Background: For the crossbreeding of Auricularia auricula-judae, selecting the appropriated parents in hybridization is very important. However, the classification and diversity analysis of A. auricula-judae has been equivocal, due to the similarity of the fruiting body morphology and its susceptibility to environmental influences. For this purpose, themolecular diversity of 32 A. auricula-judae commercial cultivars in China was analyzed by using the nuclear ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer.

Results: The complete nuclear rDNA gene complex of A. auricula-judae isolate is 11,210 bp long, and contains the 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rRNA gene as well as the ITS and IGS regions. Based on the sequence data, four more effective primer combinations for the IGS region of A. auricula-judae were designed. Nucleotide sequence variation in the IGS among 32 A. auricula-judae commercial cultivars in China sorted into three strongly supported clades, which is correlated with geographical regions. Most strains originated from the same area were with a narrow genetic basis and could possibly be domesticated from the local wild-type strains.

Conclusion: The grouping information obtained in the present work provides significant information for further genetic improvement in A. auricula-judae, and suggested that the IGS region can be used as an excellent tool for identification of genetic variation.