Mushroom line B12998-s39 and methods and uses therefor

Abstract

A culture comprising at least one set of the chromosomes of the Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39, the culture of the line B12998-s39 having been deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899, wherein said chromosomes comprise all of the alleles of the line B12998-s39 at the sequence-characterized marker loci listed in Table I. Methods are provided for introducing a desired trait into a culture of Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39, as well as methods and processes for producing hybrid mushroom cultures. A method of mushroom strain development is further provided.

Claims

1. A culture comprising at least one set of chromosomes of an Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39, the culture of the line B12998-s39 having been deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899, wherein said chromosomes comprise all of the alleles of the line B12998-s39 at the sequence-characterized marker loci listed in Table I.

2. The culture of claim 1, wherein said culture is an F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom culture produced by mating a culture of the line B12998-s39 with a different Agaricus bisporus culture.

3. A part of the culture of claim 1 selected from the group consisting of hyphae, mushrooms, spores, cells, nuclei, and protoplasts.

4. A part of the F1 hybrid mushroom culture of claim 2 selected from the group consisting of hyphae, spores, cells, nuclei, and protoplasts.

5. A product incorporating the culture of claim 1, the product selected from the group consisting of mycelium, spawn, inoculum, casing inoculum, fresh mushrooms, processed mushrooms, mushroom pieces, and colonized substrates including grain, compost, and friable particulate matter.

6. A product incorporating the F1 hybrid mushroom culture of Agaricus bisporus of claim 2, the product selected from the group consisting of mycelium, spawn, inoculum, casing inoculum, fresh mushrooms, processed mushrooms, mushroom pieces, colonized substrates, grain, compost, and friable particulate matter.

7. A mushroom produced by growing a crop of mushrooms from the culture of claim 1.

8. A mushroom produced by growing a crop of mushrooms from the F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom culture of claim 2.

9. An Essentially Derived Variety of the culture of claim 1, wherein the Essentially Derived Variety is a culture derived from a single initial culture of line B12998-s39, wherein a culture of the line has been deposited under NRRL Accession No. 50899, such that at least 75% of its genome or genotype is present in the genome or genotype of the initial culture of line B12998-s39.

10. An Essentially Derived Variety of the F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom culture of claim 2, wherein the Essentially Derived Variety is a culture derived from a single initial culture of the F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom such that at least 75% of its genome or genotype is present in the genome or genotype of the initial culture.

11. A process for introducing a desired trait into a culture of Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39 comprising the steps of: (1) mating the culture of Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39 to a second culture of Agaricus bisporus having the desired trait, to produce a hybrid; (2) obtaining an offspring that carries at least one gene that determines the desired trait from the hybrid; (3) mating said offspring of the hybrid with the culture of Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39 to produce a new hybrid; (4) repeating steps (2) and (3) at least once to produce a subsequent hybrid; (5) obtaining a homokaryotic line carrying at least one gene that determines the desired trait and comprising at least 75% of the alleles of line B12998-s39, at sequence-characterized marker loci described in Table I, from the subsequent hybrid of step (4).

12. A process of producing a hybrid mushroom culture, comprising: mating a first mushroom culture with a second mushroom culture, wherein at least one of the first and second mushroom cultures is an Agaricus bisporus culture having all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of line B12998-s39, wherein the culture of said line B12998-s39 was deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899.

13. A hybrid culture produced by the process of claim 12.

14. A part of the hybrid culture of claim 13, selected from the group consisting of hyphae, spores, cells, nuclei, and protoplasts.

15. A hybrid mushroom, or its pieces, produced by growing a crop of mushrooms from said hybrid culture of claim 13.

16. A product incorporating the hybrid culture of claim 13, the product selected from the group consisting of mycelium, spawn, inoculum, casing inoculum, fresh mushrooms, processed mushrooms, mushroom pieces, colonized substrates, grain, compost, and friable particulate matter.

17. An Agaricus bisporus culture having all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of line B12998-s39, wherein the culture of said line B12998-s39 was deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899.

18. The Agaricus bisporus culture of claim 17, further comprising a marker profile in accordance with the marker profile of line B12998-s39 shown in Table I.

19. A cell of the Agaricus bisporus culture of claim 17.

20. The cell of claim 19, further comprising a marker profile in accordance with the profile of line B12998-s39 shown in Table I.

21. A spore comprising the cell of claim 19.

22. The Agaricus bisporus culture of claim 9 further defined as having a genome comprising a single locus trait conversion.

23. The Agaricus bisporus culture of claim 22, wherein the locus confers a trait selected from the group consisting of mushroom size, mushroom shape, mushroom cap roundness, mushroom flesh thickness, mushroom color, mushroom surface texture, mushroom cap smoothness, tissue density, tissue firmness, delayed maturation, basidial spore number greater than two, sporelessness, increased dry matter content, increased shelf life, reduced bruising, increased yield, altered distribution of yield over time, decreased spawn to pick interval, resistance to infection by symptoms of or transmission of bacterial, viral or fungal disease or diseases, insect resistance, nematode resistance, ease of crop management, suitability of crop from mechanical harvesting, desired behavioral response to environmental conditions, to stressors, to nutrient substrate composition, to seasonal influences, and to farming practices.

24. A method of producing a mushroom culture comprising the steps of: (a) growing a progeny culture produced by mating the culture of claim 17 with a second Agaricus bisporus culture; (b) mating the progeny culture with itself or a different culture to produce a progeny culture of a subsequent generation; (c) growing a progeny culture of a subsequent generation and mating the progeny culture of a subsequent generation with itself or a different culture; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) for an additional 0-5 generations to produce a mushroom culture.

25. A method for developing a second culture in any generation in a mushroom strain development program comprising: applying any mushroom strain development technique that results in the development of a second culture, to a first mushroom culture, or parts thereof, wherein said first mushroom culture is selected from the group consisting of (1) a culture comprising at least one set of chromosomes of an Agaricus bisporus line B12998-s39, (2) an F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom culture produced by mating a culture of the line B12998-s39 with a different Agaricus bisporus culture, (3) an Essentially Derived Variety culture derived from a single initial culture of line B12998-s39, such that at least 75% of its genome or genotype is present in the genome or genotype of the initial culture of line B12998-s39, (4) an Essentially Derived Variety culture derived from a single initial culture of an F1 hydrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom, such that at least 75% of its genome or genotype is present in the genome or genotype of the initial culture of the F1 hybrid Agaricus bisporus mushroom, and (5) a culture having all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of line B12998-s39, wherein the culture of said line B12998-s39 was deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899, to provide the second culture.

26. The method for developing a mushroom culture in a mushroom strain development program of claim 25 wherein the mushroom strain development technique is selected from the group consisting of inbreeding, outbreeding, selfing, repeated mating back to an initial culture, introgressive trait conversions, essential derivation, pedigree-assisted breeding, marker assisted selection, mutagenesis, and transformation.

