먹물버섯은 버섯 시원체로부터 버섯이 성숙되는 과정에서 자가소화가 일어나 먹물이라 불리는 검은 액체를 생성한다. 이 과정에서 멜라닌을 생성하는 laccase, 균류 세포벽 성분의 하나인 키틴을 분해하는 chitinase의 관련을 분석하고자 Northern hybridization 방법을 이용하여 유전자의 발현을 분석하였다. 시원체가 생성되고 버섯이 성숙되어 먹물을 생성하는 시기에 따라 멜라닌색소 생성 효소인 laccase와 킨틴분해효소인 chitinase의 발현이 증가하는 것이 확인되었다.
When fruit bodies of Coprinellus congregatus were matured, they were autolysed to form black ink. During the developmental changes, cell walls of basidia were degraded. Laccase formed melanin which was the typical black pigment of fungi, and chitinase hydrolyzed the chitin which was a component of fungal cell wall. When laccase and chitinase genes were used as the probe for the Northern analysis to confirm their expression during the fruit body development, both gene expressions were increased as the mushroom was getting matured.
