RAPD molecular differentiation of the cultivated strains of the jelly mushrooms, Auricularia auricula and A. polytricha

Auricularia mushrooms are the fourth most important cultivated mushrooms in the world, with a unique jelly taste and horizontal-septated basidium which are significantly different from other cultivated mushrooms. Differentiation of commercial cultivated strains is difficult to conduct, due to the lack of useful distinguishable characters. In this study, we used the RAPD technique to differentiate 11 commercial strains of A. auricula and five commercial strains of A. polytricha and one white-fruitbody mutant strain, and to characterize their genetic diversity. Results showed that all the strains tested could be differentiated by pooled RAPD data, and even one individual primer (S10) could also discriminate all tested strains. RAPD analysis could differentiate strains having identical rDNA RFLP and supports the classification of the white-fruitbody mutant to the species of A. polytricha. Genetic similarity analysis and grouping derived from RAPD markers reveals a high level of genetic diversity of commercial strains of Auricularia auricula and A. polytricha. Therefore, the RAPD technique can provide a powerful tool to discriminate the commercialAuricularia strains and offer the molecular information useful for breeding systems.