27. A method of mushroom strain development comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a molecular marker profile of Agaricus bisporus mushroom line B12998-s39, a culture of said line having been deposited under the NRRL Accession Number 50899; (b) obtaining an F1 hybrid culture for which the mushroom culture of claim 1 is a parent; (c) mating a culture obtained from the F1 hybrid culture with a different mushroom culture and; (d) selecting progeny that possess characteristics of said molecular marker profile of line B12998-s39.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(1) Initially, in order to provide clear and consistent understanding of the specification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms, the following definitions are provided.

(2) Allele: A heritable unit of the genome at a defined locus, ultimately identified by its DNA sequence (or by other means).

(3) Amphithallism: A reproductive syndrome in which heteromixis and intramixis are both active.

(4) Anastomosis: Fusion of two or more hyphae that achieves cytoplasmic continuity.

(5) Basidiomycete: A monophyletic group of fungi producing meiospores on basidia; a member of a corresponding subdivision of Fungi such as the Basidiomycetales or Basidiomycotina.

(6) Basidium: The meiosporangial cell, in which karyogamy and meiosis occur, and upon which the basidiospores are formed.

(7) Bioefficiency: For mushroom crops, the net fresh weight of the harvested crop divided by the dry weight of the compost substrate at the time of spawning, for any given sampled crop area or compost weight.

(8) Breeding: Development of strains, lines or varieties using methods that emphasize sexual mating.

(9) BW-type hybrid strain: A category of initial strains (and their derived lineage groups) obtained by hybridization of one white-capped parent line and one brown-capped parent line (i.e., the two lines carry alleles determining white or brown cap color, respectively, at the PPC1 locus), exemplified by SC-600, Broncoh, 4x29, J10259, J10261, J10263, and B12998; BW-type hybrid, BW strain, BW.

(10) Cap: Pileus; part of the mushroom, the gill-bearing structure.

(11) Cap Roundness: Strictly, a ratio of the maximum distance between the uppermost and lowermost parts of the cap, divided by the maximum distance across the cap, measured on a longitudinally bisected mushroom; typically averaged over many specimens; subjectively, a rounded property of the shape of the cap.

(12) Carrier substrate: A medium having both nutritional and physical properties suitable for achieving both growth and dispersal of a culture.

(13) Casing layer, casing: A layer of non-nutritive material such as peat or soil that is applied to the upper surface of a mass of colonized compost in order to permit development of the mushroom crop.

(14) Casing inoculum (CI): A formulation of inoculum material incorporating a mushroom culture, typically of a defined heterokaryotic strain, suitable for mixing into the casing layer.

(15) Cloning: Somatic propagation without selection.

(16) Combining ability: The capacity of an individual to transmit traits or superior performance to its offspring (known and available methods of assessment vary by trait).

(17) Compatibility: See heterokaryon compatibility.

(18) Culture: The tangible living organism; the organism propagated on various growth media and substrates; one instance of one physical strain, line, homokaryon or heterokaryon; the sum of all of the parts of the culture, including hyphae, mushrooms, spores, cells, protoplasts, nuclei, mitochondria, cytoplasm, DNA, RNA, and proteins, cell membranes and cell walls.

(19) Derivation: Development from a strain; see Essentially Derived Variety (EDV).

(20) Derived lineage group: An initial strain or variety and the set of EDVs derived from that single initial strain or variety.

(21) Descent: Genealogical descent over a limited number (e.g., 10 or fewer) of generations.

(22) Diploid: Having two haploid chromosomal complements within a single nuclear envelope.

(23) Essential derivation: A process by which an Essentially Derived Variety is obtained from an initial variety or strain or from an EDV of an initial variety or strain; modification of an initial culture using methods including somatic selection, tissue culture selection, selfing including intramictic reproduction via single spores and multiple spores and mating of sibling offspring lines, back-mating to the initial variety, or mutagenesis and/or genetic transformation of the initial variety to produce a distinct culture in which the genotype of the resulting culture is predominantly that of the initial culture.

(24) Essentially Derived Variety (EDV): (Note: EDV definitions incorporate elements of (1) relatedness, (2) methods of derivation, (3) and empirical tests.) In general, a variety that is predominantly derived from an initial variety or from an EDV of an initial variety, and which conforms to essential characteristics of the initial variety except for distinguishing differences resulting from the act of derivation, is an EDV of the initial variety. In the art of mushroom strain development, a strain or culture predominantly or entirely derived from a single initial strain or culture, thus having most or all, but at least 75%, of its genome or genotype present in the genome or genotype of the initial strain or culture; a strain or culture obtained from an initial strain or culture by somatic selection, tissue culture selection, selfing including mating of sibling offspring lines and intramictic reproduction via single or multiple spores, back-mating to the initial strain or culture, or mutagenesis and/or genetic transformation of the initial strain or culture; a strain or culture reconstituted from neohaplonts derived from an initial strain or culture, whether or not the haploid lines have been passed into or out of other heterokaryons; a strain or culture with the same essential phenotype as that of an initial strain or culture.

(25) Flesh Thickness: A ratio of the maximum distance between the top of the stem and the uppermost part of the cap, divided by the maximum distance across the cap, measured on a longitudinally bisected mushroom; typically averaged over many specimens; subjectively called meatiness.

(26) Flush: A period of mushroom production within a cropping cycle, separated by intervals of non-production; the term flush encompasses the terms break and wave and can be read as either of those terms.

(27) Fungus: An organism classified as a member of the Kingdom Fungi.

(28) Genotypic fingerprint: A description of the genotype at a defined set of marker loci; the known genotype.

(29) Gill: Lamella; part of the mushroom, the hymenophore- and basidium-bearing structure.

(30) Haploid: Having only a single complement of nuclear chromosomes; see homokaryon.

(31) Heteroallelic: Having two different alleles at a locus; analogous to heterozygous.

(32) Heteroallelism: Differences between homologous chromosomes in a heterokaryotic genotype; analogous to heterozygosity.

(33) Heterokaryon: As a term of art this refers to a sexual heterokaryon: a culture which has two complementary (i.e., necessarily heteroallelic at the MAT locus) types of haploid nuclei in a common cytoplasm, and is thus functionally and physiologically analogous to a diploid individual (but cytogenetically represented as N+N rather than 2N), and which is potentially reproductively competent, and which exhibits self/non-self incompatibility reactions with other heterokaryons; also called a strain or stock in the breeding context.

(34) Heterokaryon compatibility: The absence of antagonism observed during physical proximity or contact between two heterokaryons that are not genetically identical; see Heterokaryon Incompatibility.

