Abstract
Dilution plate method is generally used for isolation of basidiospores as well as a soil test. The basidiospore germinations of Matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake S. Ito et Imai Sing.), Amitake (Suillus bovinus (Fr.) O. Kuntze), and Honshimeji (Lyophyllum shimeji (Kawam.) Hongo) were examined using the dilution plate method, i.e., the collected spores were suspended in sterilized water including 0.005% n-butyric acid and inoculated on an agar medium in a petri dish after stepwise dilutions, followed by regular observation with an inverted microscope. Consequently, the spores of Honshimeji began germination 13 days after incubation, and then hyphae elongated and kept on diverging, which grew to colonies with 5-30mm in diameter visible with naked eyes 14 days after the spore germination. The spore germination and elongation of the hyphae of Matsutake and Amitake were confirmed at three months after inoculation, but the further growth and divergence of the hyphae were not observed even though incubation was continued for additional two months.
