The evolution of non-reciprocal nuclear exchange in mushrooms as a consequence of genomic conflict

Heterothallic mushrooms accomplish sex by exchanging nuclei without cytoplasm. Hyphal fusions occur between haploid mycelia resulting from germinated spores and subsequent reciprocal nuclear exchange without cytoplasmic mixing. The resulting dikaryon is therefore a cytoplasmic mosaic with uniformly distributed nuclei (two in each cell). Cytoplasmic inheritance is doubly uniparental: both mated monokaryons can potentially transmit their cytoplasm to the sexual spores, but normally only a single type per spore is found.Intracellular competition between mitochondria is thus limited, but at the dikaryon level, the two types of mitochondria compete over transmission. This creates the conditions for genomic conflict: within the dikaryon, a selfish mitochondrial mutant with increased relative transmission can be favoured, but selection between dikaryons will act against such a mitochondrial mutant. Moreover, because nuclear fitness is directly dependent on dikaryon fitness, a reduction in dikaryon fitness directly conflicts with nuclear interests. We propose that genomic conflict explains the frequent occurrence of non-reciprocal nuclear exchange in mushrooms. With non-reciprocal exchange, one monokaryon donates a nucleus and the other accepts it, but not vice versa as in the typical life cycle. We propose a model where non-reciprocal nuclear exchange is primarily driven by mitochondria inducing male sterility and the evolution of nuclear suppressors.     

Dikaryons of the basidiomycete fungus Schizophyllum commune: evolution in long-term culture

The impact of ploidy on adaptation is a central issue in evolutionary biology. While many eukaryotic organisms exist as diploids, with two sets of gametic genomes residing in the same nucleus, most basidiomycete fungi exist as dikaryons in which the two genomes exist in separate nuclei that are physically paired and that divide in a coordinated manner during hyphal extension. To determine if haploid monokaryotic and dikaryotic mycelia adapt to novel environments under natural selection, we serially transferred replicate populations of each ploidy state on minimal medium for 18 months (approximately 13,000 generations). Dikaryotic mycelia responded to selection with increases in growth rate, while haploid monokaryotic mycelia did not. To determine if the haploid components of the dikaryon adapt reciprocally to one another's presence over time, we recovered the intact haploid components of dikaryotic mycelia at different time points (without meiosis) and mated them with nuclei of different evolutionary histories. We found evidence for coadaptation between nuclei in one dikaryotic line, in which a dominant deleterious mutation in one nucleus was followed by a compensatory mutation in the other nucleus; the mutant nuclei that evolved together had the best overall fitness. In other lines, nuclei had equal or higher fitness when paired with nuclei of other histories, indicating a heterozygote advantage. To determine if genetic exchange occurs between the two nuclei of a dikaryon, we developed a 24-locus genotyping system based on single nucleotide polymorphisms to monitor somatic exchange. We observed genetic exchange and recombination between the nuclei of several different dikaryons, resulting in genotypic variation in these mitotic cell lineages.     

Fungal fidelity: Nuclear divorce from a dikaryon by mating or monokaryon regeneration

Basidiomycete fungi perform fertilizations by incorporation of nuclei into a monokaryotic mycelium to establish a dikaryon. The dikaryon cannot incorporate another type of nucleus, but can still act as a nucleus donor in a dikaryon–monokaryon (di–mon) mating, known as the Buller phenomenon. Previously, it has been observed that: (1) in a particular di–mon mating, one of the nuclear types of the dikaryon generally performs better as a donor than the other, and (2) when nuclei from a dikaryon are separated to form monokaryons again (dedikaryotisation), recovery of monokaryons of the two nuclear types is usually unequal. In this study, we investigated if these two observations of asymmetry are functionally related. We tested this hypothesis by performing both di–mon matings and dedikaryotisation of dikaryons derived from five different monokaryons. When a single mechanism controls both processes, the nucleus better at fertilizing a monokaryon in a Buller pairing should also be recovered upon dedikaryotisation with a higher frequency. The results showed a hierarchical structure for recovery among nuclei in dedikaryotisation, but this hierarchy did not correspond to the fertilization success during di–mon mating. These findings thus show that the mechanism causing asymmetric regeneration of nuclei, is most likely not the same as the mechanism responsible for increased chance of fertilization in di–mon matings. We discuss the complexity of the interactions that occur during di–mon matings with regards to the mating type loci.     

