A genetic mosaic in the fruiting stage of Armillaria gallica.
The basidiome stage of Armillaria gallica can be a genetic mosaic. Ten cells isolated from a single basidiome in 1986 produced nine different genotypes when analyzed for variation at six nuclear loci. Four additional basidiomes collected in 1986 produced mosaic patterns when analyzed for variation at a single nuclear (PCR-RFLP) locus. One basidiome collected in 1993 was not a genetic mosaic because 15 cells isolated from it produced only one genotype when analyzed for six nuclear loci. Two hundred seventy-four samples collected in the field between 1981 and 1998 were analyzed for variation at the PCR-RFLP locus. Samples collected prior to 1988 produced patterns consistent with the existence of mosaicism, but samples collected after 1988 showed no evidence of mosaicism. Genetic mosaicism represents a novel mechanism for partitioning genotypes among the cells of a basidiomycete and has interesting implications for the biology of A. gallica.
Biology Department, Stonehill College, Easton, Massachusetts 02357, USA. rpeabody@stonehill.edu
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D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000235:genetics*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D005838:Genotype; D006238:Haploidy; D007527:Isoenzymes; D009030:Mosaicism / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013997:Time Factors
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D007527:Isoenzymes