Fungal Cultures, University of Göteborg
The culture collection is registered at the World Data Center on Microorganisms and is a member of ECCO. The official acronym is FCUG and all culture numbers listed here should have this prefix when quoted. The vast majority of all cultures are basidiomycetes belonging to the famillies Corticiaceae and Polyporaceae.
Available information on results from polarity tests are given under each number ("Mating types"), and results from intraspecific crossing tests are given under each species ("Compatibility groups").
For those cultures where DNA sequence data are available this is indicated. Sequence data has mainly been obtained for the purpose of phylogenetic analyses and is hitherto restricted to nuclear r-DNA (ITS and parts of Large Subunit). In several specimens DNA was isolated directly from fruitbodies and no living cultures were obtained. Still, they are listed here but they can easily be detected because their "FCUG numbers" consist of 6 digits instead of 1-4 for the cultures.
Availability of cultures and sequence data. The culture collection is a research collection and the main reason for distributing this database is to bring continously udpdated information available to other scientists. Cultures isolated at our own laboratory are available upon agreement or charged for. DNA sequence data and more detailed results obtained from crossing tests, etc, are available as a consequence of direct scientific cooperation. Normally, DNA sequence data are part of individual, ongoing research projects and hitherto only to a restricted part submitted to GenBank. Please, contact Nils Hallenberg for further information.
Isolation and storage. Almost all cultures originate from spore prints and both single-spore (SS) and polyspore (PS) cultures are available according to the list. Individual SS-cultures can be identified by a number. The cultures are stored in glass tubes (25 ml) with screw caps, in darkness and at 4°C. Malt extract agar (1,25 %) is normally used and transfer is made every second year. Cryopreservation in a cryofreezer (-150°C) or in 100 l containers with liquid nitrogen. Here, mycelia are kept in 2 ml vials with screw caps. Glycerol (10%) is added as cryoprotectant. As the collection is gradually transferred into cryopreservation, the cultures of the active collection has become less frequently transferred.
The original specimens from which cultures were obtained (dried basidiome and spore-print) are kept separately in the herbarium.
Nomenclature, abbreviations. The nomenclature for Corticiaceae follows mainly Hjortstam (A check-list to genera and species of corticioid fungi. Windahlia 17:55-85, 1987), for Polyporaceae, Gilbertson & Ryvarden (N. American Polypores, vol. 1,2, European Polypores, vol. 1,2. - Fungiflora, Oslo).
The following abbreviations are in use:
- dec. wood = deciduous wood
- con. wood = coniferous wood
- After "herb." neoh. followed by a number means that the culture has been obtained after neohaploidisation of a secondary mycelium, from the culture mentioned.
- After "herb." from followed by a number means that the culture has been obtained after fructification in culture, belonging to the number given.
- H under "mating types" means homothallic or presumed homothallic.
Provinces in Sweden are abbreviated according to the following:
- SK = Skåne
- BL = Blekinge
- ÖL = Öland
- GO = Gotland
- SM = Småland
- HA = Halland
- BO = Bohuslän
- DS = Dalsland
- VG = Västergötland
- ÖG = Östergötland
- SÖ = Södermanland
- NÄ = Närke
- VR = Värmland
- VS = Västmanland
- UP = Uppland
- GÄ = Gästrikland
- DR = Dalarna
- HS = Hälsingland
- HR = Härjedalen
- ME = Medelpad
- ÅN = Ångermanland
- JÄ = Jämtland
- VB = Västerbotten
- NB = Norrbotten
- ÅS = Åsele Lappmark
- LY = Lycksele Lappmark
- PI = Pite Lappmark
- LU = Lule Lappmark
- TO = Torne Lappmark
For some FCUG cultures the number of available cultures is given as SS-0/PS-0. This means that no strains have survived, but there is some information available related to these cultures.