(35) Heterokaryon incompatibility: The phenomenon of antagonism observed during physical proximity or contact between two heterokaryons that are not genetically identical; a multilocus self/non-self recognition system that operates in basidiomycete heterokaryons.

(36) Heterokaryotic: Having the character of a heterokaryon.

(37) Heteromixis: Life cycle involving mating between two different non-sibling haploid individuals or gametes; outbreeding.

(38) Homoallelic: Having not more than one allele at a locus. The equivalent term in a diploid organism is homozygous. Haploid lines are by definition entirely homoallelic at all non-duplicated loci.

(39) Homokaryon: A haploid culture with a single type (or somatic lineage) of haploid nucleus (cytogenetically represented as N), and which is ordinarily reproductively incompetent, and which does not exhibit typical self/non-self incompatibility reactions with heterokaryons, and which may function as a gamete in sexually complementary anastomoses; a line which, as with an inbred plant line, transmits a uniform genotype to offspring; a predominantly homoallelic line that mates well and fruits poorly is a putative homokaryon for strain development purposes; see discussion below.

(40) Homokaryotic: Having the character of a homokaryon; haploid.

(41) Hybrid: Of biparental origin, usually applied to heterokaryotic strains and cultures produced in controlled matings.

(42) Hybridizing: Physical association, for example on a petri dish containing a sterile agar-based nutrient medium, of two cultures, usually homokaryons, in an attempt to achieve anastomosis, plasmogamy, and formation of a sexual heterokaryon (=mating); succeeding in the foregoing.

(43) Hyphae: Threadlike elements of mycelium, composed of cell-like compartments.

(44) Inbreeding: Matings that include sibling-line matings, back-matings to parent lines or strains, and intramixis; reproduction involving parents that are genetically related.

(45) Incompatibility: See heterokaryon incompatibility.

(46) Inoculum: A culture in a form that permits transmission and propagation of the culture, for example onto new media; specialized commercial types of inoculum include spawn and Cl.

(47) Intramixis: A uniparental sexual life cycle involving formation of a complementary mated pair of postmeiotic nuclei within the basidium or individual spore.

(48) Introgressive trait conversion: mating offspring of a hybrid to a parent line or strain such that a desired trait from one strain is introduced into a predominating genetic background of the other parent line or strain.

(49) Lamella: see gill.

(50) Line: A culture used in matings to produce a hybrid strain; ordinarily a homokaryon which is thus homoallelic, otherwise a non-heterokaryotic (non-NSNPP) culture which is highly homoallelic; practically, a functionally homokaryotic and entirely or predominantly homoallelic culture; analogous in plant breeding to an inbred line which is predominantly or entirely homozygous.

(51) Lineage group: see derived lineage group. The set of EDVs derived from a single initial strain or variety.

(52) Locus: A defined contiguous part of the genome, homologous although often varying among different genotypes; plural: loci.

(53) Marker assisted selection: Using linked genetic markers including molecular markers to track trait-determining loci of interest among offspring and through pedigrees.

(54) MAT: The mating-type locus, which determines sexual compatibility and the heterokaryotic state.

(55) Mating: The sexual union of two cultures via anastomosis and plasmogamy; methods of obtaining matings between mushroom cultures are well known in the art.

(56) Mycelium: The vegetative body or thallus of the mushroom organism, comprised of threadlike hyphae.

(57) Mushroom: The reproductive structure of an agaric fungus; an agaric; a cultivated food product of the same name.

(58) Neohaplont: A haploid culture or line obtained by physically deheterokaryotizing (reducing to haploid components) a heterokaryon; a somatically obtained homokaryon.

(59) OFB: Old-Fashioned Brown type strain; a traditional cultivar derived lineage group originating from a single initial wild strain in Europe, and also including its EDVs, exemplified by strains SB-65, SB-295, RWK_2042; OFB strain, OFB-type strain.

(60) Offspring: Descendents, for example of a parent heterokaryon, within a single generation; most often used to describe cultures obtained from spores from a mushroom of a strain.

(61) Outbreeding: Mating among unrelated or distantly related individuals.

(62) OW-type strain: A category of cultivar strains traditionally called Off-white strains, comprising an initial strain and its derived lineage group, exemplified by strain Somycel 76; OW strain, OW.

(63) Parent: An immediate progenitor of an individual; a parent strain is a heterokaryon; a parent line is a homokaryon; a heterokaryon may be the parent of an F1 heterokaryon via an intermediate parent line.

(64) Pedigree-assisted breeding: The use of genealogical information to identify desirable combinations of lines in controlled mating programs.

(65) Phenotype: Observable characteristics of a strain or line as expressed and manifested in an environment.

(66) Plasmogamy: Establishment, via anastomosis, of cytoplasmic continuity leading to the formation of a sexual heterokaryon.

(67) Progenitor: Ancestor, including parent (the direct progenitor).

(68) Selfing: Mating among sibling lines; also intramixis.

(69) Somatic: Of the vegetative mycelium.

(70) Spawn: A mushroom culture, typically a pure culture of a heterokaryon, typically on a sterile substrate which is friable and dispersible particulate matter, in some instances cereal grain; commercial inoculum for compost; reference to spawn includes reference to the culture on a substrate.

(71) Spore: Part of the mushroom, the reproductive propagule.

(72) Stem: Stipe; part of the mushroom, the cap-supporting structure.

(73) Sterile Growth Media: Nutrient media, sterilized by autoclaving or other methods, that support the growth of the organism; examples include agar-based solid nutrient media such as Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), nutrient broth, and many other materials.

(74) Stipe: see stem.

(75) Strain: A heterokaryon with defined characteristics or a specific identity or ancestry; equivalent to a variety.

(76) SW-type strain: A category of cultivar strains traditionally called Smooth-white strains, comprising an initial strain and its derived lineage group, exemplified by strain Somycel 53; SW strain, SW.

(77) Tissue culture: A de-differentiated vegetative mycelium obtained from a differentiated tissue of the mushroom.

(78) Trait conversion: Selective introduction of the genetic determinants of one (a single-locus conversion) or more desirable traits into the genetic background of an initial strain while retaining most of the genetic background of the initial strain. See Antrogressive trait conversion and Transformation.

(79) Transformation: A process by which the genetic material carried by an individual cell is altered by the incorporation of foreign (exogenous) DNA into its genome; a method of obtaining a trait conversion including a single-locus conversion.

(80) Virus-breaking: Using multiple incompatible strains, i.e. strains exhibiting heterokaryon incompatibility, successively in a program of planned strain rotation within a mushroom production facility to reduce the transmission of virus from on-site virus reservoirs into newly planted crops.

(81) Yield: The net fresh weight of the harvest crop, normally expressed in pounds per square foot.

(82) Yield pattern: The distribution of yield within each flush and among all flushes; influences size, quality, picking costs, and relative disease pressure on the crop and product.

