The diversity of Ganoderma remains largely unexplored, with little information available due to fungiphobia and the morphological plasticity of the genus. To address this gap, an ongoing study aims to collect and identify species with this genus using nuclear ribosomal DNA regions called the \"Internal Transcribed Spacer\" (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS). In this study, a new species, Ganoderma segmentatum sp. nov., was discovered on the dead tree trunk of the medicinal plant, Vachellia nilotica. The species was identified through a combination of morpho-anatomical characteristics and phylogenetic analyses. This new species was closely related to Ganoderma multipileum, G. mizoramense, and G. steyaertanum, with a 99% bootstrap value, forming a distinct branch in the phylogenetic tree. Morphologically, G. segmentatum can be distinguished by its frill-like appearance on the margin of basidiome. Wilt or basal stem rot, a serious disease of trees caused by Ganoderma species and V. nilotica, is brutally affected by this disease, resulting in substantial losses in health and productivity. This Ganoderma species severely damages V. nilotica through deep mycelial penetration in the upper and basal stems of the host species. Pathogenic observational descriptions of G. segmentatum on dead tree trunks showed the exudation of viscous reddish-brown fluid from the basal stem portion, which gradually extended upward. Symptoms of this disease include decay, stem discoloration, leaf drooping, and eventual death, which severely damaged the medicinal tree of V. nilotica.

Ganoderma lucidum, a medicinal mushroom with a long history in traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for chronic diseases. Ganospirones A-G (1-7), seven pairs of undescribed spiro-meroterpenoids, were isolated from the fruiting bodies of G. lucidum. Their structures including absolute configurations were characterized by using NMR spectroscopic data, ECD computational and X-ray diffraction methods. The anti-inflammatory and anti-renal fibrosis activities of the meroterpenoids 1-7 were tested, and the results revealed that (-)-2 and (+)-2 could inhibit iNOS expression in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells at 20 μM.

Ganoderma is a large and diverse genus containing fungi that cause white rot to infect a number of plant families. This study describes G.phyllanthicola and G.suae as new species from Southwest China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Ganodermaphyllanthicola is characterized by dark brown to purplish black pileus surface with dense concentric furrows, pale yellow margin, irregular pileipellis cells, small pores (5-7 per mm) and ellipsoid to sub-globose basidiospores (8.5-10.0 × 6.0-7.5 µm). Ganodermasuae is characterized by reddish brown to oxblood red pileus surface and lead gray to greyish-white pore surface, heterogeneous context, wavy margin and almond-shaped to narrow ellipsoid basidiospores (8.0-10.5 × 5.0-7.0 μm). The phylogeny of Ganoderma is reconstructed with multi-gene sequences: the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the large subunit (nrLSU), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF-1α) and the second subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2). The results show that G.suae and G.phyllanthicola formed two distinct line-ages within Ganoderma. Descriptions, illustrations and phylogenetic analyses results of the two new species are presented.

Five undescribed meroterpenoids, baosglucidnes A - E (1-5), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum. Among them, baosglucidne B (2) as a racemic mixture was obtained. Chiral HPLC was employed to separate a pair of enantiomers (+)-2 and (-)-2. The structures and stereochemical features of these substances were characterized by utilizing spectroscopic data and ECD calculations. Finally, the results of anti-renal fibrosis activity evaluation showed that baosglucidne E (5) could inhibit the expression of collagen I in TGF-β1-induced rat kidney proximal tubular cells at 20 μM.

Sanguinoderma infundibulare is a newly discovered species of Ganodermataceae known to have high medicinal and ecological values. In this study, the whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomic analyses were conducted to further understand Ganodermataceae\'s genomic structural and functional characteristics. Using the Illumina NovaSeq and PacBio Sequel platforms, 88 scaffolds were assembled to obtain a 48.99-Mb high-quality genome of S. infundibulare. A total of 14,146 protein-coding genes were annotated in the whole genome, with 98.6% of complete benchmarking universal single-copy orthologs (BUSCO) scores. Comparative genomic analyses were conducted among S. infundibulare, Sanguinoderma rugosum, Ganoderma lucidum, and Ganoderma sinense to determine their intergeneric differences. The 4 species were found to share 4,011 orthogroups, and 24 specific gene families were detected in the genus Sanguinoderma. The gene families associated with carbohydrate esterase in S. infundibulare were significantly abundant, which was reported to be involved in hemicellulose degradation. One specific gene family in Sanguinoderma was annotated with siroheme synthase, which may be related to the typical characteristics of fresh pore surface changing to blood red when bruised. This study enriched the available genome data for the genus Sanguinoderma, elucidated the differences between Ganoderma and Sanguinoderma, and provided insights into the characteristics of the genome structure and function of S. infundibulare.

