Roles of Ascospores and Arthroconidia of Xylogone ganodermophthora in Development of Yellow Rot in Cultivated Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum

Abstract

Xylogone ganodermophthora, an ascomycetous fungus, is known to cause yellow rot in the cultivated mushroom Ganoderma lucidum. In this study, we investigated the dissemination of this fungal pathogen in G. lucidum grown in cultivation houses. To determine the role of ascospores produced by X. ganodermophthora in disease development, we constructed a green fluorescent protein-labeled transgenic strain. This X. ganodermophthora strain produced a number of ascomata in the tissues of oak logs on which G. lucidum had been grown and on the mushroom fruit bodies. However, the ascospores released from the ascomata were not able to germinate on water agar or potato dextrose agar. Moreover, less than 0.1% of the ascospores showed green fluorescence, indicating that most ascospores of X. ganodermophthora were not viable. To determine the manner in which X. ganodermophthora disseminates, diseased oak logs were either buried in isolated soil beds as soil-borne inocula or placed around soil beds as air-borne inocula. In addition, culture bottles in which G. lucidum mycelia had been grown were placed on each floor of a five-floor shelf near X. ganodermophthora inocula. One year after cultivation, yellow rot occurred in almost all of the oak logs in the soil beds, including those in beds without soilborne inocula. In contrast, none of the G. lucidum in the culture bottles was infected, suggesting that dissemination of X. ganodermophthora can occur via the cultivation soil.