Alternation of nuclear phase in the filamentous basidiomycete,Helicobasidium mompa

Variation in the number of nuclei and cellular ploidy were observed in eight strains ofHelicobasidium mompa. The basidiospores, single-spore isolates and field-isolated strains were all dikaryons. The cellular ploidy, which was assessed by analyzing the fluorescence emitted by DAPI-stained nuclei, was unstable: monokaryotic strains derived from the original dikaryotic strains by successive subcultures were mainly tetraploid, although the original dikaryon was in most cases diploid. On the other hand, a dikaryotic strain derived by treatment with benomyl was haploid. These results suggest that diploid dikaryon is a normal nuclear phase ofH. mompa in nature, and the alternation of ploidy may be due to a feature of the mating system of this fungus.     

Molecular genetics of sexual development in the mushroom Coprinus cinereus

Sexual development in the mushroom Coprinus cinereus is under the control of two mating type loci, A and B. When two haploid homokaryons with compatible alleles at both A and B loci are mated, the coordinated activities of A- and B-regulated pathways lead to formation of a mycelium termed the dikaryon, in which the two nuclei from the mating partners pair in each cell without fusing. The dikaryon is a prolonged mycelial stage that can be induced to develop a multicellular structure, the mushroom, under proper environmental conditions. The two nuclei fuse in specialized cells on the mushroom and immediately undergo meiosis to complete the sexual life cycle. It has been established recently that the A genes encode two classes of homeodomain proteins while the B genes encode pheromones and their receptors. More recently, molecular genetics has been used to reveal genes that work downstream of the mating type genes to regulate dikaryon formation, mushroom morphogenesis, and meiosis.     

Dyssymmetrical cytotomy and orientation of the spindles in early isolated blastomeres of gastropod molluscs]

While removing the vitelline membrane mechanically or by trypsinization, one or two blastomeres were isolated from two-, four- and eight-celled embryos Lymnaea stagnalis, Physa fontinalis and Ph. acuta. If a pair of blastomeres was isolated prior to the formation of the III and IV cleavage spindles, it became similar to a two-cell embryo; the spindles oriented in parallel to each other and the contact zone of blastomeres preserving the previous localization of the nuclei and the subsequent division was equal. If a pair of blastomeres was isolated in metaphase, the localization of spindles did not change and the relative size of sister blastomeres after the subsequent division resembled the normal size (in particular, the III division was unequal). In the course of division of isolated single blastomeres, as well as pairs of blastomeres with parallel spindles, mutual turns of sister cells along the plane of new furrow, always dexiotropic in Lymnaea and laetropic in Physa, were observed in all cycles. The ability of dissymmetrical invariant turns during cytotomy, shown earlier when studying the whole embryos, is, thus, inherent to each blastomere irrespective of the neighbour ones but is supressed during the normal development after the III division mechanically due to the dense cellular packing projected by the orientation of spindles.     

Nuclear migration and mitochondrial inheritance in the mushroom agaricus bitorquis

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were used as genetic markers for following mitochondrial inheritance in the mushroom Agaricus bitorquis. In many basidiomycetes, bilateral nuclear migration between paired homokaryotic mycelia gives rise to two discrete dikaryons which have identical nuclei but different cytoplasms. Although nuclear migration is rare in A. bitorquis, unidirectional nuclear migration occurred when a nuclear donating strain (8-1), was paired with a nuclear recipient strain (34-2). The dikaryon recovered over the nuclear recipient mate (Dik D) contained nuclei from both parents but only mitochondria from the recipient mate; thus nuclei of 8-1, but not mitochondria, migrated through the resident hyphae of 34-2 following hyphal anastomosis. The two mitochondrial types present in a dikaryon recovered at the junction of the two cultures (Dik A) segregated during vegetative growth. Dikaryotic cells having the 34-2 mitochondrial type grew faster than cells with the 8-1 mitochondrial type. Fruitbodies, derived from a mixed population of cells having the same nuclear components but different cytoplasms, were chimeric for mitochondrial type. The transmission of mitochondria was biased in favor of the 8-1 type in the spore progeny of the chimeric fruitbody. Protoplasts of dikaryon (Dik D), which contained both nuclear types but only the 34-2 mitochondrial type, were regenerated and homokaryons containing the 8-1 nuclear type and the 34-2 mitochondrial type were recovered.     

