Diversity and dynamics of the DNA- and cDNA-derived compost fungal communities throughout the commercial cultivation process for Agaricus bisporus

• Published in: Mycologia Vol. 109; no. 3; pp. 475 - 484
• Main Authors: McGee, C. F., Byrne, H., Irvine, A., Wilson, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 04-05-2017; Mycological Society of America
• Subjects: Agaricus - growth & development; Agaricus bisporus; Biota; cDNA; Cluster Analysis; compost fungal communities; Composting; DNA; DNA, Complementary - chemistry; DNA, Complementary - genetics; DNA, Fungal - chemistry; DNA, Fungal - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - chemistry; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - genetics; ECOLOGY; Fungi - classification; Fungi - genetics; Genetic Variation; microbial ecology; next-generation sequencing; Phylogeny; RNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Agaricus bisporus; RNA; next-generation sequencing; DNA; cDNA; compost fungal communities; microbial ecology
• ISSN: 0027-5514; 1557-2536
• DOI: 10.1080/00275514.2017.1349498

Commercial cultivation of the button mushroom Agaricus bisporus is performed through the inoculation of a semipasteurized composted material. Pasteurization of the compost material prior to inoculation results in a substrate with a fungal community that becomes dominated by A. bisporus. However, little is known about the composition and activity in the wider fungal community beyond the presence of A. bisporus in compost throughout the mushroom cropping process. In this study, the fungal cropping compost community was characterized by sequencing nuc rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 amplified from extractable DNA and RNA. The fungal community generated from DNA extracts identified a diverse community containing 211 unique species, although only 51 were identified from cDNA. Agaricus bisporus was found to dominate in the DNA-derived fungal community for the duration of the cropping process. However, analysis of cDNA extracts found A. bisporus to dominate only up to the first crop flush, after which activity decreased sharply and a much broader fungal community became active. This study has highlighted the diverse fungal community that is present in mushroom compost during cropping.