EFFECT OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC PHYTOHORMONES ON GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER BASIDIOMYCETES

The paper is aimed to analyze the current data on the influence of exogenous growth stimulators on growth and development of higher Basidiomycetes. The historical aspects about discovery and role of phytohormones in fungi physiology are reviewed. The taxa of the basidiomycetes, which are capable of synthesizing phytohormones of all known types, including Aphyllophorales, Boletales, Agaricales, Sclerodermales, Hymenogastrales, Uredinales, Ustilaginales are described. The data from different sources describing the effects of natural and synthetic growth stimulators on the development of basidiomycetes are summarized and compared. It is noted that various concentrations of phytohormones (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins) from 0.01 to 400 mg/ml were used in the experiments to study their effects on mycelial growth. Possible causes of conflicting results obtained by different authors, such as application of diverse methods of mushroom cultivation, different media and methods of substrate sterilization, are described.