Laccaria bicolor

Introduction

In L. bicolor, single meiospores germinate to produce haploid, monokaryotic mycelia. Two complex mating-type factors control sexual compatibility in the monokaryons and regulate the maintenance of the dikaryotic state. Fusion of sexually compatible haploid monokaryotic mycelia results in the formation of the dikaryotic mycelium. The dikaryon is the predominant vegetative structure in L. bicolor and most other basidiomycetes. Under appropriate conditions, the dikaryon produces the fruit bodies within which meiosis occurs to produces spores. The monokaryotic and dikaryotic mycelia are capable of indefinite growth, allowing for the maintenance and duplication of the genotype of each ploidy state. The ectomycorrhizal symbiosis is generally induced by dikaryotic mycelia.

While the genome was originally estimated to be 30-40Mbp it turned out to be ~65Mbp. The genome is sequenced using a whole genome shotgun approach. The genomic sequencing work has been conducted by scientists at the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California. A network of laboratories including our team, the Tree-Microbe Interactions Unit (INRA-Nancy), the University of Alabama, the Microbial Ecology Department (Lund University) and additional teams (Tuebingen University, Göttingen University, Lyon University) are involved in EST sequencing and the machine and manual annotation of the genome.

In collaboration with:

• MycorWeb, Nancy, France
• DOE Joint Genome Institute
• University of Alabama
• Microbial Ecology Department (Lund University)