The Role of the Cytoskeleton in the Pairing and Positioning of the Two Nuclei in the Apical Cell of the Dikaryon of the Basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus

Kamada, T., Hirai, K., and Fujii, M. 1993. The role of the cytoskeleton in the pairing and positioning of the two nuclei in the apical cell of the dikaryon of the basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus. Experimental Mycology 17, 338-344. We examined the effects of tubulin mutations, the anti-microtubule agent benomyl, and the anti-microfilament agents cytochalasin B and E on the pairing and positioning of the two nuclei in the dikaryotic apical cell of the basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus. In the parental wild-type dikaryon, the two nuclei maintain an average separation of 19 μm and an average distance of about 76 μm from the growing hyphal apex; there was a weak tendency that the apex to nucleus distance decreases as cell length decreases. Examination of eight dikaryons homozygous for either one α- or one of seven β-tubulin mutations revealed that all the tubulin mutations disturbed the pairing of the two nuclei without changing the positioning of the leading nucleus. The anti-microtubule agent benomyl disturbed the nuclear pairing without changing the positioning of the leading nucleus. Neither cytochalasin B nor E affected either the pairing or the positioning. These results demonstrate that microtubules participate in the pairing of the two nuclei in the apical cell of the dikaryon and provide evidence against a direct involvement of either microtubules or microfilaments in the mechanism of their positioning relative to the hyphal apex.     

Sexual selection in mushroom-forming basidiomycetes

We expect that sexual selection may play an important role in the evolution of mushroom-forming basidiomycete fungi. Although these fungi do not have separate sexes, they do play female and male roles: the acceptance and the donation of a nucleus, respectively. The primary mycelium (monokaryon) of basidiomycete fungi, growing from a germinating sexual spore, is hermaphroditic, but it loses female function upon the acceptance of a second nucleus. The resulting dikaryon with two different nuclei in each cell retains a male potential as both nuclei can fertilize receptive mycelia. We tested the occurrence of sexual selection in the model species of mushroom-forming basidiomycetes, Schizophyllum commune, by pairing monokaryons with fully compatible dikaryons. In most pairings, we found a strong bias for one of the two nuclei although both were compatible with the monokaryon when paired alone. This shows that sexual selection can occur in mushroom-forming basidiomycetes. Since the winning nucleus of a dikaryon occasionally varied depending on the receiving monokaryon, we infer that sexual selection can operate through choosiness of the receiving individual (analogous to female choice). However, in other cases the same nucleus won, irrespective of the receiving monokaryon, suggesting that competition between the two nuclei of the donating mycelium (analogous to male–male competition) might also play a role.     

Nuclear and Non-nuclear Factors influencing Clamp Connection Formation in Coprinus disseminatus

Matings between sister single spore lines of Coprinus disseminatusshowed a cryptic tetrapolar pattern. The two groups of matingsthat resulted in formation of mycelia with clamp connections(apparent dikaryons) differed in rate of nuclear penetrationduring mating. In one group penetration occurred at rates comparablewith nuclear migration in other species and in the other groupit was often extensive but at a rate similar to, or less than,the dikaryon growth-rate. No differences were detected betweenthese two groups in stability, colony extension rate, frequencyof clamp connections, proportions of true clamp connectionsand pseudoclamps, or number of nuclei per hyphal tip cell. Cytological studies and the isolation of hyphal tips showedthat both groups of apparent dikaryons were heterokaryotic di-or trikaryons. The di- and trikaryotic conditions co-existedin the same mycelium, but adjacent cells of individual branchingsystems usually contained equal numbers of nuclei. Within apparentdikaryons the number and kinds of nuclei per cell were similarin hyphae with clamp connections and those with simple septa.Treatments that prevented clamp connection formation did notalter the nuclear status of most of the hyphae. Irregularities in nuclear distribution were infrequent and mostwere associated with pseudoclamps. Forty per cent of nodes withprobable pseudoclamps yielded homokaryotic branches, which wereof either constituent mating type. There was some indicationthat irregularities in nuclear distribution could also occurduring divisions associated with simple septa.     

