SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION AMONG MYCELIAL INDIVIDUALS OF LYCOPERDON-PYRIFORME OCCURRING ON DECAYING LOGS

Multiple basidiomes of Lycoperdon pyriforme are often produced on decaying logs. Data from vegetative incompatibility interactions and isozyme analysis were used to identify and determine the boundaries of mycelial individuals as reflected by the distribution of basidiomes. Tissue cultures from randomly selected basidiomes from eleven different logs found at one of three different sites in Kansas and Missouri revealed that, in most cases, isolates collected from a single log belonged to the same vegetative compatibility group and isozyme phenotype. Thus it appears that all basidiomes on a log are usually the products of a single individual growing throughout the log. Several possibilities exist which might explain these observations. This fungus in nature may be sporadic and of low abundance; a natural consequence of the scattered distribution of logs and fallen wood upon which it grows and fruits. Hence, it, may be a relatively rare event for any given log to become successfully occupied by one individual, let alone many. Another possibility is that vegetative incompatibility among unlike genotypes causes the consequent exclusion of new individuals from an already established site. Adjacent logs were occasionally colonized by the same genotypes suggesting that some individuals may be able to move from log to log. However, since most logs were occupied by genetically unique individuals, long-distance transport and/or sexual reproduction is probably an important factor in spatial distribution.