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Mycelial incompatibility operative in pairings between single basidiospore isolates of Helicobasidium mompa

Ken-ichi Ikeda1, Hitoshi Nakamura, Naoyuki Matsumoto

  • 1National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kan-nondai, Tsukuba 305-8604, Japan.

Mycological Research
|September 12, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Helicobasidium mompa, a fungus, shows mycelial incompatibility between single basidiospore isolates. DNA markers and pairings suggest these isolates may be mating incompetent in lab settings.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Fungal Genetics
  • Basidiomycetes

Background:

  • Helicobasidium mompa is a clampless basidiomycete characterized by binucleate hyphae.
  • Understanding mating compatibility and nuclear behavior in fungal isolates is crucial for genetic studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate mycelial incompatibility and nuclear migration in single basidiospore isolates of Helicobasidium mompa.
  • To determine the genetic basis of incompatibility in H. mompa.

Main Methods:

  • Pairing of single basidiospore isolates (sibling and non-sibling combinations).
  • Observation of colony morphology for signs of incompatibility (demarcation lines).
  • Application of DNA molecular markers: Internal Transcribed Spacer-Restriction Fragment-Length Polymorphism (ITS-RFLP), Inter-Simple-Sequence-Repeat Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and Universally Primed PCR.

Main Results:

  • Mycelial incompatibility, marked by a dark demarcation line, occurred unifactorially between paired isolates.
  • No significant alterations in colony morphology were observed.
  • DNA-based techniques failed to detect nuclear migration in 91 out of 92 pairings, with one exception.

Conclusions:

  • Single basidiospore isolates of H. mompa may exhibit mating incompetence under laboratory conditions.
  • A single mycelial incompatibility factor appears to operate within these single basidiospore isolates.

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