Morphological Characteristics of Monokaryotic and Dikaryotic Collections of Three Medicinal Coprinellus Species (Agaricomycetes)

This article presents data from morphological observations of mycelia of 40 monokaryotic and 11 dikaryotic collections of 3 medicinal Coprinellus species (C. disseminatus, C. micaceus, and C. xanthothrix). The growth rate, colony morphology, and micromorphological characteristics of mycelia and anamorphs on 1.5% malt-extract agar (MEA) and potato-dextrose agar (PDA) are described. Well-developed white, cottony-felt colonies, which later show creamy, yellowish to rusty brown pigmentation on mycelia and agar, were typical for the studied Coprinellus collections. Mycelial growth was denser on PDA than on MEA, whereas the average growth rate indicators (GRavr) were higher in dikaryotic isolates on MEA. Clamp connections were described only in dikaryotic isolates of C. disseminatus and C. micaceus; mycelia of C. xanthothrix had no clamps. Nonsporulating Ozonium-type anamorphic mycelia (with a rusty brown septate and parallel hyphal strands), a taxonomic feature characteristic of the clade Coprinellus, was present in the studied monokaryotic and dikaryotic collections, whereas Hormographiella-type sporulating anamorphs developed only in monokaryotic and dikaryotic isolates of C. xanthothrix. Yellowish-rusty-brownish regular hyphal loops were also observed in the collections of all 3 Coprinellus species. Allocyst-like hyphal swellings were observed in monokaryons of C. xanthothrix, and hyphocystidia were observed in dikaryons of C. micaceus. Hyphal loops and hyphal cystidia presumably were derived from Ozonium mycelia. Thick-walled, oval chlamydospores and chlamydospore-like swellings were described only in dikaryons of C. xanthothrix. Under these experimental conditions, primordia and fruiting bodies developed in dikaryons of C. xanthothrix on MEA and PDA, respectively, and in dikaryons of C. micaceus on MEA. The taxonomic significance of the mycelial and anamorphic characteristics of studied Coprinellus species was evaluated. They could be useful for identifying mycelial cultures during biotechnological cultivation.