Conservation of genetic linkage with map expansion in distantly related crosses of Agaricus bisporus.

A previous map of the genome of a hybrid strain which had European parents belonging to the secondarily homothallic fungus Agaricus bisporus var. bisporus appeared to be unusually compact, with a particularly recombophobic segment in the central part of chromosome I. A new map of this segment was constructed based on allelic segregations among 103 homokaryotic offspring of an A. bisporus hybrid between a European parent of the var. bisporus and a Californian parent of the heterothallic var. burnettii. Markers completely linked on the previous map were distributed along 28 cM in the new map. These results suggest that the greater recombination rate could be correlated with the outbreeding behaviour of the var. burnettii.

Localization of the Mating Type Gene in Agaricus bisporus.

The cultivated mushroom Agaricus bisporus is secondarily homothallic. Most basidia produce two basidiospores, each of which receives two of the four postmeiotic nuclei. Usually, the two packaged nuclei carry compatible mating types. Previous studies suggested that there may be only a single mating type locus in A. bisporus. In this study, we determined whether the mating type segregated as a single Mendelian determinant in a cross marked with 64 segregating molecular markers. To score mating types, each of the 52 homokaryotic offspring from this cross was paired with each of the two progenitor homokaryons. Compatible matings were identified by the formation of genetically stable heterokaryons which were verified by assay of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Data for screening mycelial interactions on petri plates as well as fruit body formation were compared with the RFLP results. Mating types of 43 of the 52 homokaryotic offspring were determined on the basis of RFLP analysis. Our results indicate (i) there is a segregating mating type gene in A. bisporus, (ii) this mating type gene is on the largest linkage group (chromosome I), (iii) mycelial interactions on petri plates were associated with heterokaryon formation under selected conditions, (iv) fruit body formation was dependent upon the mating type gene, and (v) compatible mating types may not always be sufficient for fruiting.

Meiotic behavior and linkage relationships in the secondarily homothallic fungus Agaricus bisporus.

This study followed the transmission of 64 segregating genetic markers to 52 haploid offspring, obtained from both homokaryotic and heterokaryotic meiospores, of a cross (AG 93b) of Agaricus bisporus, the commonly cultivated "button mushroom." The electrophoretic karyotypes of the AG 93b component nuclei were determined concurrently (n = 13). Eleven distinct linkage groups were identified by two-point analysis. DNA-DNA hybridization showed that nine of these corresponded to unique chromosome-sized DNAs. Two other chromosomal DNAs were marked with nonsegregating markers, including the rDNA repeat. Two remaining chromosomes remained unmarked but hybridized to repeated-sequence probes. Cross 93b had an essentially conventional meiosis in which both independent assortment and joint segregation of markers occurred, but in which crossing over was infrequent over much of the mapped genome. The 48 homokaryotic spore-offspring had overall crossover frequencies that were similar to, but possibly slightly less than, those of three homokaryon constituents of heterokaryotic spore-offspring. These daa provide support for our earlier cytogenetic model of sporogenesis in A. bisporus, that explains why heterokaryotic spore-offspring usually appear to exhibit no recombination. No evidence favoring an alternative, mitotic model of sporogenesis was found. The resulting genetic map appears to survey the genome extensively and for the first time permits localization of loci determining economically important traits in this fungal crop species. Large differences in the vigor of homokaryotic offspring were correlated with the inheritance of certain chromosome segments and were also often associated with significant departures from Mendelian segregation ratios.

Yellow Blotch of Pleurotus ostreatus.

Yellow blotch disease of the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) was first observed in a commercial mushroom farm in California in 1983. The disease, caused by Pseudomonas agarici, is characterized by primordia, with yellow droplets on their surface, which become stunted, yellow to orange, and deformed as they mature.