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PRI Mushrooms develops new mushroom varieties via classic breeding for which our researchers are utilizing the most modern molecular-biological techniques.
Our breeding aims at obtaining resistance against diseases and better cultivation properties. Our breeding projects are based on our collection of fungus strains. Research into the genetics of mushrooms forms the basis of our breeding progress.
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Unravelling the button mushroom genome
International cooperation
A proposal to sequence the whole genome of the button mushroom was recently honoured by the Department for Energy in The United States of America. This will be carried out by the “Joint Genome Institute” in America.
This breakthrough has been achieved after the formation of an international consortium of button mushroom researchers. This consortium has drawn up a document that substantiates the importance of sequencing the genome of the button mushroom. The document argues that apart from the production of mushrooms, the button mushroom and other Agaricaceae are important for the degradation of plant material and may thus play a role in the production of biofuels. In addition, Agaricaceae can also convert substances that are difficult to degrade into less harmful substances or they may even be used to remove heavy metals from waste flows.
The challenge is still to come!
The work will probably be completed within three years (i.e. 2010) and we will then know the sequence of some 11 000 genes. And then the real work only starts because we do not yet know the function of most of the genes. The tools to determine this, however, are developed with high speed. Precisely the availability of the sequences enables utilization of these tools.
PRI Mushrooms will provide the genomic DNA of the cultivar Horst U1. It was the obvious choice to start with this cultivar because almost all current button mushroom cultivars originate from this cultivar.
The international consortium:
University of Warwick (UK), DOE Joint Genome Institute USA, University of Bristol (UK), USDA Research at the University of Wisconsin (USA), Southeast Missouri State University (USA), Clark University (USA), Sylvan Inc USA, Institut für Forstbotanik der Universität Göttingen (Germany), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (USA), Public University of Navarre (Spain), Penn State University (USA), Plant Research International Wageningen, and Utrecht University.
Resistance against diseases
Worldwide, ever fewer crop protection products are available for use in mushroom cultivation. At the same time governments and consumers discourage their use. Button mushroom cultivars with a resistance against diseases are being bred to meet this trend.
>> See also crop protection, Prevention of pests and diseases.
Improved cropping properties
A shorter growing cycle and prevention of spore formation are examples of the improved cropping properties we are developing.
Examples of breeding products are:
>> More about Broncoh, a new brown button mushroom
>> More about the sporeless oyster mushroom
Collection management and identification
We keep a large collection of strains of edible mushrooms and pathogens and cooperate with research organizations outside the Netherlands.
Mushroom collection
PRI has available a wide collection of mushroom strains for the development of new cultivars. All strains in the collection have been identified and are stored under optimal conditions to preserve their properties.
The mushroom collection consists of about 6000 strains of more than 100 species. The largest part of the collection consists of oyster mushrooms and button mushrooms. The collection also includes a wide diversity of medicinal mushrooms.
Furthermore, the collection contains isolates of fungi and bacteria that cause diseases in mushroom cultivation. These isolates form the basis for the development of rapid and sensitive diagnostic tests for the most important pathogens.
We store most strains in two ways: on agar tubes at 2°C and in liquid nitrogen (-196°C).
A collection is only useful after proper identification of all strains. Besides morphological properties PRI also uses DNA fingerprinting methods for identification of species and strains within a species.
A part of the collection contains isolates of degenerated mushrooms. PRI now uses sensitive AFLP and repetitive sequence analytical techniques to identify aberrations that are associated with instability.