Coprinellus curtus (Hitoyo-take) prevents diseases of vegetables caused by pathogenic fungi

A strain of Coprinellus curtus (designated GM-21), a basidiomycete that suppressed bottom-rot disease of Chinese cabbage, ‘pak-choi’ (Brassica campestris), caused by the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani Pak-choi 2 was isolated. The mechanism of plant disease suppression was discovered to be hyphal interference, a combative fungal interaction between strain GM-21 and the pathogen. The antifungal spectrum of strain GM-21 was shown to include R. solani and Fusarium sp., i.e. strain GM-21 showed disease-suppressive ability against bottom-rot disease of lettuce and Rhizoctonia-patch disease of mascarene grass caused by strains of R. solani. In addition, clear evidence of hyphal interference between strain GM-21 and Fusarium pathogens that cause crown (foot) and root-rot disease of tomato and Fusarium wilt of melon, respectively, was demonstrated. It was thus considered that GM-21 is effective for suppressing soil-borne pathogens, and that GM-21 presents new possibilities for biological control of vegetable diseases.