Effects of environmental factors on basidiospore germination of ammonia fungi Coprinopsis spp. collected from different geographical areas

Effects of pH, NH4-N, and temperature on basidiospore germination in Coprinopsis austrophlyctidospora from New Zealand, C. phlyctidospora from Japan, C. aff. rugosobispora from Canada, and C. echinospora from Canada were investigated. The Coprinopsis spp. required the presence of ammonium-nitrogen under weak alkaline to neutral conditions for germination, regardless of their different areas of occurrence. The former two species had a wider concentration of NH4Cl solution and pH range for germination in comparison to the latter two species. The optimum concentration of NH4Cl solution for the germination was 0.01 M in C. austrophlyctidospora and 0.1 M in the other three species. The pH optimum for germination in the former two species was 8.0 whereas that for germination in the latter two species was 8.0–8.5. The temperature range (5.0–40.0°C) for the former two species was wider than that (5–30°C) for the latter two species. Temperature optima for the germination in the former two species, C. aff. rugosobispora and C. echinospora, were 30, 20–25 and 15°C, respectively. The germination abilities of these Coprinopsis species in a wide range of temperatures are relevant to their natural temperature regime, showing their potential ability to propagate in tropical to subarctic regions.