Morphological and genetic characteristics of newly crossbred cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis latifolia)

Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis latifolia or S. crispa) is popular for food and medicine. Importance of new varieties of Sparassis was raised and studied widely by protection system of UPOV. In this study, 10 crossbred strains of Sparassis latifolia that specifically expressed distinctive features during basidiocarp formation and mycelium growth were applied to sawdust medium inoculated with S. latifolia mycelia. The 10 crossbred strains were divided into 3 groups on the basis of morphological (size of marginal wave and basidiocarp color) and genetic characteristics. Each phenotype of the parent and crossbred strains represented 3 marginal wave-sizes (large, medium, and small) and 3 color notations (NN155D, 163C, and 8D). Our result suggests that morphological characteristics of cauliflower mushroom can be affected by various environmental and genetic stimuli under artificial conditions such as crossbreed. Also this research showed genetic differences among breeding isolates and their morphological characteristics were correlated with the molecular data within parent and crossed strain.