Nematophagous fungi: Hohenbuehelia, the perfect state of Nematoctonus

Abstract

A predatory Nematoctonus species (N90) isolated from farmyard soil in Ontario produced gill-forming basidiocarps of Hohenbuehelia on potato dextrose agar. In the presence of nematodes, discharged basidiospores germinated to produce short aerial stalks with terminal adhesive knobs. Germinated basidiospores adhered to the cuticle of nematodes to initiate monokaryotic infection cycles. Multiple basidiospore infections on a single host resulted in dikaryotization in the host body. Crossing single basidiospore cultures demonstrated bipolar sexuality for this species of Hohenbuehelia. The implications of these findings are discussed.