Transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals response mechanisms and biomarkers of pink Auricularia cornea on baijiu lees substrate

Transforming industrial by-products into reusable high-value resources, this study investigates the untapped potential of Luzhou-flavor baijiu lees as a substrate for cultivating pink Auricularia cornea . Forty-one baijiu lees-based substrate formulations were tested, identifying two optimal formulations that increased yields by 33.56 % and 28.54 % compared to the control group, while also improved surface area. Transcriptomic and metabolomic of bodies from the optimal formulations and the control group were analyzed across four growth stages. A total of 50–616 unique differentially expressed genes and 6–120 differentially expressed metabolites were identified, with KEGG analysis indicating enrichment in pathways related to amino acid and nitrogen metabolism, oxidation-reduction processes, oxidoreductase and catalytic activity, tetrapyrrole binding, and alcohol oxidase activity. Furthermore, 6–50 biomarkers were identified across the four growth stages. This groundbreaking study sheds light on the adaptive transcriptional and metabolic dynamics of pink A. cornea on baijiu lees substrates. • Two baijiu lees substrates increased pink A. cornea yields 33.56 % and 28.54 %. • Transcriptome analyses revealed pink A. cornea responses to different substrates. • LC-MS/MS-based metabolome identified 577 metabolites. • Key metabolic pathways in pink A. cornea across four growth stages were identified. • 6–50 biomarkers identified across four growth stages of pink A. cornea on lees.