Characterization of Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus) genet size using co-dominant microsatellite markers

We characterized five co-dominant microsatellite markers and used them to study Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus) genet size and its relation to forest age and disturbance. Fruit-bodies were mapped in and collected from nine replicate study plots in old-growth, recently thinned, and unthinned 40-60-year-old second-growth stands dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Information from microsatellite loci, combined with random fragment length polymorphism analysis of the nuclear DNA internal transcribed spacer indicates that putative 'C. formosus' fruit-body collections may include a cryptic chanterelle species. Small genets were characterized for both genetic types with mean maximum widths of 3.2 +/- 3.6 m for C. formosus and 1.5 +/- 1.7 m for the alternative genetic group. Variance in genet size was high and some multilocus genotypes were observed on multiple plots separated by 0.3 km or more, indicating that genets were not fully resolved by the loci described here. There was no evidence that genet size differed across the three disturbance treatments.