biostudies-literatureUnknown12Wang XThe rapid degeneration of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> strains during subculture represents a bottleneck problem that affects production stability. This study explored the mechanism underlying this degeneration in three production and three wild-type strains of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i>, isolating single-conidium strains from each. The effects of subculturing on fructification in both original and single mating-type strains were compared. Changes in the ratio of the two mating types were analyzed in both original and degenerated strains. Based on these findings, the two mating strains were paired in different ratios to determine their effects on fruiting. The resulting five strains were heterokaryotic strains with both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 mating-type genes. Strain jb-2 was a single mating typPeerJe17648https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11243967biostudies-literatureEffects of mating-type ratio imbalance on the degeneration of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> subculture and preventative measures.PMC11243967Zhang WLi WLi XLiu YQiu WSa FGe YFeng YXie JWang XYang SCheng XfalseEffects of mating-type ratio imbalance on the degeneration of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> subculture and preventative measures.The rapid degeneration of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> strains during subculture represents a bottleneck problem that affects production stability. This study explored the mechanism underlying this degeneration in three production and three wild-type strains of <i>Cordyceps militaris</i>, isolating single-conidium strains from each. The effects of subculturing on fructification in both original and single mating-type strains were compared. Changes in the ratio of the two mating types were analyzed in both original and degenerated strains. Based on these findings, the two mating strains were paired in different ratios to determine their effects on fruiting. The resulting five strains were heterokaryotic strains with both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 mating-type genes. Strain jb-2 was a single mating typ2024-01-01T00:00:00Z20242026-04-07T14:55:59.794Z2025-04-04T00:29:14.609ZS-EPMC112439673900600910.7717/peerj.17648