Integrated Amino Acid Profiling and 4D-DIA Proteomics Reveal Protein Quality Divergence and Metabolic Adaptation in Cordyceps Species

作者：Chuyu Tang, Yuejun Fan, Tao Wang, Jie Wang, Mengjun Xiao, Min He, Xiyun Chang, Yuling Li, Xiuzhang Li · 发表于：Journal of Fungi · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/jof11050365 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Muscle metabolism and nutrition、Fungal Biology and Applications、Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications

To explore the differences in protein quality among classic medicinal entomopathogenic fungi and to evaluate their metabolic adaptability, we analyzed the amino acid composition and proteomic characteristics of Cordyceps sinensis (CS), Cordyceps militaris (CM), and Cordyceps cicadae (CC). Quantitative analysis showed CM contained the highest crude protein and lysine, methionine, threonine, and valine. CS adapted to high-altitude hypoxia and exhibited lower protein but elevated leucine, isoleucine, and histidine contents, which may contribute to membrane stabilization and oxidative stress resistance. CC displayed higher non-essential amino acids such as arginine, proline, and tyrosine, reflecting active nitrogen metabolism. Four-dimensional data-independent acquisition (4D-DIA) proteomics identified 495 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Compared with CS, CM and CC displayed upregulated glutamate oxaloacetate transaminases 2 (GOT2), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1) coordinately regulate nitrogen flux through the alanine-aspartate-glutamate metabolic network and urea cycle, supporting metabolic intermediate replenishment for energy metabolism. The upregulation of branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase E1 subunit alpha (BCKDHA) and acyl-CoA dehydrogenase short/branched chain (ACADSB) in CM and CC facilitated the integration of branched-chain amino acid catabolism with the TCA cycle, explaining species-specific differences in protein c...