Optimization of substrate formulation for Hericium erinaceus by replacing wood by straw and their effect on enzyme activities

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Dec 13:15:1436385. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1436385. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: China is rich in straw resources. The utilization of straw in the cultivation of edible fungi partially resolves the resource conflicts between mushroom cultivation and forest industry and also contributes to environmental protection.

Methods: In this study, based on the technology of replacing wood by grass, the straw formula for mycelial culture of Hericium erinaceus was optimized with Simplex-lattice method commonly used in mixture design. By measuring the growth rate and the activity of lignocellulose degrading enzymes of mycelia in different formulations, and further combining with model optimization, the optimal formulation was screened and validated for mushroom cultivation.

Results: In the experiments, different kinds of straw used as the main material showed interaction effects, further affecting the growth rate of mycelia and the activities of laccase, cellulase, and neutral xylanase. The screened optimal formula was composed of 16.3% rice straw, 59.7% cob, 20.0% wheat bran, 2.0% gypsum, 1.0% sucrose, and 1.0% calcium superphosphate. In the mushroom cultivation, 445.69 g of fresh mushroom were obtained and the biological efficiency reached 89.14%. The growth period of the first mushroom was shortened by 7-9 days. Some nutritional components of fruiting bodies, such as crude fats (6.10%), crude proteins (152.02 g/kg), K (19.71 g/kg), P (2.48 g/kg), and Se (6.06 g/kg), were significantly higher than those of the control formula.

Discussion: These above indicators indicated that the screened formula could be applied in the high-yield and high-quality cultivation of H. erinaceus. Our study lays the foundation for expanding cultivation and strains improvement of H. erinaceus, and is conducive in promoting the rapid development of H. erinaceus industry.

Keywords: Hericium erinaceus; enzyme activity; replacing wood by grass; simplex-lattice method; substrate formulation.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Basic Scientific Research Projects in Provincial Departmental Budgets (2022-2024), the Jilin Province Agricultural Key Core Technology Demonstration and Promotion (Industrial Technology System) Projects (JARS-2024-0601), and the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (No. 1630042022003, No. 1630042022020).