyster mushrooms, exports increased by 10% in 2012, 13% in 2013, and 2% in 2014, maintaining a moderate-growth trend. Moreover, Korea’s mushroom exports are focused on a few specific countries. Enoki mushrooms accounted for more than 50% of the total exports to North America and Vietnam from 2012 to 2022, whereas king oyster mushrooms accounted for more than 50% of the total exports to Europe and North America (USA and Canada) from 2009 to 2022. Another characteristic trend in Korean mushroom exports is the diversification of export markets. The number of countries importing enoki mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms from Korea is increasing.

To increase antioxidant and antibacterial activities of seasoned soy sauce, five kinds of oriental medicinal plant(Scutellaria baicalensis (P1), Coptis japonica makino (P2), Citriunshius pericarpium (P3), Zizyphi spinosi semen (P4), Crataegus pinnatifida (P5)) and four kinds of medicinal mushrooms(Inonotus obliquus (M1), Hericium erinaceus (M2), Phellinus linteus (M3), Lentinula edodes (M4)) were added to seasoned soy sauce. Soluble solid content, pH, salinity, total polyphenol & flavonoid contents were determined. DPPH & ABTS radical scavenging activities, SOD-like activity, and antibacterial activity were analyzed. Experimental sauces showed decreased pH but significant increases of soluble solid content and salinity. Total polyphenol content was 12.76 μg GAE/g in the control. However, M1 and P1 sauce had significantly higher polyphenol contents at 352.14 and 528.25 μg GAE/g, respectively. Total flavonoids content also showed the same pattern. DPPH free radical scavenging activity was the lowest in the control at 15.75%. It was the highest at 81.80% in M1 and 68.88% in P1. ABTS free radical scavenging activity and SOD-like activity showed the same tendencies. They were higher in the experimental groups than in the control. As for the antibacterial activity analyzed by the paper-disc method, the activity increased the most in P1 and P2. In particular, P2 had the strongest antibacterial activity. Its activity against different microorganisms was in the order of Staphylococcus aureus > Bacillus cereus > Escherichia coli > Salmonella typhimurium. In conclusion, these new sauces show increased antioxidative and antioxidant activities. Therefore, they are expected to be used in various ways as a functional soy sauce.

This study was carried out to investigate how airborne bacteria are distributed under different temperature conditions while cultivating oyster mushrooms by setting the indoor temperature of the cultivation room to 10°C, 15°C, 20°C, 25°C, and 30°C. The surveys were conducted in April and May, respectively. Airborne bacterial concentrations were distributed in the range of 1.61 × 102 ~ 3.67 × 102 CFU/m3 in April and 5.47 × 102 ~ 7 × 103 CFU/ m3 in May. In May, the indoor air quality maintenance standard (8.0 × 102 CFU/m3) was exceeded in the 10°C, 20°C, and 25°C cultivation rooms. Bacterial concentrations increased significantly in May compared to April. Bacterial concentrations were different between the cultivation rooms at different temperatures. The difference was more pronounced in May than in April. A total of 15 genera and 20 species were isolated from the indoor air of the oyster mushroom cultivation rooms. Overall, it was most abundant in Actinomycetia. Among the species identified, Agrobacterium radiobacter, Brevundimonas vesicularis, Kocuria palustris, K. salsicia, Lysinibacillus fusiformis, and Sphingobacterium siyangense are known to affect human health. This is the first report of airborne bacteria in cultivation rooms at different temperatures used for oyster mushroom cultivation. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data to understand the indoor environment of thermophilic mushroom cultivation facilities.

After liquid culture of Phellinus baumii (P. baumii) mycelium (LPBM) was prepared, LPBM was fractionated into A∼E fraction (A; hot-water extract of liquid culture including mycelia, B; crude polysaccharide of A, C; hot-water extract of mycelia, D; crude polysaccharide of C, and E; crude polysaccharide of culture broth) to evaluate for possibility as functional materials with immunostimulatory activity. In macrophage stimulatory activity, E fraction as postbiotics significantly increased secretion of NO and IL-12 from RAW 264.7 cells. Next, when the splenocytes of C3H/HeN mice were primary cultured, E fraction showed significantly mitogenic activity with enhancing mitogen-related cytokines (IFN-γ and TNF-α) production from splenocyte. E fraction also potently stimulated GM-CSF production from Peyer’s patch cells as well as Peyer’s patch-mediated bone marrow cell proliferation. In addition, the immunostimularoy E fraction contained neutral sugar (73.8%), uronic acid (10.6%), protein (7.8%), and polyphenol (7.5%), and mainly consisted of glucose (39.1%), galactose (21.7%), mannose (11.1%), galacturonic acid (9.9%), and arabinose (8.9%) as component sugars. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that postbiotics including exopolysaccharide fractionated from liquid culture of the P. baumii mycelium could enhanced immunostimulatory activity.

