植物糖原和真菌糖原存在于植物突变体和真菌细胞中，与其生长发育、代谢途径和应激响应等生理过程紧密相关。该研究通过体积排阻色谱、荧光辅助碳水化合物电泳和透射电子显微镜分别对3种植物糖原和4 种真菌糖原的精细结构进行比较分析。研究发现，植物糖原呈现单峰（10~20 nm）的全分子分布，而真菌糖原主要呈现双峰（10~20 nm和>40 nm）的全分子分布。与植物糖原（4.4~6.9 DP）相比，真菌糖原的平均链长（8.7~10.4 DP）更高。植物糖原和真菌糖原均呈现花椰菜状，植物糖原以β 颗粒（10~20 nm）为主，而真菌糖原则同时存在α颗粒（50~180 nm）和β颗粒。该结果表明真菌拥有可以作为储能物质的大分子糖原，也有能够快速释放能量的小分子糖原；而在突变体植物只存在不稳定的小分子植物糖原。这项研究可以帮助理解植物糖原和真菌糖原在生物学功能上的差异以及在生物演化历程中的进化关系。

Phytoglycogen and fungal glycogen exist in mutant plants and fungi, respectively, and they are closely related to physiological processes, such as growth and development, metabolic pathways, and the stress response. A comparative analysis was conducted on the fine structures of three types of phytoglycogen and four types of fungal glycogen using size-exclusion chromatography, fluorescence-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that phytoglycogen exhibited a unimodal (10~20 nm) full molecular distribution, while fungal glycogen mainly presented a bimodal (10~20 nm and>40 nm) full molecular distribution. Fungal glycogen had a higher average chain length (8.7~10.4 DP) than phytoglycogen (4.4~6.9 DP), Both phytoglycogen and fungal glycogen exhibited a cauliflower-like morphology. Phytoglycogen was mainly composed of β particles (10~20 nm), whereas fungal glycogen contained both α particles (50~180 nm) and β particles. These results showed that fungi not only have large glycogen molecules that act as storage materials, but also small glycogen molecules that can quickly release energy; however, plant mutants only have small, unstable phytoglycogen molecules. The findings of this study will help our understanding of the differences in biological functions and evolutionary relationships between phytoglycogen and fungal glycogen.

江苏省自然科学基金项目（BK20220585）；扬州市重点研发计划（社会发展）项目（YZ2022076）；扬州市“绿扬金凤计划”优秀博士项目（YZLYJFJH2021YXBS172）；扬州大学“青蓝工程”优秀青年骨干教师培养对象项目（137050543）