title: Double-stranded RNA and virus-like particles in the edible basidiomycete Flammulina velutipes (Enokitake).
abstract: One of the commercial strains of Flammulina velutipes was analyzed for the presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) elements to examine the underlying mechanism of strain degeneration. As a result, two dsRNA elements sized 1.9 and 1.8 kb were detected in mycelium derived from spontaneously brown-colored fruit body. They were not detected in the normal strains or in fruiting-impaired degenerative isolates. The dsRNAs were not in the nuclear or mitochondrial fractions, but were located in the cytoplasmic fraction. The presence of virus-like particles of ca. 50 nm diameter associated with the dsRNAs was confirmed by electron microscopic observation.
authors.affiliation: Bio-resources Technology Division, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, P.O. Box 16, Tsukuba Norin, Ibaraki, Japan. ymagae@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Magae
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000821:virology*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014771:Virion / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded