Table of Contents

1. Chapter 11: Exploiting fungi for food
2. Chapter 12: Development and morphogenesis
   1. Development and morphogenesis
   2. The formal terminology of developmental biology
   3. The observational and experimental basis of fungal developmental biology
   4. Ten ways to make a mushroom
   5. Competence and regional patterning
   6. The Coprinopsis fruit body: making hymenia
   7. Coprinopsis and Volvariella making gills (not forgetting how polypores make tubes)
   8. The Coprinopsis fruit body: making stems
   9. Co-ordination of cell inflation throughout the maturing fruit body
   10. Mushroom mechanics
   11. Metabolic regulation in relation to morphogenesis
   12. Developmental commitment
   13. Comparisons with other tissues and other organisms
   14. Genetic approaches to study development: through the classic to genomic systems analysis
   15. Senescence and death
   16. Basic principles of fungal developmental biology
   17. Relevance to commercially cultivated fungi
   18. Chapter 12 References and further reading
   19. Buy a PDF of Chapter 12
3. Chapter 13: Ecosystem mycology: saprotrophs, and mutualisms between plants and fungi

Chapter 12: Development and morphogenesis

In Chapter 9 we showed how fungal hyphae are capable of a wide range of cell differentiation, and in other Chapters (particularly Chapters 3 and 8) we have mentioned and illustrated some of the variety of multicellular fruiting structures (sexual and asexual) that fungi can produce. It must be evident, therefore that a fungal mycelium has a number of alternative developmental pathways open to it:

• continuation of hyphal growth
• production of asexual structures
• progress into the sexual cycle.

These are not strict alternatives, because a mycelium of even modest size may express all of these possibilities at the same time, so we can deduce that whatever control of genetic expression is involved must be local.

In this Chapter we explain the nature of development and morphogenesis in fungi and the formal terminology of developmental biology. The observational and experimental basis of fungal developmental biology lead to the conclusion that there are ten ways to make a mushroom, depending on different arrangements of competence and regional patterning. As specific examples we show how the Coprinopsis fruit body makes hymenia, and how Coprinopsis and Volvariella make gills (not forgetting how polypores make tubes). The Coprinopsis fruit body also provides examples of the construction of mushroom stems and the co-ordination of cell inflation throughout the maturing fruit body; which leads us to consider the mechanics of the mushroom fruit body.

The mechanics depend on the biochemistry, and so we have to examine metabolic regulation in relation to morphogenesis, as well as ideas about developmental commitment, and comparisons with other tissues and other organisms. We show how classic genetic approaches allowed some progress to be made in the study of fungal development and how this has been accelerated by genomics and other aspects of global analysis of macromolecules. Finally, we turn to the end-game in development: degeneration, senescence and death, and finish with our summary of the basic principles of fungal developmental biology.

For the price of a Coffee & Coffee Cake ($5) you can buy yourself a PDF file of this chapter from 21st Century Guidebook to Fungi Online. Our PDFs feature an elegantly simple text layout that is easily readable on your mobile or other device, and all hyperlinks are live so you can continue to enjoy the Internet experience. Chapter 12: Development and morphogenesis. The following appendix items are attached to this chapter: Don Emmeluth’s Latin and Greek Derivations; Ten ways to make a mushroom; and Genomic systems analysis of fungi starter references, making a 74-page PDF file priced at FIVE US$ ($5) Delivered to you by SendOwl Not convinced yet? Download a FREE sample HERE

Updated July, 2019