Genetic Analysis of Pigmentation in Cordyceps militaris

Pigmentation of ascospore-derived isolates from seven different natural specimens of Cordyceps militaris EFCC C-5888, EFCC C-7159, EFCC C-7833, EFCC C-7991, EFCC C-8021, EFCC C-8023 and EFCC C-8179 was observed on the plates of Sabouraud Dextrose agar plus Yeast Extract at 25℃ under continuous illumination (500 lux). Pigmentation of the wild-type isolates of C. militaris was diverse ranging from yellowish white to orange, while white color was believed as a mutant. Inheritance of pigmentation was found to be controlled by both parental isolates when F1 progeny were analyzed. Pigmentation and mating type were shown to be either independent or distantly linked each other due to the high percentage of non-parental phenotypes among F1 progeny. Crosses between white mutant isolates of C. militaris yielded progeny with wild type pigmentations, indicating that the albino mutations in the parents were unlinked to each other.