Integrated Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Monotonic Molecular Signatures During Fruiting Body...

Integrative transcriptomic-metabolomic profiling across three developmental stages of Coprinus comatus revealed that a coherent, monotonic molecular program drives fruiting body maturation. Stage-resolved RNA-seq and untargeted metabolomics were carried out to cleanly separate samples, and results showed directional trends: glycerophospholipids and other lipid species declined steadily, whereas peptides and amino-acid derivatives accumulated. Early development was driven by cell cycle regulation and DNA damage repair, while later stages shifted toward amino acid, glutathione and cell wall metabolism. These coupled transcriptional and metabolic shifts delineate processes associated with maturation and autolysis from which actionable markers can be identified to refine cultivation practices and optimize harvesting time.