An unknown mechanism promotes somatic incompatibility in Ceratobasidium bicorne

Abstract

Strains of Ceratobasidium bicorne (anamorph uninucleate Rhizoctonia), causing root dieback in nursery-grown conifer seedlings, were fruited in the laboratory and the pairing interactions among sibling, single-basidiospore progeny were investigated. No mating reactions were observed. Instead, a high frequency of somatic incompatibility was observed in progeny pairings, indicated by a killing reaction in hyphal anastomosis and by formation of a demarcation line. The F1 progeny also could be fruited, and the level of somatic incompatibility within the F2 progeny remained high, even if lower than in the F1 progeny. The interaction types in pairings within a family of progeny were similar in all respects to those between field isolates, indicating that the species is homothallic. The uninucleate condition of vegetative cells and the basidial characteristics would indicate homokaryotic fruiting, but the possibility of pseudohomothallism remains. We currently are not able to provide an explanation for the mechanism promoting somatic incompatibility in this species, but it seems likely that the classic heterogenic model of somatic incompatibility recognized in basidiomycetes is not applicable here. Alternative mechanisms are discussed.

• basidiomycetes
• homothallism

The first author is grateful to the Department of Applied Biology, University of Helsinki, for providing facilities for the study. This work was financially supported by the Natural Resources Research Foundation of Finland (Suomen Luonnonvarain Tutkimussäätiö) and the Academy of Finland (FIBRE). Carl Gunnar Fossdal, Richard W. Kerrigan and one anonymous reviewer are thanked for comments improving the manuscript.