Breeding of a long shelf-life strain for commercial cultivation by mono-mono crossing in Pleurotus eryngii

Pleurotus eryngii is one of the most widely cultivated important edible mushrooms. However, the shelf-life of the fruiting body is short and is an obstacle to its export. To solve this problem, a new strain with a longer shelf-life must be developed. The new hybrid strainC5 of P. eryngii was developed by mono-mono crossing between monokaryotic strains derived from KNR2594 and KNR2610. Although, the production yield of C5 was slightly lower than that of the strain KNR2594, the quality did not change and remained normal after a period of 59.0 d at 4 °C. This result was significantly different compared to that for the control strain KNR2312. Interestingly, the shelf-life of the hybrid strains showed a negative linear response to the bottom hardness of the stipe. Analysis of the genetic characteristics of the new hybrid strain C5 showed a different profile from that of the parental and control strains when random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers was used. The results obtained from this study show that C5 is a new hybrid strain that is characterized by improved storability after harvesting.