The TUNEL reaction positivity and TEM support that PCD occurs too in T. melanosporum as well as in other ascomycetes20. The autophagy subroutine of PCD in the ascomycete S. cerevisiae is associated with differentiation, development (e.g. reproduction and spore germination), and stress responses21. Several autophagy-related genes in addition to ATG8, whose expression has been investigated both by qPCR and microarray, occur and are expressed during T. melanosporum development and differentiation (Table S2, Figure S1 and Fig. 1). The involvement of autophagy in stress responses, for example, to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating processes, such as melanin synthesis might be of some interest in the case of T. melanosporum FB development.