Volatilomes of Cyclocybe aegerita during different stages of monokaryotic and dikaryotic fruiting.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are characteristic for different fungal species. However, little is known about VOC changes during development and their biological role. Therefore, we established a laboratory cultivation system in modified crystallizing dishes for analyzing VOC during fruiting body development of the dikaryotic strain Cyclocybe aegerita AAE-3 as well as four monokaryotic offspring siblings exhibiting different fruiting phenotypes. From these, VOC were extracted directly from the headspace (HS) and analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For all tested strains, alcohols and ketones, including oct-1-en-3-ol, 2-methylbutan-1-ol and cyclopentanone, were the dominant substances in the HS of early developmental stages. In the dikaryon, the composition of the VOC altered with ongoing fruiting body development and, even more drastically, during sporulation. At the latter stage, sesquiterpenes, especially Δ6-protoilludene, α-cubebene and δ-cadinene, were the dominant substances. After sporulation, the amount of sesquiterpenes decreased, while additional VOC, mainly octan-3-one, appeared. In the HS of the monokaryons, less VOC were present of which all were detectable in the HS of the dikaryon C. aegerita AAE-3. The results of the present study show that the volatilome of C. aegerita changes considerably depending on the developmental stage of the fruiting body.