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Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of the Winter Mushroom, Flammulina velutipes

Summary

This research developed a new method to genetically modify winter mushrooms using bacteria, making it easier to study and improve mushroom traits. The technique allows scientists to insert new genes into mushrooms that can be passed down to future generations. Impacts on everyday life: • Could lead to improved mushroom varieties with better growth, nutrition, or shelf life • Helps develop more efficient mushroom cultivation methods • May contribute to more sustainable food production • Could lead to enhanced medicinal properties in mushrooms • Provides tools for developing disease-resistant mushroom strains

Background

Winter mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) is widely cultivated in Japan and Korea and serves as a model organism for fungal graviresponse studies. Transformation and gene tagging are essential tools for molecular genetics, breeding, and functional genomics research in economically important mushrooms.

Objective

To develop and evaluate an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for Flammulina velutipes, as this method offers advantages over other transformation techniques by not requiring protoplast preparation.

Results

The transformation frequency was approximately 16% with gill tissues. Southern hybridization showed the marker genes were inserted at different locations in the fungal genome. The transformed hygromycin resistance gene was stably inherited to the next generation through basidiospores, with most transformants showing a 1:1 segregation ratio of resistance to sensitivity in T1 generation.

Conclusion

The Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method developed for F. velutipes showed moderate efficiency with single-copy insertion of the marker gene that was stably inherited through meiosis. This transformation system can be effectively applied for molecular genetic analysis, breeding, and biotechnological applications of winter mushroom.
  • Published in:Mycobiology,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research,
  • Source: 10.4489/MYCO.2006.34.2.104
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