Phylogenetic Relationships and Cultural Characteristics among Inonotus obliquus Strains Collected in Korea

Fruiting bodies of Inonotus obliquus were collected from the trunk of Betula ermani at 1,100 m of Mt. Odae. Diameter range of the trees at breast height (DBH) was cm and size range of the sclerotia was . Relationships between the examined strains and Inonotus obliquus strain registered in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) were very near. And all of 10 strains except strains registered in NCBI showed high homologous characteristics by neighbour joining analysis of ITS sequence. Mycelial growth showed a big difference among strains. Mycelial growth of KFRI 744 was fastest and KFRI 739 was slowest. Difference of mycelial growth between KFRI 735 and 738 was slight, but the difference of mycelial growth between KFRI 744 and 739 was almost twice. Also weight reduction rate among strains showed some difference. KFRI 744 was highest and KFRI 741 was lowest. Vegetative incompatibilities were observed in all mycelial pairings except for KFRI 740-741 and KFRI 742-743 combinations.