RUB » Bibliotheksportal

Hannah Elders, Florian Hennicke

• Cyclocybe parasitica is a wood-destroying parasitic edible mushroom growing on diverse broad-leafed trees in New Zealand and other Pacific areas. Recent molecular systematics of European \(\textit {Cyclocybe aegerita}\), a newly delimited Asian phylum and of related species, corroborated the distinction of the chiefly saprobic cultivated edible mushroom \(\textit {C. aegerita}\) from \(\textit {C. parasitica}\). Here, we show that \(\textit {C. parasitica}\) exhibits a morpho-physiological trait characteristic to its European cousin, i.e., monokaryotic fruiting \(\textit {sensu stricto}\) (basidiome formation without mating). Monokaryotic fruiting structures formed by \(\textit {C. parasitica}\) ICMP 11668-derived monokaryons were categorized into four phenotypes. One of them displays ulcer-like structures previously reported from bracket fungi. Histology of dikaryotic and monokaryotic \(\textit {C. parasitica}\) fruiting structures revealed anatomical commonalities and differences between them, and towards monokaryotic fruiting structures of \(\textit {C. aegerita}\). Mating experiments with \(\textit {C. parasitica}\) strains representative of each fruiting phenotype identified compatible sibling monokaryons. Given reports on hypothetically monokaryotic basidiome field populations of \(\textit {"C. aegerita sensu lato"}\), it seems worthwhile to prospectively investigate whether monokaryotic fruiting s.str. occurs in nature. Sampling from such populations including karyotyping, comparative -omics, and competition assays may help to answer this question and provide evidence whether this trait may confer competitive advantages to a species capable of it.