Spore formation and karyological characterization of basidiosporogenesis, meiosis, post-meiotic and nuclear migration mitosis in Coprinus comatus

• Published in: Mycoscience Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 122 - 127
• Main Authors: Chen, Fu-Chia, Shimomura, Norihiro, Yamaguchi, Takeshi, Aimi, Tadanori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.05.2020; The Mycological Society of Japan
• Subjects: Basidiospore; Basidium; Monokaryon; Monokaryon; Basidium; Basidiospore
• ISSN: 1340-3540; 1618-2545
• DOI: 10.1016/j.myc.2020.02.001

In Coprinus comatus, we sampled and observed different maturity stages of basidium to find the possible causes of binucleate basidiospores by microscopy using the HCI-Giemsa and DAPI staining methods. In basidium, following karyogamy, a single nucleolus was observed. We found evidence suggesting post-meiotic mitosis following nuclear migration in the spores. Post-meiotic mitosis occurred in the basidiospores, resulting in four binucleate basidiospores. This indicates that the basidiospore is a monokaryon, and that C. comatus shows the same pattern of basidiospore formation as Coprinopsis cinerea. This type of nuclear behavior was defined as pattern D, one of six distinct patterns (pattern A–F) of nuclear behavior during basidiosporogenesis have been described for basidiomycetes by Campos and Costa in 2010. •In C. comatus, post-meiotic mitosis occurred in the basidiospores.•In C. comatus, we believe it is likely that the basidiospores are monokaryons.•We found an easy method to observe different stages of basidium.