Unravelling the bruising discoloration of Agaricus bisporus, the button mushroom

Abstract

In this research the browning-discoloration caused by bruising of button mushrooms was analysed. Brown-discoloration of mushrooms can amongst others be caused by the picking and storage of mushrooms. Current day commercial hybrids can not be used for mechanical harvesting because mushrooms are sensitive for discoloration. Mechanical harvesting can be used to lower the production costs of mushrooms. To make this possible new hybrids should be available that have a higher tolerance for bruising-discoloration. To breed for new hybrids the cause of bruising-discoloration needs to be analysed. This was done by analysing the compounds (substrates) involved in brown-discoloration and to look at the genes involved. These genes code for the enzymes involved in the conversion of the substrates into the dark brown pigment melanin. The research was performed with commercial and wild strains and the offspring of a segregating population. </p