(83) With respect to the definition of homokaryon above, it is noted that homokaryons and homoallelic lines are subject to technical and practical considerations: A homokaryon in classical terms is a haploid culture which is axiomatically entirely homoallelic. In practical terms, for fungal strain development purposes, the definition is broadened somewhat to accommodate both technical limitations and cytological variation, by treating all predominately homoallelic lines as homokaryons. Technical limitations include the fact that genomes contain duplicated DNA regions including repeated elements such as transposons, and may also include large duplications of chromosomal segments due to historical translocation events. Two different A. bisporus genomes sequenced by the Joint Genome Institute, a U.S. federal facility, differ in estimated length by 4.4%, and in gene numbers by 8.2%, suggesting a considerable amount of DNA duplication or rearrangement within different strains of the species. No presently available genome of A. bisporus can completely account for the physical arrangement of such elements and translocations, and so the assembled genome sequences of haploid lines may have regions that appear to be heteroallelic using currently available genotyping methods. Cytologically, a homokaryotic offspring will ordinarily be a spore that receives one haploid, postmeiotic nucleus. However, a spore receiving two third-division nuclei from the basidium will be genetically equivalent to a homokaryon. A spore receiving two second-division sister postmeiotic nuclei will be a functional homokaryon even though some distal islands of heteroallelism may be present due to crossovers during meiosis. Also, a meiosis that has an asymmetrical separation of homologues can produce an aneuploid, functionally homokaryotic spore in which an extra chromosome, producing a region of heteroallelism, is present. All of these cultures are highly homoallelic and all function as homokaryons. Technological limitations make it impractical to distinguish among such cultures, and also to rule out DNA segment duplication as an explanation for limited, isolated regions of the genome sequence assembly that appear to be heteroallelic. Therefore, in the present application, the use of the term homoallelic to characterize a line includes entirely or predominately homoallelic lines, and cultures described in this way are functional homokaryons, are putatively homokaryotic, and are all defined as homokaryons in the present application.

(84) Now, with respect to the invention and as noted hereinabove, the present invention relates to a homokaryotic line, and more specifically, a line of Agaricus bisporus designated B12998-s39, and methods for using the line designated B12998-s39. A culture of the line designated B12998-s39 has been deposited with the Agricultural Research Services Culture Collection (NRRL) 1815 North University Street, Peoria, Ill. 61604 USA (NRRL) as Accession No. 50899.

(85) Agaricus bisporus mushroom line B12998-s39 is a haploid filamentous basidiomycete culture which in vegetative growth produces a branching network of hyphae, i.e., a mycelium. Growth can produce an essentially two-dimensional colony on the surface of solidified (e.g., agar-based) media, or a three-dimensional mass in liquid or solid-matrix material. The morphological and physiological characteristics of line B12998-s39 in culture on Difco brand PDA medium are provided as follows. Line B12998-s39 growing on PDA medium in a 10 cm diameter Petri dish produced a light brown-yellow or tan colored colony with an even, roughly circular overall outline that increased in diameter by (0.1-0.2) 0.3-0.4 (0.5-0.6) mm/day during dynamic equilibrium-state growth between days 24 and 38 after inoculation using a 6.5-7 mm diameter circular plug of the culture on PDA as inoculum. Hyphae of the culture on Difco PDA were irregular and about cylindrical, measured (23) 34-46 (90)(1.8) 3-4 (5) urn, and exhibited a wide range of branching angles from about 10 to 90 degrees off the main hyphal axis.

(86) Line B12998-s39 can be used to produce hybrid cultures with desirable productivity, timing, appearance, and other agronomic traits as is required of successful commercial mushroom strains, while also providing more diversified, non-cultivar germplasm. Line B12998-s39 has been found to have an advantageous genotype for mating to produce commercially useful hybrid strains. Two useful stocks have contributed to the genome of hybrid strain B12998 and its offspring line B12998-s39. One is the traditional white European stock designated Somycel 76, widely cultivated during the twentieth century. The other is a wild brown American stock designated BP-1. In combination, the diverse genetic contributions of these two stocks, as present among homokaryotic lines obtained from the hybrid B12998, were observed to have combined in line B12998-s39 to produce a superior line with excellent combining ability in matings.

(87) The B12998-s39 line is haploid and thus is entirely homoallelic (although some limited regions of duplicated DNA may be present in its genome). The line has shown uniformity and stability in culture. The line has been increased by transfer of pure inocula into larger volumes of sterile culture media. No variant traits have been observed or are expected in line B12998-s39.

(88) Mushroom cultures are most reliably identified by their genotypes, in part because successful cultivar strains are required by the market to conform to a narrow phenotypic range. The genotype can be characterized through a genetic marker profile, which can identify isolates (subcultures) of the same line, strain or variety, or a related variety including a variety derived entirely from an initial variety (i.e., an Essentially Derived Variety), or can be used to determine or validate a pedigree.

(89) Means of obtaining genetic marker profiles using diverse techniques including whole genome sequencing are well known in the art. The whole genomic sequence of line B12998-s39 has been obtained by Sylvan America, Inc., and consequently, about 93%-95% (about 28 Mb) of the entire genotype of line B12998-s39 is known to the Assignee with certainty. Several hundred thousand markers distinguishing line B12998-s39 from other lines are known to Sylvan, based on a software analysis of the whole genome sequences of several strains and lines. A brief excerpt of the genotype of line B12998-s39 at numerous sequence-characterized marker loci distributed at intervals along each of the 13 chromosomes is provided in Table I.

