Microsatellite loci are increasingly used as markers in the human, animal and plant genomes. Being highly mutable, microsatellite regions are able to differentiate between related taxa, even at the level of individual isolates in a single species. Studies on mushroom population structure, gene flow and dispersal between natural and cultivated species have become central in breeding programmes and the knowledge of new polymorphic, codominant markers will be a promising avenue to exploit wild genetic resources. The molecular phylogeny in 50 different commercial cultivated strains of Pleurotus eryngii using PCR amplification with URP primers and mitochondrial microsatellite primer was studed. The sizes of the polymorphic fragments obtained were in the range of 200 to 2000 bp. RAPD analysis techniques were able to detect genetic variation among the tested strains. With these isolated PCR amplification with URP primers we intend to analyse the population structure of the P. eryngii species complex and investigate the structure of the basidiomycete genome which deserves. A few single-locus microsatellite markers have been isolated in Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ferulae. This technique is useful in those species where microsatellite loci are rare in the mitochondria.

The mating-type genes control formation of the dikaryon from two haploid strains. These genes are now used in mating-type-assisted breeding programs for economically important mushrooms, especially the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, aiming at high-yield and high-quality standard mushroom production. However, it improves the breeding program when the breeder is able to quickly identify compatible strains in a given set of progeny. The two mating factors with their mating-type loci are used as markers for breeding and have been incorporated in a chromosome mapping investigation. The linkage maps include not only genetic markers such as the mating types that can be cored, but also molecular markers such as PCR-assisted approaches, e.g. RAPD analyses, or RFLP markers. Once mating-type genes within progeny may be more easily identified by the use of PCR-directed cloning of partial mating-type genes. We analyzed homeodomain (HD1 and HD2) and pheromone receptor(rcb1, 2 and 3) genes as molecular markers for breeding using mating type A and B of Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ferulae by direct PCR.

Transforming growth factor (TGF) family is well known to induce the chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). However, the precise signal transduction pathways and underlying factors are not well known. Thus the present study aims to evaluate the possible role of C2 domain in the chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. To this end, 145 C2 domains in the adenovirus were individually transfected to hMSC, and morphological changes were examined. Among 145 C2 domains, C2 domain of protein kinase C eta (PKCη) was selected as a possible chondrogenic differentiation factor for hMSC. To confirm this possibility, we treated TGFβ3, a well known chondrogenic differentiation factor of hMSC, and examined the increased-expression of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), collagen type II (COL II) as well as PKCη using PT-PCR, immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. To further evaluation of C2 domain of PKCη, we examined morphological changes, expressions of GAG and COL II after transfection of PKCη -C2 domain in hMSC. Overexpression of PKCη-C2 domain induced morphological change and increased GAG and COL II expressions. The present results demonstrate that PKCη involves in the TGF-β3-induced chondrogenic differentiation of hMSC, and C2 domain of PKCη has important role in this process.