I just read that mushrooms have 36,000 different sexes, is that true?

Question

I just read in an article that the largest living organism was a fungus growing in Oregon. The article also stated that fungi, or mushrooms, have 36,000 different sexes. I was bewildered because I thought there were only 3 sexes, male, female and hemaphrodite, which actually I don't really know if that is a sex either.

Answer 1

From one mushroom site by Jennie Erwin:
Unlike plants and animals they don’t have sexes, rather, hyphae are described as being plus or minus.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jerwin/Mushrooms.htm

Or from David Johnson's article in 2000:
Moreover, while humans and most species are divided into only two sexes, mushrooms contain over 36,000 sexes.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/fungus1.html

Yet another more technical opinion from Tom Volk also in 2000:
In reality there are usually more than two alleles at any one locus. Each individual is compatible with any individual that is different at both loci. In Schizophyllum commune there are more than 300 alleles at the A locus and more than 90 known for the B locus. Thus there are more than 28,000 different combinations of A and B, or 28,000 different sexes! Each individual is compatible with 27,997 of the others in the worldwide population (99.98% outbreeding) compared with being compatible with only 1/4 of its siblings. Thus the enormous number of sexes in fungi is meant to encourage non-sibling mating and non-relative mating, which ensures genetic diversity in the population.
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/feb2000.html

Answer 2

Difficult to see how that could be true. I can understand 36,000 varities of mushrooms but that many different varieties of sex seems impossible. There can only logically be three types. I would think that the article must be wrong. Any variation of sex organs would still essentially fit within the three types.

Answer 3

I thought the Great Barier Reef was the largest living organism.

Answer 4

Wouldn't it be cool if mushrooms became the dominant intelligent life on earth and intelligent souls transfered over...no way sexual discrimination could exist, no no don't reprimand me again, I will go peacefully.

Answer 5

Maybe 36,000 different types of mushromms, but not genders - no way....

Answer 6

hermaphrodite is not a sex. and they would rather be called intersex. the only sexes is male and female. someone who is intersex they are considered both male and female.

Answer 7

Well, I don't know how that works, but this link says the same thing.

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/fungus1.html

Answer 8

Nope, that's wrong.