(90) TABLE-US-00001 TABLEI Marker: Culture: ScaffoldID RefPos OWNC(H97) B12998-s39 B14528 scaffold_1 101993 GAAGGACAT GAAG ACAT GAAG ACAT scaffold_1 349966 AAGGTGGTT AAGG GGTT AAGG GGTT scaffold_1 660050 TCACCATGA TCAC ATGA TCAC ATGA scaffold_1 850014 ATTCCTTTT ATTC TTTT ATTC TTTT scaffold_1 1099971 GTCGACACC GTCGACACC GTCG CACC scaffold_1 1353901 AGATAACTA AGAT ACTA AGAT ACTA scaffold_1 1599956 AATAAGCGC AATAAGCGC AATA GCGC scaffold_1 1850032 CGAGTAATT CGAG AATT CGAG AATT scaffold_1 2122001 GGCCAGCGC GGCC GCGC GGCC GCGC scaffold_1 2401751 CGGATAAAT CGGA AAAT CGGA AAAT scaffold_1 2635654 TGCGGTTTG TGCG TTTG TGCG TTTG scaffold_1 2859284 AGGATGACT AGGA GACT AGGA GACT scaffold_1 3167115 GTCACGATT GTCA GATT GTCA GATT scaffold_1 3256057 TATCTGTTT TCAA GTTT TCAA GTTT scaffold_2 128192 TGGACCAGG TGGA AGG TGGA AGG scaffold_2 350156 TCGGGGGTG TCGG GGTG TCGG GGTG scaffold_2 600112 ATGTATACG ATGT TACG ATGT TACG scaffold_2 850338 TGGTGCTAA TGGT CTAA TGGT CTAA scaffold_2 1099413 CCTGACTCA CCTG CTCA CCTG CTCA scaffold_2 1189976 ACGGCCCAA ACGG CCAA ACGG CCAA scaffold_2 1293936 GTGTTTGTT GTGT TGTT GTGT TGTT scaffold_2 1378074 TCCACTTCA TTAA TTCA TCCA TTCA scaffold_2 1631290 CCACTGTGC CCAC GTGC CCAC GTGC scaffold_2 1643101 CATCTTCTT CATC TCTT CATC TCTT scaffold_2 1901773 ACTCGAATT ACTC AATT ACTC AATT scaffold_2 2150201 GTCGTAGGT GTCG AGGT GTCG AGGT scaffold_2 2389428 GGATTTCAA GGAT TCAA GGAT TCAA scaffold_2 2400520 ATGTTATTC ATGT ATTC ATGT ATTC scaffold_2 2403216 CGAATGTTT CGAA GTTT CGAA GTTT scaffold_2 2661539 CTGCAATAA CTGC ATAA CTGC ATAA scaffold_2 2914560 GGAGGAAAG GGAG AAAG GGAG AAAG scaffold_2 3049515 GAAAAGCTT GAAA GCTT GAAA GCTT scaffold_3 175472 CTTTATTTC CTTT TTTC CTTT TTTC scaffold_3 379203 ATAGCGGAA ATAG GGAA ATAG GGAA scaffold_3 614937 CAAAATCTG CAAA TCTC CAAA TCTG scaffold_3 800122 ACGAATAAT ACGA TAAT ACGA TAAT scaffold_3 1126997 TCAAAGGCC TCAA GGCG TCAA GGCC scaffold_3 1296141 ATCGGTCAT ATCG TCAT ATCG TCAT scaffold_3 1510819 CCACTGATT CCAC GATT CCAC GATT scaffold_3 1533258 ATCACAGTT ATCA AGTT ATCA AGTT scaffold_3 1774892 CCGTATGGG CCGT TGGG CCGT TGG scaffold_3 2008438 AGCATAGCC AGCA AGCC AGCA AGCC scaffold_3 2274053 AAACCAAGA AAAC AAGA AAAC AAGA scaffold_3 2384173 TGACCAAGC TGAC AAGC TGAC AAGC scaffold_4 126448 GCTGTTGGT GCTG TGGT GCTG TGGT scaffold_4 378550 AATTTAAGC AAT A GC AAT A GC scaffold_4 460303 TCCTATAAC TCCT TAAC TCCT TAAC scaffold_4 649317 GAGGCAATG GAGG AAT GAGG AAT scaffold_4 878923 GTTCTGATC GTTC GA C GTTCyGA C scaffold_4 1163185 CAAGCTACT CAA TACT CAA TACT scaffold_4 1367522 CTCTGATGT CTCT ATGT CTCT ATGT scaffold_4 1607597 AAAAATCAG AAAA TCAG AAAA TCAG scaffold_4 1889549 ACAACAGAA ACAACAGAA ACAACAGAA scaffold_4 2151161 GTGAAACAA GTGAAACAA GTGA ACAA scaffold_4 2361458 CGGAATTTT CGGAATTTT CGGA TTTT scaffold_5 87962 GATTAAGGG GATTAAGGG GATT AGGG scaffold_5 100211 TCCTTGAAT TCCTTGAAT TCCT GAAT scaffold_5 363169 AATGACAAG AATGACAAG AATG CAAG scaffold_5 597097 ATGGAAAAA ATGGAAAAA ATGG AAAA scaffold_5 851262 TAATTCTCT TAATTCTCT TAAT TCT scaffold_5 1099776 ACATTGACA ACATTGACA ACAT GACA scaffold_5 1352539 TTGTGATCC TTGTGATCC TTGT TCC scaffold_5 1599904 AACTTCCTT AACTTCCTT AACT CCTT scaffold_5 1851458 AAATAATCC AAATAATCC AAAT TCC scaffold_5 2100025 CCCTTAGTC CCCTTAGTC CCCT AGTC scaffold_5 2278878 GGTCGAAAA GGTCGAAAA GGTCGAAAA scaffold_6 106294 GCCATCTCG GCCATCTCG GCCA CTC scaffold_6 106524 TTGGAGAAC TTGGAGAAC TTGGAGAAC scaffold_6 350337 CATTTGGTT CATTTGGTT CATT GGTT scaffold_6 600047 GGAGCATTT GGAGCATTT GGAG ATTT scaffold_6 849990 AGTTCAGGA AGTTCAGGA AGTT AGGA scaffold_6 1098535 CAAAGATTG CAAAGATTG CAAA ATTG scaffold_6 1349453 TGTCGGTAG TGTCGGTAG TGTC TAG scaffold_6 1603456 GCGGTACAA GCGGTACAA GCGGTACAA scaffold_6 1764645 AACCGGATT AACCGGATT AACC GATT scaffold_6 2000087 GATTTTGCG GATTTTGCG GATT TGCG scaffold_6 2000920 ACCTTCCAG ACCTTCCAG ACCTTCCAG scaffold_6 2001839 CTTCAATCA CTTCAATCA CTTC ATCA scaffold_7 64927 GATTCGGAG GATTCGGAG GATTCGGAG scaffold_7 348994 CCGGAGTTT CCGG GTTT CCGG GTTT scaffold_7 600111 CAATTATTA CAAT ATTA CAAT ATTA scaffold_7 605781 CGTGCTATC CGTG TATC CGTG TATC scaffold_7 850516 TGACGCATA TGAC CATA TGAC CATA scaffold_7 873221 AATAGACCT AATA ACCT AATA ACCT scaffold_7 1100248 TCACGGAAG TCAC GAAG TCAC GAAG scaffold_7 1352529 TAAATATAT TAAATATAT TAAATATAT scaffold_7 1605059 GACAAGCAA GACA GCAA GACA GCAA scaffold_7 1944368 AACACGGAG AACA GGAG AACA GGAG scaffold_8 350000 ATTGACGCG ATTG CGCG ATTG CGCG scaffold_8 606991 GTGTATTCT GTGT TTCT GTGT TTCT scaffold_8 834519 ACACATAGA ACAC T GA ACAC T GA scaffold_8 1069362 AGCTATCCC AGCT TCCC AGCT TCCC scaffold_8 1354068 AGAATGCCT AGAA GCCT AGAA G T scaffold_8 1614036 TTATCAGTA TTAT AGTA TTAT AGTA scaffold_8 1869238 TGGAGGTTG TGGA GTTG TGGA GTTG scaffold_9 100447 CTATTTTCT CTAT TTCT CTAT TTCT scaffold_9 350569 AGAATATAC AGAAAATAC AGAA ATAC scaffold_9 611816 GTAATCTTT GTAA CTTT GTAA CTTT scaffold_9 721973 TGTATACGT TGTA ACGT TGTA ACGT scaffold_9 1012871 CTCATAAGA CTCA AAGA TCA AAGA scaffold_9 1250830 TTGTGGGGA TTGT GGGA TTGT GGGA scaffold_9 1499265 AGTCAGACA AGTC GACA AGTC GACA scaffold_9 1665606 TAAAATCTTT TAAA TCTTT TAAA TCTTT scaffold_9 1676755 CTGCCGTTT CTGC GTTT CTGC GTTT scaffold_10 104977 TTAGCTGGA TTAGCTGGA TAG TGGA scaffold_10 354531 AATCAATCA AATCAATCA AATC ATCA scaffold_10 633622 TGGGCAAAG TGGGCAAAG TGGG AAAG scaffold_10 863401 ATAAAATTT ATAAAATTT ATAAAATTT scaffold_10 1107782 CAACCCCAC CAACCCCAC CAAC CCAC scaffold_10 1338596 GTGCATCAT GTGCATCAT GTGC TCAT scaffold_10 1477125 ATGGTAAAT ATGGTAAAT ATGG AAA scaffold_11 173230 AGCGGGCGA AGCGGGCGA AGCG GCGA scaffold_11 378409 TGATTGGGG TGATTGGGG TGAT GGGG scaffold_11 627221 TCTTCGCCC TCTTCGCCC TCTT GCCC scaffold_11 931877 GACCTCACC GACCTCACC GACC CACC scaffold_11 1155849 GT-TGCCAC GT-TGCCAC GT-/ T CCAC scaffold_11 1250447 GAGGCTACA GAGGCTACA GAGG TACA scaffold_12 116044 ACGTCCTCT ACGT CTCT ACGT CTCT scaffold_12 272255 CCGAGTGCT CCGA TGCT CCGA TGCT scaffold_12 554582 ACTCCGGTC ACTC GGTC ACTC GGTC scaffold_12 770075 GAACGTTCT GAAC TTCT GAAC TTCT scaffold_12 909536 CTATGGAGG CTAT GAGG CTAT GAGG scaffold_13 119283 ACGTTACTG ACGTTACTG ACGTTACTG scaffold_13 363867 ATCCACTGC ATCCACTGC ATCCACTGC scaffold_13 656215 TTGACAAGA TTGACAAGA TTGACAAGA scaffold_13 866136 GTTGGTCAG GTTGGTCAG GTTGGTCAG scaffold_14 110330 TAGGACCAG TAGG CCAG TAGG CCAG scaffold_14 359739 AATTTTGAA AATT TGAA AATT TGAA scaffold_14 603118 GGCCCGCCT GGCC GCCT GGCC GCCT scaffold_14 783276 TTCGCACGT TTCGCACGT TTCGCACGT scaffold_14 808308 AAGGTATGG AAGGTATGG AAGGTATGG scaffold_15 101381 TAAACAGAT TAAACAGAT TAAACAGAT scaffold_15 367204 CCAAGATAG CCAAGATAG CCAAGATAG scaffold_16 106292 AAGCTGGAA AAGCTGGAA AAGCTGGAA scaffold_16 472546 CTTTTAATA CTTTTAATA CTTTTAATA scaffold_17 107673 GCTCTTTTA GCTC TTTA GCTC TTTA scaffold_17 370858 GACACAACG GACA AACG GACA AACG scaffold_18 126322 CCTCTTCCG CCTC TCCG CCTC TCCG scaffold_19 87323 CCCAAGCAA CCCA GCAA CCCA GCAA

