Evaluation of genetic diversity among some commercial cultivars and Iranian wild strains of Agaricus bisporus by microsatellite markers
Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach is the most widely cultivated mushroom in Iran. Lack of diversity in mushroom crops, especially where disease is concerned, creates a crucial risk for the currently grown cultivars. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity among Iranian wild strains and some commercial cultivars by using microsatellite markers. Eighteen codominant microsatellite markers of A. bisporus (AbSSR) were used to distinguish 17 wild and commercial strains. All of the microsatellite markers used in this research gave clear banding patterns, and only one strain remained undistinguished. Among 106 generated alleles, the wild subgroup presented 53 alleles never found both in brown and white commercial cultivars, and 42 alleles never found in commercial brown strains. The dendrogram obtained by UPGMA clustering analysis separated A. bisporus strains into six groups. Based on our results, the high level of genetic diversity among Iranian wild strains, compared with the commercial strains, provides a new and promising source of diversity for A. bisporus breeding programs. To our knowledge this is the first relevant study of biodiversity in native Iranian populations of A. bisporus.