Two morphological markers indicating dikaryosis in Schizophyllum commune.

In the wood destroying basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune a method is described to recognize the onset of dikaryosis rapidly in using recessive genetic markers. The gene ai (+)/ai causes in its mutant recessive allele (ai) the production of dark coloured fruit bodies. This can be made use of to evaluate macroscopically the formation of a dikaryon. Another useful marker is the gene rd (+)/rd. The recessive allele (rd) causes phenotypically the formation of a round looking mycelium instead of the fringed looking mycelium, the wild type. This genetic marker which is closely linked to the A-incompatibility factor is therefore also qualified to detect the onset of dikaryosis without much effort.