Nucleus-Selective Expression of Laccase Genes in the Dikaryotic Strain of Lentinula edodes

In mating of Lentinula edodes, dikaryotic strains generated from certain monokaryotic strains such as the B2 used in this study tend to show better quality of fruiting bodies regardless of the mated monokaryotic strains. Unlike B2, dikaryotic strains generated from B16 generally show low yields, with deformed or underdeveloped fruiting bodies. This indicates that the two nuclei in the cytoplasm do not contribute equally to the physiology of dikaryotic L. edodes, suggesting an expression bias in the allelic genes of the two nuclei. To understand the role of each nucleus in dikaryotic strains, we investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in laccase genes of monokaryotic strains to reveal nuclear origin of the expressed mRNAs in dikaryotic strain. We performed reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis using total RNAs extracted from dikaryotic strains (A5B2, A18B2, and A2B16) as well as from compatible monokaryotic strains (A5, A18, and B2 for A5B2 and A18B2; A2 and B16 for A2B16). RT-PCR results revealed that Lcc1, Lcc2, Lcc4, Lcc7, and Lcc10 were the mainly expressed laccase genes in the L. edodes genome. To determine the nuclear origin of these laccase genes, the genomic DNA sequences in monokaryotic strains were analyzed, thereby revealing five SNPs in Lcc4 and two in Lcc7. Subsequent sequence analysis of laccase mRNAs expressed in dikaryotic strains revealed that these were almost exclusively expressed from B2-originated nuclei in A5B2 and A18B2 whereas B16 nucleus did not contribute to laccase expression in A2B16 strain. This suggests that B2 nucleus dominates the expression of allelic genes, thereby governing the physiology of dikaryons.