This investigation explored the impact of co-cultivation on the phospholipidome of two xylotrophic basidiomycetes. As a model, Flammulina velutipes and Sparassis crispa were grown as surface monocultures and paired in co-culture, and molecular species of phosphatidylcholines (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) were quantified by targeted LC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS. Under co-cultivation, F. velutipes exhibited slower growth with altered colony morphology and decreases in PC, PE, and phosphatidic acid, together with a shift in the PC profile (decreased 18: 1₁8: 2; increased 18: 2₁8: 3; loss of molecular species with C20- and C22 very-long-chain fatty acids). These changes occurred alongside down-regulation of Kennedy-pathway genes and increased expression of the PE-methylation route. In S. crispa, biomass increased and PC, PE rose via higher 18: 1₁8: 2 and 18: 2₁8: 2, with up-regulation of Kennedy-pathway genes. Overall, co-cultivation with a specific antagonist can initiate PC biosynthesis via PE methylation—a potential tolerance mechanism that enables xylotrophic basidiomycetes to develop under competitive conditions.
Manzhieva et al. (Sun,) studied this question.