The DNA damage response signaling cascade regulates proliferation of the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis in planta

In the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis, the dikaryotic state dominates the period of growth occurring during the infectious phase. Dikaryons are cells in which two nuclei, one from each parent cell, share a single cytoplasm for a period of time without undergoing nuclear fusion. In fungal cells, maintenance of the dikaryotic state requires an intricate cell division process that often involves the formation of a structure known as the clamp connection as well as the sorting of one of the nuclei to this structure to ensure that each daughter dikaryon inherits a balance of each parental genome. Here, we describe an atypical role of the DNA damage checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Atr1 during pathogenic growth of U. maydis. We found that Chk1 and Atr1 collaborate to control cell cycle arrest during the induction of the virulence program in U. maydis and that Chk1 and Atr1 work together to control the dikaryon formation. These findings uncover a link between a widely conserved signaling cascade and the virulence program in a phytopathogen. We propose a model in which adjustment of the cell cycle by the Atr1-Chk1 axis controls fidelity in dikaryon formation. Therefore, Chk1 and Atr1 emerge as critical cell type regulators in addition to their roles in the DNA damage response.     

基于F2群体的香菇遗传图谱构建及其在QTL定位中的应用

以171个F2双核体菌株为作图群体,通过相互配对的2个单核体的基因型推断双核体基因型,构建了第一张基于双核体群体的香菇遗传图谱。该图谱包含分布于15个连锁群的459个标记,覆盖长度为989.7cM,平均标记间隔为2.2cM。此外,以此双核体群体作为表型分离群体,定位了6个与香菇双核体菌丝生长速度相关的QTLs,位于5个连锁群上。采用全同胞单核体随机交配策略,易于构建相对大的双核体群体,用于连锁图构建和QTL定位。研究表明,在食用菌连锁图谱构建及QTL定位研究中,利用F2群体,可能为提高遗传作图效率,解决作图群体与表型分离群体间不一致问题提供新的途径。     

香菇原生质体单核化过程中细胞核相对优势等级的研究

食用菌原生质体单核化过程中常常会出现偏分离现象,这个现象在香菇中研究较早,这是一个有趣又似乎是无序的现象,但是目前对偏分离的机制还缺少清晰的认识。为了细致深入研究原生质体单核化中的偏分离现象,本研究定义了强势核和弱势核概念。为了解不同强势核和弱势核的等级地位变化,本研究选取了10个香菇强势核菌株和6个弱势核菌株作为供试菌株,通过强势核菌株间、弱势核菌株间、强势核菌株与弱势核菌株间3种单单杂交方式获得26个新的双核体菌株,再检测这些双核体菌株在原生质体单核化中偏分离情况。结果表明：26株双核体都存在偏分离现象,并且强势核和弱势核的地位会发生逆转。研究结果暗示不同强势核和弱势核之间存在等级关系。本研究结果还表明同核异质体在偏分离现象中强势核和弱势核的表现是一致的。希望本研究能够为深入探索双核体细胞中两个细胞核的互作机制提供路径和借鉴。     

Control of fungal development. II. Kinetics of growth during dikaryosis in Schizophyllum commune

This paper describes a method for mating colonies of Schizophyllum commune so that the mating process in sets of individual colonies occurs synchronously. This technique has permitted us to define the kinetics of growth during dikaryosis, the transition from the homokaryotic to the dikaryotic stage of the life cycle. Homokaryons and established dikaryons have essentially the same exponential growth rates. We find that, during the transition from the homokaryon to the dikaryon, there is a period of distinctly slower growth, and it is during this period that the morphology typical of the dikaryon first becomes apparent. Growth kinetics for the transition from the homokaryon to the common-A heterokaryon are also established. This method will permit us to study sequential biochemical and physiological events occurring during these two developmental transitions.     