(91) Table I presents a fingerprint excerpted from the SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) genotype of the entire genome sequences of line B12998-s39, of the reference genome of the OWNC line H97, and of one example of an F1 hybrid strain, B14528, obtained from the mating of lines B12998-s39 with a second homokaryotic line. It will be appreciated that the use of B12998-s39 in conjunction with the second homokaryotic line to provide strain B14528 is but one example of the F1 hybrid generation, it being noted that B12998-s39 has been used in at least 21 matings with other lines of Agaricus bisporus to produce F1 hybrids. The IUPAC nucleotide and ambiguity codes are used to represent the observed 9-base DNA marker sequences reported above, each of which represents a genotypic marker locus. The identity of each marker locus is specified by the scaffold and SNP position information derived from the H97 V2.0 reference genome sequence published by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (Morin et al. 2012). Data from the 19 largest genomic scaffolds of H97, i.e., those exceeding 100,000 nucleotides in length, are given. Distinctions between the homoallelic genotypes of line B12998-s39 and the OWNC line H97 are evident. It is also evident that the alleles of homoallelic line B12998-s39 are incorporated within the heteroallelic genotype of the hybrid heterokaryotic strain B14528.

(92) Genotype data for six additional marker loci is provided in TABLE II.

(93) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE II Alleles at 6 marker loci, for lines B12998-s39, OWNC, and SWNC Marker: Line ITS p1n150 MFPC-1-ELF AN AS FF B12998-s39 1 5 E4 N3 SC FF3 OWNC 1 1T E1 N1 SD FF1 SWNC 2 2 E2 N2 SC FF2

(94) OWNC and SWNC are two lines derived from two traditional white-capped cultivar stocks, as described in the concurrently filed patent application entitled Hybrid Mushroom Strain B14528 and Descendants Thereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Each is genotypically distinct, as shown in Table II.

(95) Line B12998-s39 can be identified through its molecular marker profile as shown in Tables I and II. A culture or product incorporating the genetic marker profile shown in Tables I and II is an embodiment of the invention. Another embodiment of this invention is an Agaricus bisporus line or its parts comprising the same alleles as the line B12998-s39 for at least 75% of the loci listed in Tables I and II. In other embodiments, this line or its parts comprises the same alleles as the line B12998-s39 for at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or essentially 100% of the loci listed in Tables I and II.

(96) A cell comprising the same alleles as a cell of line B12998-s39 for at least 75% of the loci listed in Tables I and II is also an embodiment of this invention. In other embodiments, cells comprising the same alleles as a cell of line B12998-s39 for at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or essentially 100% of the loci listed in Tables I and II, are provided. Also encompassed within the scope of the invention are cultures substantially benefiting from the use of line B12998-s39 in their development, such as hybrid offspring having line B12998-s39 as a parent, and line B12998-s39 having a trait introduced through introgressive matings of offspring back to line B12998-s39, or through transformation. Similarly, an embodiment of this invention is an Agaricus bisporus heterokaryon comprising at least one allele per locus that is the same allele as is present in the B12998-s39 line for at least 75% of the marker loci listed in Tables I and II. In other embodiments, heterokaryons comprising at least one allele per locus that is the same allele as is present in the B12998-s39 line for at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or essentially 100% of the marker loci listed in Tables I and II, are provided. More particularly, the heterokaryon may be a hybrid descendent of line B12998-s39.