This study investigated the culture characteristics of Cryptoporus volvatus, whichis grow naturally in Korea, to determine the suitable environmental conditions for its cultivation. The physiological characteristics of the mycelia were assessed according to the cultivation conditions, to determine the optimal conditions for artificial cultivation. The visual characteristics of the hyphae of Cryptoporus volvatus KACC52303 included an irregular and uneven surface and a fuzzy or cotton-like texture. Under the microscope, its microstructure showed pre-chlamydospore formation, but no clamps were seen. The appropriate culture temperature was found to be a medium/high temperature of approximately 25–30oC, and the optimal pH was found to have a wide range from weakly acidic (pH 4) to neutral (pH 7). In the optimal nutrient source experiment, hyphal growth was shown to be fair in a mixed medium with 2.5% dextrin as the carbon source and 0.1% yeast extract as the organic nitrogen source. Among the various amino acids, organic acids, and inorganic salts tested, the fastest hyphal growth was observed in the presence of leucine, acetic acid or gluconic acid, and KCl or KH2PO4, respectively. The column test showed that the best mycelial growth occurred in a mixed medium of 80% pine sawdust, 10% rice bran, and 10% corncob sawdust.

Fungi that infect mushrooms and cause diseases are called mycoparasitic fungi. Understanding the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms is important for the mushroom industry, as they can parasitize cultivated mushrooms. However, few studies have been conducted on the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms in South Korea. Upon surveying mushroom flora, we found a mycoparasitic fungus and analyzed its strain using molecular phylogeny and morphological examination. The strain was identified as Sepedonium laevigatum, which is an unrecorded species in South Korea. In this study, we described the cultural and microscopic characteristics of this strain of fungus.

Mushrooms in Naejangsan National Park between May and September of 2021 have been surveyed. In this period, a total of 4 divisions, 9 classes, 25 orders, 72 families, 171 genera, and 381 species, including 3 climate-sensitive biological indicator species were found. The order in which the most diverse array of species was observed is Agaricales, which includes 24 families, 64 genera, and 170 species. Among these, the genus Russula was dominant, with 30 species, followed by the genus Amanita with 27 species. Among the 12 grids we investigated, species diversity was greatest in grid F5, in which 56 species of mushrooms were found. In particular, a large number of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms, including Russula spp. and Lactarius spp. were recognized. We presume that the gentle slopes and the low occurrence of Sasa borealis in this area may create a favorable environment for wild mushrooms. In corroboration, some grids (e.g. F6, F8, and F10) covering steep slopes and harboring large numbers of Sasa borealis contained only 19 species. Based on DNA sequence analysis, the NJ21064 was identified as Chlorophyllum hortense, which is newly recorded in Korea.

This study was conducted to determine the proximate compositions, nutritional components, and antioxidant effects of white and brown enoki mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes). The crude protein and carbohydrate contents were higher in the brown than white mushrooms, whereas the moisture, crude ash, crude lipid, and dietary fiber levels were lower. The mineral contents of the white mushroom was higher than levels obtained in the brown mushroom for the detected components (Ca, Cu, K, Mn, Na, and P). The amount of vitamin B3 in the brown mushroom was 1.51 mg/100 g, which was 4.5 times higher than that in the white mushroom. The major fatty acids detected were palmitic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were highest in 70% ethanol extracts of the white and brown mushrooms, respectively. For the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, a 70% methanol extract of the white enoki mushrooms showed an activity of 76.4% (p<0.05). For the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activity, a 70% methanol extract of the brown enoki mushrooms showed the highest value. Further, the total flavonoid contents were significantly correlated with the DPPH and FRAP activities.

The purpose of this study was to develop a functional beverage by using Caragana sinica extract and Tremella fuciformis Berk, which have high physiological effects such as anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-lipidemic and anti-inflammatory. To this end, we used various mixing ratios of Caragana sinica extract, Tremella fuciformis Berk, and isomalto oligosaccharide, and measured the physicochemical properties of those beverages. The analyses showed the following: moisture content of those beverages using Caragana sinica extract and Tremella fuciformis Berk was 50.51~67.64%, pH was 5.19~5.38, and crude fat content was 0.28~0.52%, crude protein content was 1.26~1.80%, ash content was 0.47~0.80 and sugar content was 8.55~26.98°Brix. The lightness (L) of the beverages was 37.70~58.11, the redness (a) was 6.88~16.94, the yellowness (b) was 13.72~23.68, the total polyphenol content was 2.07~3.46 mg/g, and the total flavonoid content was 0.37~0.42 mg/g. Based on the results, it was confirmed that the nutritional components and total polyphenols of functional beverage using Caragana Sinica Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Berk and isomalto oligosaccharide were high at a mixing ratio of 1:1.3:25%. These results will increase the use of Caragana Sinica Extract and Tremella Fuciformis Berk, as functional materials in the future, and provide a framework for the manufacturing of diluted beverages comprising mineral water and carbonated water.