(Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa, 2006) Pisabarro de Lucas, Gerardo; Peñas Parrila, María Manuela; Pérez Garrido, María Gumersinda; Park, Sang-Kyu; Eizmendi Goicoechea, Arantza; Parada Albarracín, Julián Andrés; Palma Dovis, Leopoldo; Idareta Olagüe, Eneko; Jurado Cabanillas, Javier; Castellón Gadea, Jordi; Ramírez Nasto, Lucía; Producción Agraria; Nekazaritza Ekoizpena
The breeding of new varieties of industrially cultivated edible mushrooms must proceed in the framework
defined by the breeding objectives, the biological characteristics of the material and the legal and
cultural constraints imposed to the breeding technology to be used. This last aspect is of the greatest
importance in the case of a food that is considered in European countries as high quality and closer to
nature than other industrially produced foods. This fact prevents the use of genetic-engineering based
technologies for breeding, as the consumers would hardly accept genetically modified mushrooms.
Consequently, mushroom breeding should be based on time-consuming processes of classic breeding.
Molecular biology, however, can offer to the breeders useful tools for speeding up the selection
process, for evaluating the new bred lines and, last but not least, to identify and eventually protect
legally the outcome of their breeding programs.
