Breeding a better mushroom
Breeding mushrooms presents significant challenges. Improvements in quality and productivity have largely been achieved through better growing techniques, with breeding playing only a minor role. So how do you 'cross pollinate' a mushroom, as Mendel did with his famous peas? Dr Jenny Ekman investigates.
Breeding mushrooms presents significant challenges. Improvements in quality and productivity have largely been achieved through better growing techniques, with breeding playing only a minor role.
Ever since Gregor Mendel started growing sweet peas in the monastery garden in 1857, we have come to understand that the traits of parents are combined in their offspring. This is the basis of breeding programs for everything from apples to zucchini. Creating a hybrid is relatively easy to manage when cross pollinating flowers; you simply add the pollen of one flower to the stigma (female part) of the other. But how do you ‘cross pollinate’ a mushroom? Dr Jenny Ekman investigates.