Editing Basidiomycota (section)

===Meiosis===
''[[Coprinopsis cinerea]]'' is a basidiomycete mushroom. It is particularly suited to the study of [[meiosis]] because meiosis progresses synchronously in about 10 million cells within the mushroom cap, and the meiotic prophase stage is prolonged. Burns et al.<ref name="pmid20885784">{{cite journal | last1 = Burns | first1 = C. | last2 = Stajich | first2 = J. E. | last3 = Rechtsteiner | first3 = A. | last4 = Casselton | first4 = L. | last5 = Hanlon | first5 = S. E. | last6 = Wilke | first6 = S. K. | last7 = Savytskyy | first7 = O. P. | last8 = Gathman | first8 = A. C. | last9 = Lilly | first9 = W. W. | last10 = Lieb | first10 = J. D. | last11 = Zolan | first11 = M. E. | last12 = Pukkila | first12 = P. J. |title=Analysis of the Basidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea reveals conservation of the core meiotic expression program over half a billion years of evolution |journal=[[PLOS Genetics]] |volume=6 |issue=9 |pages=e1001135 |date=September 2010  |pmid=20885784 |pmc=2944786 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1001135 | doi-access = free }}</ref> studied the expression of genes involved in the 15-hour meiotic process, and found that the pattern of gene expression of ''C. cinerea'' was similar to two other fungal species, the yeasts ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]'' and ''[[Schizosaccharomyces pombe]]''. These similarities in the patterns of expression led to the conclusion that the core expression program of meiosis has been conserved in these fungi for over half a billion years of evolution since these species diverged.<ref name="pmid20885784" />

''[[Cryptococcus neoformans]]'' and ''[[Mycosarcoma maydis]]'' are examples of pathogenic basidiomycota. Such pathogens must be able to overcome the oxidative defenses of their respective hosts in order to produce a successful infection. The ability to undergo meiosis may provide a survival benefit for these fungi by promoting successful infection. A characteristic central feature of meiosis is recombination between homologous chromosomes. This process is associated with repair of DNA damage, particularly [[double-strand break]]s.  The ability of ''C. neoformans'' and ''M. maydis'' to undergo meiosis may contribute to their virulence by repairing the oxidative DNA damage caused by their host's release of [[reactive oxygen species]].<ref name="pmid15846346">{{cite journal | last1 = Lin | first1 = X. | last2 = Hull | first2 = C. M. |author-link2=Christina M. Hull | last3 = Heitman | first3 = J. | s2cid = 3195603 |title=Sexual reproduction between partners of the same mating type in Cryptococcus neoformans |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=434 |issue=7036 |pages=1017–21 |date=April 2005  |pmid=15846346 |doi=10.1038/nature03448 | bibcode = 2005Natur.434.1017L }}</ref><ref name="pmid18295550">{{cite journal | last1 = Michod | first1 = R. E. | last2 = Bernstein | first2 = H.  | last3 = Nedelcu | first3 = A. M. |title=Adaptive value of sex in microbial pathogens |journal=[[Infection, Genetics and Evolution]] |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=267–85 |date=May 2008  |pmid=18295550 |doi=10.1016/j.meegid.2008.01.002 | bibcode = 2008InfGE...8..267M }}</ref>