Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

Methods Mol Biol. 2006:344:453-63. doi: 10.1385/1-59745-131-2:453.

Abstract

We have devised an easy and effective genetic transformation method for the preeminent edible mushroom, Agaricus bisporus. Our method exploits the T-DNA transfer mechanism in Agrobacterium tumefaciens and relies on the reproductive fruiting body as the recipient tissue. The use of fruiting body explants, particularly the gill, provided high-frequency transformation, overcoming the inefficacy of Agrobacterium-based methods targeting fungal spores or vegetative mycelium. The protocol entails incubation of A. tumefaciens for 3 h with acetosyringone, a signaling molecule that launches the gene transfer mechanism, co-cultivation of the induced bacterium and gill explants for 3 d, and selection for transformants based on an inherited resistance to the antibiotic hygromycin. Between 7 and 28 d on the selection medium, upwards of 95% of the gill explants generate hygromycin-resistant colonies. About 75% of the mushroom transformants show a single-copy of the hygromycin-resistant gene integrated at random sites in the genome.

MeSH terms

  • Agaricus / cytology
  • Agaricus / genetics*
  • Agaricus / physiology
  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens / cytology
  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens / genetics*
  • Blotting, Southern
  • Cell Culture Techniques
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Culture Media
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Tissue Culture Techniques
  • Transformation, Genetic*

Substances

  • Culture Media