Preliminary Observations on Germination of Pluteus Basidiospores

OK. Delayed germination of basidiospores in temperate species of Crepidotus (Fr.) Staude

Delayed basidiospore germination (endogenous dormancy) for a number of species of Crepidotus (Agaricales: Crepidotaceae) is reported for the first time. Ninety percent of recovered single spore isolates germinated between 18 and 36 weeks after collection; average germination was 25 weeks after collection. The period in which 90% of germinations occurred was between 17 February and 19 April, with 50% of recovered isolates germinating in March. Many abiotic factors were experimentally manipulated in an effort to reduce or alter the necessary incubation period without effect. The latent period was consistent for a given collection, with the majority of recovered isolates from fall-fruiting collections germinating during early spring, regardless of whether spores were plated immediately after harvesting or stored for one to several months prior to plating. The identity of the cultures derived from delayed germination was confirmed by DNA sequencing.Key words: basidiospore, dormancy, single spore isolates, Crepidotaceae, large subunit ribosomal DNA sequence data, phylogeny.