(97) Mushroom-forming fungi exhibit an alternation of generations, from heterokaryotic (N+N, with two haploid nuclei, functionally like the 2N diploid state) to homokaryotic (1N) and further upon mating to become heterokaryotic again. In most eukaryotes, a parent is conventionally considered to be either diploid or heterokaryotic. The haploid generation is often, but not always, termed a gamete (e.g., pollen, sperm). In fungi, which are microorganisms, the haploid generation can live and grow indefinitely and independently, for example in laboratory cell culture; while these haploid homokaryons function as gametes in matings, they are equivalent to inbred lines (e.g., of plants) and are more easily referred to as parents (of hybrids). Herein, the term parent refers to the culture that is a, or the, direct progenitor of another culture within the alternating generations of the sexual lifecycle. The term line refers more narrowly to a haploid (N) homoallelic culture within the lifecycle. The N+N heterokaryon resulting from a mating, or comprising a breeding stock, or comprising a culture used to produce a crop of mushrooms, may be called a strain.

(98) If one parental line carries allele p at a particular locus, and the other parental line carries allele q, the F1 hybrid resulting from a mating of these two lines will carry both alleles, and the genotype can be represented as p/q (or pq, or p+q). Sequence-characterized markers are codominant and both alleles will be evident when an appropriate sequencing protocol is carried out on cellular DNA of the hybrid. The profile of line B12998-s39 can therefore be used to identify hybrids comprising line B12998-s39 as a parent line, since such hybrids will comprise two sets of alleles, one of which sets will be from, and match that of, line B12998-s39. The match can be demonstrated by subtraction of the second allele from the genotype, leaving the B12998-s39 allele evident at every locus. A refinement of this approach is possible with hybrids of Agaricus bisporus as a consequence of the heterokaryon (N+N) condition existing in hybrids. The two haploid nuclei can be physically isolated by various known techniques (e.g., protoplasting) into neohaplont subcultures, and each may then be characterized independently. One of the two neohaplont nuclear genotypes from the F1 hybrid will be that of line B12998-s39, demonstrating its use in the mating and its presence in the hybrid.

(99) A heterokaryotic selfed offspring of an F1 hybrid that itself has a p/q genotype will in the example have a genotype of p/p, q/q, or p/q. Two types of selfing lead to differing expectations about representation of alleles of line B12998-s39 and of the F1 hybrid in the next heterokaryotic generation. When two randomly obtained haploid offspring from the same F1 hybrid, derived from individual spores of different meiotic tetrads, are mated (i.e., in inter-tetrad selfing), representation of the line B12998-s39 marker profile in each recombined haploid parental line and in each sib-mated heterokaryon will be 50% on average, and slightly more than 75% (to about 85%) of heteroallelism present in the F1 hybrid will on average be retained in the sib-mated heterokaryon (the expectation over 75% is due to the mating requirement for heteroallelism at the mating type locus (MAT) on Chromosome 1). Distinctively, in addition, Agaricus bisporus regularly undergoes a second, characteristic, spontaneous intra-tetrad form of selfing called intramixis, producing heterokaryotic postmeiotic spores carrying two different recombined haploid nuclei having complementary, heteroallelic MAT alleles. An offspring developing from any one of these spores is a postmeiotic self-mated heterokaryon with ca. 100% retention of the heteroallelism present in the single F1 parent around all 13 pairs of centromeres. In theory this value decreases to an average of 66.7% retention of F1 heteroallelism for distal markers unlinked to their centromeres; however empirical observations suggest higher rates of retention even for such distal markers. Transmission of the line B12998-s39 marker profile in such selfed offspring may be incomplete by a small percentage (typically 0-10%) due to the effects of infrequent meiotic crossovers, while representing 50% on average of the resulting heterokaryotic genome. Both types of selfed offspring are considered to be Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs) of the initial F1 hybrid, and the latter type comprises most (often 95-100%) of the genotype of the F1, and may express a very similar phenotype to that of the F1 hybrid.

(100) Essentially Derived Varieties are most often derived directly from a single initial culture (e.g., strain); all such derivations produce EDVs. There is no universally accepted definition of an EDV; one example of a definition applicable to plant varieties is provided by the US Plant Variety Protection Act (revised edition, February 2006), incorporated herein by reference. The definition employed in this patent application is congruent with the term as it is widely understood. Essential derivation methods of obtaining cultures which are by definition consequently EDVs of a single initial culture of A. bisporus include somatic selection, tissue culture selection, single spore germination, multiple spore germination, selfing, repeated mating back to the initial culture, mutagenesis, and transformation, to provide some examples of methods that are well known in the art. Repeated mating back to the initial culture to introgress a single trait into the genetic background of an initial variety or strain is called introgressive trait conversion, and produces an EDV of the initial strain. DNA-mediated transformation of A. bisporus has been reported by Velcko, A. J. Jr., Kerrigan, R. W., MacDonald, L. A., Wach, M. P., Schlagnhaufer, C., and Romaine, C. P. 2004, Expression of novel genes in Agaricus bisporus using an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation technique. Mush. Sci. 16: 591-597, and references therein, herein incorporated by reference. Transformation may introduce a single new gene or allele into the genome of an initial variety.

(101) Therefore, in accordance with the above, one or more embodiments of this invention include a line B12998-s39 progeny mushroom culture, culture part, mushroom, or mushroom part that is a first-generation (F1) heterokaryotic hybrid mushroom culture comprising two sets of alleles, wherein one set of alleles is the same as line B12998-s39 at all of the marker loci listed in Table I. A mushroom cell or hyphal element wherein one set of the alleles is the same as line B12998-s39 at all of the marker loci listed in Table I is also an embodiment of the invention. This mushroom cell or hyphal element may be a part of a culture, a commercial inoculum or spawn product, a mushroom, or a part of a mushroom produced by mating line B12998-s39 with another mushroom culture. Further embodiments of this invention may include an essentially derived variety of the F1 hybrid, produced by inter-tetrad or intra-tetrad selfing of the F1 hybrid, or by modification of the F1 culture, and more specifically by somatic selection, tissue culture selection, single spore germination, multiple spore germination, selfing, repeated mating back to the initial culture, mutagenesis, and transformation.