The Two Nuclei in the Dikaryon of the Homobasidiomycete Coprinus cinereus Change Position after Each Conjugate Division

We constructed a common-AB diploid strain of Coprinus cinereus and mated this to a compatible haploid strain to construct a diploid-haploid dikaryon. We examined the positions of the diploid and haploid nuclei in the apical and subapical cells of the dikaryon by fluorescence microscopy and microfluorometry. In 60% of apical cells the leading nucleus (the nucleus proximal to the hyphal apex) was diploid and the second nucleus (the nucleus distal to the apex) was haploid, whereas in the remaining 40% of apical cells the order of the two nuclei was reversed. It was also observed that in 97% of hyphae examined the order of the diploid and haploid nuclei was reversed between the apical cell and the subapical cell. Based on these observations, we conclude that the two nuclei alternate in taking the leading and second positions in the apical cell at almost every conjugate division in the dikaryon. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.     

Isolation and characterization of a sporeless mutant in Pleurotus eryngii

A sporeless mutant dikaryon, completely defective in sporulation, was isolated from mycelial protoplasts of Pleurotus eryngii mutagenized by UV irradiation. Newly established dikaryons between one component monokaryon from the mutant, and 12 different wild type monokaryons from 3 other wild type dikaryons, all exhibited the sporeless phenotype, whereas those between the other monokaryon and the same wild type monokaryons all produced normal fruiting bodies. These results indicated that the sporeless mutation was induced in one of two nuclei of the mutant and was dominant. In the wild type basidia, the pattern of nuclear behavior during sporulation corresponded to the pattern C nuclear behavior as defined by Duncan and Galbraith. Cytological observation revealed that in the sporeless mutant meiosis was blocked at the meta-anaphase I in most basidia and hence basidiospores and sterigmata were not produced. Although fruiting bodies of the sporeless mutant showed a somewhat leaning growth, their gross morphology and its fruiting body productivity were comparable to that of the original wild type strain. Based on these results, it was considered that the sporeless mutant could serve as a potential material in breeding of sporeless P. eryngii commercial strains.     

Diverse programs of ascus development in pseudohomothallic species of Neurospora,Gelasinospora, and Podospora

Meiosis and ascospore development in the four-spored pseudohomothallic ascomycetes Neurospora tetrasperma, Gelasinospora tetrasperma, Podospora anserina, and P. fefraspora have been reexamined, highlighting differences that reflect independent origins of the four-spored condition in the different genera. In these species, as in the heterothallic eight-spored N. crassa, fusion of haploid nuclei is followed directly by meiosis and a postmeiotic mitosis. These divisions take place within a single unpartitioned giant cell, the ascus, which attains a length of >0.1 mm before nuclei are enclosed by ascospore walls. Two basically different modes underlie the delivery of opposite mating type nuclei into each of the four ascospores in the different genera. In N. tefrasperma on the one hand, the mating type locus is closely centromere-linked. Mating types therefore segregate at the first meiotic division. The second division spindles of N. tefrasperma overlap and are usually parallel to one another, in contrast to the their tandem arrangement in N. crassa. As a result, nonsister nuclei of opposite mating type are placed close together in each half-ascus and a pair is enclosed in each ascospore. In the Podospora and Gelasinospora species on the other hand, the second-division spindles are in tandem, with sister nuclei of opposite mating type associated as a pair in each half-ascus. It is established for P. anserina and inferred for P. fetraspora and G. fefrasperma that a single reciprocal crossing over almost always occurs in the mating type-centromere interval, ensuring that mating types segregate at the second meiotic division and that nuclei of opposite mating type are enclosed in each ascospore. Other differences are also seen that are less fundamental. Neurospora tetrasperma differs from the other species in the orientation of chromosomes and spindle pole body plaques at interphase (I.) Third-division spindles are oriented parallel to the ascus wall in Gelasinospora but across the ascus in Podospora and Neurospora. The two Podospora species differ from one another in nuclear behavior following mitosis in the young ascospores. In P. tefraspora, two of the four nuclei migrate into the tail cell, which degenerates, leaving one functional nucleus of each mating type. In P. anserina, by contrast, only one of the four nuclei moves into the tail cell, leaving the germinating ascospore with two functional nuclei of one mating type and one of the other. The pseudohomothallic condition with its heterokaryotic vegetative phase has significant consequences for both the individual organism and the breeding system. Genetic controls of development and recombination are complex. Inbreeding is not obligatory. © 1994 WiIey-Liss, Inc.     

