Pleurotus eryngii is one of the most commercially important mushrooms cultivated in Korea. However, the shelf-life of the fruiting body is short, limiting its export. A new hybrid strain H17 of P. eryngii was developed to extend the shelf-life by mono-mono crossing between monokaryotic strains derived from DanBi and KNR2774. Although the cultivation period of H17 was slightly longer than that of the reference cultivar Kenneutari No.2, the quality did not change and remained normal after a period of 65.0 days at 4°C. This result was significantly different from that of the reference cultivar Kenneutari No.2. Analysis of the genetic characteristics of the new hybrid strain H17 revealed a different profile from that of the parental and reference cultivars when random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers was used. These results demonstrate that H17 is a new cultivar with improved storability after harvesting.

ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
  Strain and growth conditions
  Single sporing and crosses
  Fruiting and cultivation methods
  Hardness and storage on fruiting body
  Antagonistic test and random amplification ofpolymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis
  Statistical analysis
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
  Strains produced from mono-mono crosses of DanBiand KNR2774
  Fruiting body production and storage of the newdikaryon strains
  Antagonistic test
  RAPD analysis
  Relation between shelf-life and hardness of fruitbody
 REFERENCES

• Min Keun Kim(Division of Environment-friendly Research, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services) Corresponding author
• Soon Ae Sim(Division of Environment-friendly Research, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services)
• Ji Hye Park(Division of Environment-friendly Research, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services)
• Jae San Ryu(Department of mushroom Science, Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries)
• Si Lim Choi(Division of Environment-friendly Research, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services)
• Kwang Pyo Hong(Division of Environment-friendly Research, Gyeongnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services)