The Distribution of Polysaccharides and Basophilic Substances During the Development of the Mushroom Coprinus

Abstract

As Buller (1909 ct scq.) has pointed out, some species of the genus Copriniis sow their spores once during a short interval of time and the fruiting body disappears shortly thereafter by auto-digestion. Characteristically the small buds will, all in one clay, go through a period of rapid expansion and elongation, shed their spores, and deliquesce. This rapidity is no doubt related to their small size, for larger species of hymenomycetes will go through many days of continued production and shedding of spores.The origin of the gills and their individual lamellae has been described in detail by Atkinson (1916). They are formed at an early stage by the orientation of hyphae and the final result ( which is illustrated in Figure 1 ) has a number of distinguishable component parts : the outside is covered with the hymenium which consists of a mixture of basidia and sterile paraphyses ; below this there is a subhymenial layer of small hyphae ; and finally the central portion of the gill lamella, the tramal layer, which is composed of large hyphae. Borriss (1934) has shown that the development of Coprinus occurs in two distinct stages, one in which cell division and the initial cell orientation takes place, and it is during this stage that the gill primordia are formed. The second stage consists of rapid cell elongation and in the latter phase of this period the spores bud from the basidia. It may be inferred, from the recent results of Madelin (1956), that this period of rapid expansion involves the transfer of material from the vegetative mycelia. Such a transfer is in keeping with the views of Buller as well as with the situation in Agaricns canipcstris ( Bonner, Kane and Levey, 1956).Using histochemical techniques, it has been possible in this study to follow the distribution of certain groups of substances in the fruiting body. It could be demonstrated that these substances accumulated at specific locations in the gills and that they were all transferred into the spores, so that by the advent of auto-digestion there were virtually no demonstrable substances left within the cells at the time of the final destruction. Not only does this indicate an efficiency, an economy in the

Life History and Developmental Processes in the BasidiomyceteCoprinus cinereus

“…However, inhibition studies with ammonium and analysis of white cap mutants indicated that glycogen degradation and sporulation are not closely coupled (188,345). Glycogen synthetase activity is low during spore production but increases during basidiospore maturation (188), obviously to produce the glycogen that is found in the mature spores (37,169,312).…”

Involvement of Glycogen in Morphogenesis of Coprinus cinereus

“…These glycogen accumulations remain at the base of the stipe of the developing fruit body (Matthews & Niederpruem, 1973). At later stages, glycogen becomes concentrated in distinct zones in the hymenium of the gills of expanding fruits and is translocated into the spores when sporulation occurs (Bonner et al, 1957). In the vegetative mycelium, glycogen is involved in the maturation of small perennating bodies called sclerotia (Waters, Moore & Butler, 1975 b).…”