POWRE Proposal #0074779 Abstract: Genetic Mosaicism in Armillaria gallica
Armillaria gallica is an ecologically variable basidiomycete fungus that functions as a saprophyte and pathogen of stressed trees in many of the world's boreal and temperate forests. The PI recently reported that basidiomes (mushrooms) of this fungus can be a genetic mosaic (Fungal Genetics and Biology, 2000, vol. 29). This was demonstrated by isolating ten cells from a single basidiome and genotyping each for six different nuclear loci. Nine different genotypes were recovered for the ten cells that were assayed, indicating that this basidiome was a genetic mosaic. Fifteen cells isolated from another basidiome of the same species produced only one genotype when analyzed for the same six loci, indicating that this basidiome was not a genetic mosaic, at least for these six loci.
The goal of this NSF POWRE-supported study is to better understand the phenomenon of genetic mosaicism in A. gallica's life cycle and the contribution mosaicism makes to this species' ability to function successfully in forest soils. To accomplish this, the PI will investigate (1) How common and geographically widespread genetic mosaicism is, (2) How the mosaic condition develops, and (3) How mosaicism affects the ability of A. gallica to infect plant hosts and to grow under ecologically variable conditions.
