by He Xiaoyi. / Year shown on spine: 1997. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-90). / List of Tables --- p.I / List of Illustrations --- p.II / List of Abbreviations --- p.III / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Fungal life cycles --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Heterothallism --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1.1 --- Bipolar incompatibility --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.1.2 --- Tetrapolar incompatibility --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Homothallism --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2.1 --- Primary homothallism --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2.2 --- Secondary homothallism --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2 --- Biology of homothallic Volvariella volvacea --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Genetic mechanisms generating variations in fungi --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Meiotic recombination --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Mitotic recombination --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Fungal mitochondrial genomes --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.3.1 --- Structure of fungal mitochondrial genome --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.3.2 --- Mitochondrial plasmids --- p.14 / Chapter 1.3.3.3 --- Mitochondrial inheritance --- p.14 / Chapter 1.3.3.4 --- Mitochondrial polymorphisms --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- Transposons --- p.16 / Chapter 1.4 --- Genetic studies of mushrooms by molecular and protoplast tools --- p.17 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Genetic markers --- p.17 / Chapter 1.4.1.1 --- Restriction fragement length polymorphisms (RFLPs) --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4.1.2 --- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4.1.2.1 --- Arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) --- p.20 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- Protoplasts --- p.23 / Chapter 1.4.2.1 --- Protoplast isolation --- p.23 / Chapter 1.4.2.2 --- Mycolytic enzymes --- p.24 / Chapter 1.4.2.3 --- Osmotic stabilizers --- p.26 / Chapter 1.4.2.4 --- Physiological condition of mycelium --- p.27 / Chapter 1.4.2.5 --- Protoplast regeneration --- p.28 / Chapter 1.4.2.6 --- Application of protoplasts --- p.28 / Chapter 1.5 --- Purpose and significance of this genetic study on V. volvacea --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1 --- Organism --- p.30 / Chapter 2.2 --- Cell cultivation and maintenance --- p.30 / Chapter 2.3 --- Solutions and chemicals --- p.30 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Solutions for DNA isolation --- p.30 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Solutions for agarose gel electrophoresis --- p.31 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- PCR primers and reagents --- p.31 / Chapter 2.4 --- DNA extraction and purification --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5 --- Agarose gel electrophoresis --- p.32 / Chapter 2.6 --- Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) --- p.33 / Chapter 2.7 --- Protoplast isolation and regeneration --- p.34 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- Preparation of protoplasts --- p.34 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- Regeneration of protoplasts --- p.34 / Chapter 2.8 --- Single spore isolation and germination --- p.35 / Chapter 2.9 --- Growth rate measurement --- p.36 / Chapter 2.9.1 --- Colony diameter measurement --- p.36 / Chapter 2.9.2 --- Biomass gain measurement --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Results --- p.38 / Chapter 3.1 --- Genomic DNA extraction --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2 --- Genetic analyses of V34 and its progenies --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Protoplast regenerants --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.1.1 --- Protoplast preparation --- p.38 / Chapter 3.2.1.2 --- Protoplast regeneration --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.1.3 --- Morphology of V34 protoplast regenerants --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.1.4 --- Growth rate measurement --- p.44 / Chapter 3.2.1.5 --- AP-PCR analysis of V34 protoplast regenerants --- p.44 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- V34 single spore isolates (SSIs) - F1 progenies --- p.48 / Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Single spore isolation and germination --- p.48 / Chapter 3.2.2.2 --- Morphology of F1 progenies --- p.48 / Chapter 3.2.2.3 --- Growth rate measurement --- p.48 / Chapter 3.2.2.4 --- AP-PCR analysis of 10 V34 single spore isolates --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.2.5 --- Fruiting ability of F1 progenies --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Single spore isolates from F1 progenies-F2 progenies --- p.54 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Colony morphology and growth rate --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Discussion --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1 --- Protoplast isolation and regeneration --- p.59 / Chapter 4.2 --- Phenotypic variations in Volvariella volvacea --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Colony morphology --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Growth rate --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Fruiting ability --- p.62 / Chapter 4.3 --- Genetic mechanisms for phenotypic variations in V. volvacea --- p.63 / Chapter 4.4 --- AP-PCR analyses --- p.65 / Chapter 4.5 --- Possible sources of variations --- p.66 / Chapter 4.5.1 --- Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) --- p.67 / Chapter 4.5.2 --- Spontaneous mutations --- p.67 / Conclusion --- p.69 / References --- p.70