BIOLOGICAL SPECIES OF ARMILLARIA IN JAPAN

Pairing tests with isolates of Armillaria in culture were used to iden tify species of Armillaria and their distribution throughout Japan. Th e existence of 10 intersterile groups of Armillaria was determined by pairing haploid single spore isolates obtained from 20 basidiocarps fr om a wide geographic distribution in Japan. Two to four haploid tester isolates from each intersterile group were then paired to biological and morphological species with haploid tester isolates from Europe and North America identified in previous studies. Japanese haploid tester isolates were then paired with 190 haploid or diploid isolates and co mpatibility reactions were used to identify these to species. Of the 1 0 intersterile groups identified in Japan, 7 were authenticated as A. gallica, A. nabsnona, A. ostoyae, A. cepistipes, A. mellea, A. sinapin a, or A. tabescens. Three of the groups were not compatible with any o f the tester species. The distribution and host relationships of the J apanese biological species are also discussed.