Ganoderma is a genus of biomedical fungus that is used in the development of numerous health products throughout the world. The Lower Volta River Basin of Ghana is an undulating land surface covered by extensive vegetation and water bodies and is rich in polypore mushrooms resembling various members of the Ganoderma genus. Despite the extensive biopharmaceutical benefits of Ganoderma spp., the isolates from the Lower Volta River Basin have not been properly characterized, thus limiting their use in the development of biotechnological products. In this study, Ganoderma spp. collected from the Lower Volta River Basin were genetically analyzed using the nuclear ribosomal sequences, the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS 2), the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and the nuclear large subunit (nLSU). Blastn search and sequence analysis revealed that the sample we coded as Ganoderma LVRB-2 belongs to G. mbrekobenum, whereas Ganoderma LVRB-1, Ganoderma LVRB-14, and Ganoderma LVRB-16 belong to the species G. enigmaticum. Our analysis further demonstrates that Ganoderma LVRB-17 belongs to the species G. resinaceum. Thus, the five samples collected in the present study were positioned in three different distinct groups, namely G. mbrekobenum, G. enigmaticum, and G. resinaceum. The current data may serve as reference points for future studies.

A phytochemical investigation on the 80% EtOH extract of the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma tsugae resulted into the isolation of two previously undescribed lanostane triterpenoids, 7,11-dioxo-3β-acetyloxy-26,27-dihydroxy-lanosta-8,24-diene (1) and 7,20-dioxo-3β-acetyloxy-11β,15α-dihydroxy-22,23,24,25,26,27-hexanorlanosta-8-ene (2), togeher with one known lanostane triterpenoid ganodermanontriol (3). Structural elucidation of all the compounds were performed by spectral methods such as 1D and 2D (1H-1H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy. All the triterpenoids were in vitro evaluated for their antibacterial activities against six pathogenic microorganisms. Compound 3 exhibited some activities against three Gram positive bacteria with MIC values less than 30 μg/ml.

Seven previously undescribed lanostane triterpenoids, ganoderic acid M1 (1), M2 (2), M3 (3), M4 (4), M5 (5), M6 (6), and M7 (7), together with eight known compounds, were isolated from mycelia of the basidiomycete Ganoderma sinense (Ganodermataceae). The structures of all compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. The possible biosynthetic pathway of these fifteen triterpenoids was proposed. Some of the compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity by measuring the production of nitric oxide (NO), TNF-α, and IL-6 in RAW264.7 macrophage cells induced by lipopolysaccharide. Lanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-3β,15α,22β-triacetoxy-26-oic acid (14) exhibited the strongest inhibition of NO production with an IC50 of 0.6 ± 0.1 μM and completely inhibited the secretion of TNF-α and IL-6 at 10 μM. The structure-activity relationship of the anti-inflammatory activity is discussed.

The Ganoderma lucidum mushroom, which has been used as a traditional medicine in China for more than 2000 years, is a source of many interesting natural product. In this study, the five undescribed minor meroterpenoids baoslingzhines F-J (1-5), containing a dihydropyran moiety, were isolated as racemic mixtures from the fruiting bodies of G. lucidum. These substances were structurally and stereochemically characterized by using spectroscopic and computational methods. Chiral HPLC was employed to separate the (+)- and (-)-antipodes. A survey of the activities against kidney fibrosis showed that both enantiomers of baoslingzhines F-J inhibit expression of renal fibrosis-related proteins, including fibronectin, collagen I and ɑ-SMA in TGF-β1-induced rat kidney proximal tubular cells.

Sanguinoderma is distributed in tropical and subtropical areas as a member of Amauroderma s. lat., and the economic values of Sanguinoderma led to high attention in the taxonomic studies. Previously, 16 species have been developed into Sanguinoderma. In this study, the taxonomic system of Sanguinoderma was reconducted based on morphological and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses, especially making a distinction for Sanguinoderma rugosum complex. Morphological analysis was based on the notes of macro- and micro morphological observations. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses were used maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses inferred from combined dataset of ITS, nLSU, rpb2, tef1, mtSSU, and nSSU. Combined with morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence, the results demonstrated that S. rugosum complex consists of five taxa, in which Sanguinoderma leucomarginatum was described as a new species, and it is characterized by the orbicular pilei with white to buff margin when fresh and clavate apical cells of pileipellis with septa. In addition, Amauroderma preussii was transferred to Sanguinoderma as a new combination due to its blood-red color-changed pore surface; it is characterized by the funnel-shaped, greyish brown, and glabrous pilei with strongly incurved margin. Detailed descriptions and photographs of the two species were provided. With the extension of this study, 18 species were accepted in Sanguinoderma, and 12 species among them were distributed in China. A key to accepted species of Sanguinoderma was also provided.