Minispindles and cytoplasmic domains in microsporogenesis of orchids

Summary Changes in the microtubular cytoskeleton during meiosis and cytokinesis in hybrid moth orchids were studied by indirect immunofluorescence. Lagging chromosomes not incorporated into telophase nuclei after first meiotic division behave as small extra nuclei. Events in the microtubular cycle associated with these micronuclei are similar to and synchronous with those of the principal nuclei. During second meiotic division the micronuclei trigger formation of minispindles which are variously oriented with respect to the two principal spindles. After meiosis, radial systems of microtubules measure cytoplasmic domains around each nucleus in the coenocyte. Cleavage planes are established in regions where opposing radial arrays interact and the cytoplasm cleaved around micronuclei is proportionately smaller than that around the four principal nuclei. These observations clearly demonstrate that nuclei in plant cells are of fundamental importance in microtubule organization and provide strong evidence in support of our recently advanced hypothesis that division planes in simultaneous cytokinesis following meiosis are determined by establishment of cytoplasmic domains via radial systems of nuclear-based microtubules rather than by division sites established before nuclear division.Abbreviations DMSO dimethylsulfoxide - FITC fluorescein isothiocyanate - MTOC microtubule organizing center - PBS phosphate buffered saline - PPB preprophase band of microtubules     

Genetical variability of glutamate dehydrogenase activity in monokaryotic and dikaryotic mycelia of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum

Summary Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is the key enzyme of ammonium assimilation by ectomycorrhizal fungi. Its activity might be use as a criterion to select mycelia capable of enhancing the nitrogen nutrition of the host plants. Genetical variability of the GDH activity of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum Romagnési was studied in an attempt to determine if this enzyme activity could be improved by way of chromosomal genetics. The activity of 11 wild strains was compared with that of 70 mycelia obtained as the progeny of a laboratory fruiting strain HC1. These 70 mycelia were 20 monokaryons (5 for each mating type) and the 50 synthesized dikaryons obtained from all the compatible fusions between these monokaryons. The specific GDH activity of the 11 wild strains ranged from 1.5 to 11.6 nkat mg^-1 fungal protein. The activity of the monokaryotic progeny of the HC1 strain was, on average, three times lower (2.85 n kat mg^-1 fungal protein) than that of the parental dikaryon. In contrast, synthesized dikaryons originating from these monokaryons were very variable and had an average values similar to that of the parental dikaryon (9.1 nkat mg^-1 fungal protein). Eighteen of these synthesized dikaryons contained an activity higher than that of the original HC1 strain. The variation of the GDH activity of these dikaryons involves additive and non additive (interactive) components, each of them accounting for ca. 50% of the genetical variation. The non additive variation could not be explained by a model involving only dominance. These results are discussed with reference to the genetical improvement of mycorrhizal fungi in order to enhance nitrogen nutrition of the host plants.Abbreviations GDH glutamate dehydrogenase - IAA indole-3-acetic acid - NADP nicotimamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate     

Ultrastructure of meiosis in the hollyhock rust fungus,Puccinia malvacearum

Summary Changes in the spindle pole body (SPB) and meiotic nuclei from interphase I through interphase II in the hollyhock rustPuccinia malvacearum are analyzed ultrastructurally by three-dimensional reconstructions from serial sections. Interphase I nuclei undergo a coordinated migration and rotation during which the SPBs approach the convex face of the lateral promycelial wall. During the transition from interphase I to prometaphase II, the collateral disc (co-disc) apparently enlarges and fuses with the main disc of the SPB. The resulting single SPB nucleates two confluent half spindles and about 225 astral microtubules (MTs). Co-discs and middle pieces (MPs) are absent during division II. SPBs separate and form metaphase II intranuclear spindles oriented in a predictable manner. Tubular cisternae are present within the spindle at early metaphase II. The architecture of the spindle at division II is essentially identical to that reported for division I except that the spindle is about half as long. Anaphase-telophase II nuclear envelope constriction, separation of the sibling nuclei, and externalization of the SPBs is identical to that reported for division I. Genesis of the duplicated interphase II SPB apparently occurs rapidly and involves formation of the MP followed by the three-layered SPB discs. General aspects of the division II spindle are discussed. A model for the meiotic SPB cycle in a rust is presented and its phylogenetic and functional significance in relation to other basidiomycetes and ascomycetes is discussed.