Abstract
Tricholoma matsutake is an ectomycorrhizal agaricomycete that produces the prized mushroom “matsutake” when grown in pine forests. At present, T. matsutake cannot be artificially cultivated for fruiting. Using barley-based substrate cultivation, a T. matsutake mutant, designated G1, which was generated by irradiating T. matsutake NBRC 33136 with g-rays, produced protuberances that were composed of non-aerial hyphal tissues. The protuberances occurred in three consecutive independent experiments but did not grow into fruiting bodies. The issue of whether the protuberances represent the initial stage of fruiting needs to be clarified. However, because of morphological changes in the spawn, the G1 strain may be useful in developing a cultivar of T. matsutake.