(102) While many types of molecular markers are known, and can be used, all of these ultimately derive from the primary DNA sequence of the genome. The essential genotype of a line or strain is embodied in its genomic DNA sequence. The marker profile presented in Table I represents selected short segments of the genome sequence of line B12998-s39, usually at loci which are known to have differing sequences among other lines and strains, selected at widely spaced intervals spanning the entire nuclear genome. Commercial sequencing providers and commercial technologies such as Illumina MiSeq, among others, may be used to obtain whole-genome sequences from total cellular DNA preparations. Other techniques for obtaining genotype profiles may also be used as appropriate.

(103) Line B12998-s39 and its presence in cultures, culture parts, hybrids, mushrooms and mushroom parts can be identified through a molecular marker profile. A mushroom culture cell or hyphal element having the marker profile shown in Table I is an embodiment of the invention. Such a mushroom cell or hyphal element may be heterokaryotic.

(104) Line B12998-s39 represents a new base genetic line into which a new locus or trait may be introgressed. Direct transformation and inbreeding represent two useful methods that can be applied to accomplish such an introgression. Introgression producing a trait conversion comprises the step of mating line B12998-s39 to a second strain, and then mating progeny of that mating with line B12998-s39, repetitively, until a derived variant of line B12998-s39 incorporating an introduced gene determining a novel trait is obtained. Strains and lines produced by this method may have, for example, in the range of 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 99.9% of the DNA of line B12998-s39, and are therefore Essentially Derived Varieties of line B12998-s39, and are an embodiment of the invention.

(105) In order to demonstrate practice of the present invention, the line B12998-s39 was compared to other lines. B12998-s39 is a line selected from among haploid progeny of a first generation in a hybrid pedigree initiated by Sylvan America, Inc. in 2011. This line, within a suitable heterokaryotic genetic background, dominantly confers a brown cap color trait upon heterokaryotic offspring; cap color is determined primarily by dominant and recessive alleles at the PPC-1 locus on Chromosome 8. Line B12998-s39 has the Mat-5 mating type genotype and behavioral phenotype. It also contributes to and supports several commercially desirable traits in hybrid offspring, including crop timing and productivity, and mushroom size, appearance and general retail appeal. Because line B12998-s39 is a haploid line, it is incapable of producing a crop of mushrooms, and consequently no B12998-s39 mushroom is obtainable and no direct characterization of a crop or product phenotype is possible. Therefore most selection criteria applied to haploid lines including line B12998-s39 are determined empirically by evaluating a series of matings which share a common parent such as line B12998-s39. In effect, this combining ability, i.e., the ability to mate successfully and produce a high proportion of interesting and useful novel hybrids in strain development programs, is applied using qualitative, quantitative, objective and subjective criteria. Line B12998-s39 is among the top-ranked haploid lines discovered from among its cohort of sibling lines. No previous hybrid, prior to creation of hybrids using line B12998-s39, had the particular combination of desirable traits (including specific details of its rounder cap, thicker flesh, and accelerated cropping, plus a particular novel incompatibility phenotype) seen among hybrids incorporating line B12998-s39, as described in Sylvan America, Inc.'s corresponding patent application filed the same day and entitled Hybrid Mushroom Strain B14528 and Descendants Thereof, herein incorporated by reference. No previous line has ever been observed to produce the combinations of desirable traits observed among hybrids incorporating line B12998-s39.

(106) As previously discussed, the results in Table I provide, as an example embodiment, a specific hybrid mushroom culture strain, namely a strain designated B14528, which has been deposited with the NRRL as Accession No. 50900 and which is the subject of a concurrently filed patent application entitled Hybrid Mushroom Strain B14528 and Descendants Thereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, for which line B12998-s39 is a parent with another hybrid line. The results show that homokaryotic line B12998-s39 shows good combining ability.

(107) A single mushroom hybrid results from the mating of two haploid, homoallelic lines, each of which has a genotype that complements the genotype of the other. The hybrid progeny of the first generation is designated F1. F1 hybrids may be useful as new commercial varieties for mushroom production, or as starting material for the production of inbred offspring and/or EDVs, or as parents of the next generation of haploid lines for producing subsequent hybrid strains.

(108) Line B12998-s39 may be used to produce hybrid mushroom cultures. One such embodiment is the method of mating homokaryotic line B12998-s39 with another homokaryotic mushroom line, to produce a first generation F1 hybrid culture. The first generation culture, culture part, mushroom, and mushroom part produced by this method is an embodiment of the invention. The first generation F1 culture will comprise a complete set of the alleles of the homokaryotic line B12998-s39. The strain developer can use either strain development records or molecular methods to identify a particular F1 hybrid culture produced using line B12998-s39. Further, the strain developer may also produce F1 hybrids using lines which are transgenic or introgressive trait conversions (narrow modifications) of line B12998-s39. Another embodiment is the method of mating line B12998-s39, or a narrowly modified version of that line, with a different, heterokaryotic culture of Agaricus bisporus. This latter method is less efficient than mating using two homokaryotic lines, but can also result in the production of novel hybrid cultures.

(109) The development of a mushroom hybrid in a typical mushroom strain development program involves many or all of the following steps: (1) the obtaining of strains or stocks from various germplasm pools of the mushroom species for initial matings; (2) matings between pairs of pure cultures on sterile microbiological growth media such as potato dextrose agar (PDA); (3) the obtaining and use of promising hybrid strains from matings to produce subsequent generations of homokaryotic progeny lines, such as line B12998-s39, which are individually uniform; (4) the use of those lines in matings with other lines or strains to produce a subsequent hybrid generation; (5) repetition of steps (2-4) as needed; (6) obtaining of pre-commercial hybrid strains and the use of essential derivation techniques such as selfing to produce a final commercial strain. In one embodiment, the repetition of steps (2-4) may be performed up to 5 times. In various other embodiments, steps (2) to (4) may be repeated anywhere from 0 up to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 times. The homokaryotic lines are not reproductively competent (fertile). Fertility, the ability to produce a crop of mushrooms, is restored in complementary matings with other haploid, or less commonly, heterokaryotic strains. An important consequence of the homoallelism and homogeneity of the homokaryotic line is that the hybrid between a defined pair of homokaryotic lines may be recreated indefinitely as long as the homokaryotic lines are preserved and/or propagated. In a mating attempt between a homokaryotic line and a heterokaryon, in the absence of somatic recombination, either or both of only two possible defined novel heterokaryotic genotypes may be obtained, each of which will comprise line B12998-s39.

(110) Using line B12998-s39, specific application with repetition of the steps described above can produce any pedigree structure from any arrangement of stocks, lines and hybrids within that structure. A hybrid of the F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10 or any subsequent hybrid generation can be produced from line B12998-s39 using steps 1-6 described above.

(111) Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments in this application, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the teachings herein, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding the scope of, the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is understood that the descriptions herein are proffered only to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.