Inbreeding in tetrapolar fungi

Are tetrapolar fungi, such as ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) inbred? We wanted to test this using the state of the art genomic measure of inbreeding: the runs of homozygosity (ROHs). This approach had only been used for animals (mostly mammals), and about 3 or 4 plant species. I had to adapt the methodology to make it fit the tiny fungi genomes. Based on a global genomic dataset of the 7 described lineages of B. edulis, we characterized the ROHs of every individuals from each lineage.

To know more about our strategy and what the ROHs revealed of the porcini’s demographic history, you can read the manuscript published in Molecular Ecology here and the code of this project here.