Abstract
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 Cyclocybe aegerita, a newly delimited Asian phylum and of related species, corroborated the distinction of the chiefly saprobic cultivated edible mushroom C. aegerita from C. parasitica. Here, we show that C. parasitica exhibits a morpho-physiological trait characteristic to its European cousin, i.e., monokaryotic fruiting sensu stricto (basidiome formation without mating). Monokaryotic fruiting structures formed by 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 C. parasitica fruiting structures revealed anatomical commonalities and differences between them, and towards monokaryotic fruiting structures of C. aegerita. Mating experiments with C. parasitica strains representative of each fruiting phenotype identified compatible sibling monokaryons. Given reports on hypothetically monokaryotic basidiome field populations of ‘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.
Highlights
The monokaryotic state of all here-employed C. parasitica ICMP 11668derived monokaryons was confirmed by DAPI/Calcofluor staining (Figure S1)
The dikaryon C. parasitica ICMP 11668 [7] and its monokaryotic progeny was submitted to the fruiting regime of Herzog et al [18], with the above-described modifications
We have shown that the Pacific parasitic species Cyclocybe parasitica is able to undergo monokaryotic fruiting s.str., a fruiting mode that is far only known for its European mostly saprobic relative C. aegerita
Summary
Stev.) is a wooddestroying edible tree-parasitic Pacific agaric that has been recorded to grow on living individuals of diverse broad-leafed trees. Its occurrence has been recorded in various. Pacific areas including New Zealand and Australia [1,2,3,4], and reportedly in Hawaii, Mexico, Colombia, and China [5]. Watling [6] stated that C. parasitica is widespread and certainly replaces its mainly saprobic European relative(s) Cyclocybe aegerita
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