Infraspecific variation among geographically separated collections of Marasmius scorodonius

Comparative morphology, mating compatibility, and extracellular laccase ana lyses were used to provide information on infraspecific variation within ge ographically separated collections of Marasmius scorodonius. Collections/cu ltures from North America and Europe were used for these analyses. Morpholo gical analyses revealed one morphological species and mating compatibility crosses revealed almost complete intercompatibility (a single "biological s pecies"). Electrophoretic analysis of extracellular laccase revealed four s corable bands (i.e., two distinct bands for all North American collections and two distinct but separate bands for all European collections), suggesti ng the beginnings of genetic divergence based on geographical isolation. La ccase results were used to analyze possible correlation with morphological and mating compatibility data.