{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.dikaryon","code":"thing-q1923203","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1923203/","name":"dikaryon","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A dikaryon is a fungal cell or mycelium in which two genetically distinct haploid nuclei coexist without fusing in each typically dikaryotic compartment, following plasmogamy and preceding karyogamy.","purpose":"Enable an agent to recognize a fungal dikaryon, assess whether its paired nuclear organization persists, and select appropriate observation, propagation or developmental investigation.","scope":{"in":["Evidence for two separate haploid nuclear partners sharing a cytoplasm","Nuclear partner identity, compatibility and origin","Maintenance of nuclear pairing during hyphal growth and division","Spatial extent and persistence of dikaryotic organization","Formation, loss and developmental termination of the dikaryotic state"],"out":["Complete taxonomy, ecology and physiology of the fungal species","Diploid cells after nuclear fusion","Heterokaryotic organization without the specific paired nuclear arrangement","Complete fruiting body, ascus, basidium and spore models","Laboratory instruments, culture media and general cultivation protocols"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Resolve two separate nuclei within a shared cellular compartment; total DNA content alone cannot distinguish n+n organization from one diploid nucleus.","Establish distinct nuclear partners rather than treating any binucleate cell, including a transient postmitotic cell, as a dikaryon.","Distinguish organized nuclear pairing from a heterokaryon containing an unspecified number or distribution of nuclear types.","Assess the relevant tissue and developmental stage before extending a local dikaryon observation to an entire mycelium.","Treat clamp connections as supporting evidence where appropriate, not a universal requirement or sufficient standalone diagnosis."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"dikaryon-identity","name":"Dikaryon identity","description":"Establishes which physical fungal unit carries the paired nuclear organization.","layers":[{"id":"physical-referent","name":"Physical referent","description":"Locates the assessed dikaryon within a specimen or culture.","findings":[{"id":"assessment-boundary","name":"Assessment boundary","description":"Record whether the assertion concerns one compartment, a hyphal region or a sampled mycelium.","questions":[{"text":"What physically delimited cell, hyphal region or culture sample is being called a dikaryon?","id":"assessment-boundary-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which observations justify extending that assessment beyond the directly examined compartments?","id":"assessment-boundary-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"nuclear-configuration","name":"Nuclear configuration","description":"Separates nuclear number, genetic identity and ploidy.","findings":[{"id":"paired-unfused-genomes","name":"Paired unfused genomes","description":"Separate nuclei distinguish dikaryotic organization from diploidy; coordinated pairing was studied directly in Schizophyllum commune. [Experimental study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15342506/)","questions":[{"text":"What evidence establishes two separate haploid nuclear partners rather than one diploid nucleus?","id":"paired-unfused-genomes-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"How are distinct nuclear partners distinguished from two equivalent nuclei produced by mitosis?","id":"paired-unfused-genomes-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"partner-origin-and-establishment","name":"Partner origin and establishment","description":"Records how the two nuclear partners came to coexist.","layers":[{"id":"nuclear-lineage","name":"Nuclear lineage","description":"Connects each partner to its identified genetic source.","findings":[{"id":"partner-provenance","name":"Partner provenance","description":"Keep nuclear lineage assignments separate from the identity of the culture containing them.","questions":[{"text":"Which parental isolates or nuclear lineages contributed the two partners?","id":"partner-provenance-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which markers resolve the partners, and what uncertainty remains in their assignments?","id":"partner-provenance-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"establishment-route","name":"Establishment route","description":"Captures compatibility and the observed transition into dikaryotic organization.","findings":[{"id":"compatible-association","name":"Compatible association","description":"Record the relevant mating system and evidence that a persistent nuclear association was established.","questions":[{"text":"What species-specific compatibility evidence supports association of these nuclear partners?","id":"compatible-association-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Was establishment observed after a recorded mating event, inherited in starting material or inferred retrospectively?","id":"compatible-association-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"pair-maintenance","name":"Pair maintenance","description":"Examines how growing fungal material retains the two nuclear partners.","layers":[{"id":"division-and-partitioning","name":"Division and partitioning","description":"Tracks partner replication and distribution into descendant compartments.","findings":[{"id":"daughter-compartment-inheritance","name":"Daughter compartment inheritance","description":"Evaluate nuclear inheritance directly; clamp connections are absent in some stable dikaryons. [Coprinopsis cinerea study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3761312/)","questions":[{"text":"Do descendant compartments retain representatives of both nuclear partners after division and septation?","id":"daughter-compartment-inheritance-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What observed role do clamp connections, croziers or another partitioning mechanism play in this material?","id":"daughter-compartment-inheritance-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"spatial-and-temporal-stability","name":"Spatial and temporal stability","description":"Distinguishes maintained organization from transient counts and persistent sectors.","findings":[{"id":"partner-retention-pattern","name":"Partner retention pattern","description":"Record where and when pairing persists, including departures associated with growth or passage.","questions":[{"text":"What fraction of assessed compartments retains the paired organization across locations and observation times?","id":"partner-retention-pattern-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Do departures represent a division stage, partner loss, altered nuclear abundance or a separately growing sector?","id":"partner-retention-pattern-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"developmental-placement","name":"Developmental placement","description":"Places the dikaryon within the particular fungus's tissue organization and nuclear cycle.","layers":[{"id":"dikaryotic-tissue-and-duration","name":"Dikaryotic tissue and duration","description":"Locates the state in vegetative or reproductive development.","findings":[{"id":"life-cycle-occupancy","name":"Life-cycle occupancy","description":"Separate the duration of observed dikaryosis from assumptions based on fungal group membership.","questions":[{"text":"Which vegetative or reproductive tissues are demonstrated to be dikaryotic in this organism?","id":"life-cycle-occupancy-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"For how long and through which developmental stages has the state been observed?","id":"life-cycle-occupancy-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"exit-from-dikaryosis","name":"Exit from dikaryosis","description":"Identifies transitions that terminate the paired unfused nuclear condition.","findings":[{"id":"fusion-or-partner-loss","name":"Fusion or partner loss","description":"Distinguish karyogamy from disappearance or segregation of a nuclear partner.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence distinguishes nuclear fusion from loss of one partner in the observed transition?","id":"fusion-or-partner-loss-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"At which cell or tissue boundary should the record hand off to a diploid or other nuclear-state model?","id":"fusion-or-partner-loss-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"verification-and-propagation","name":"Verification and propagation","description":"Connects diagnostic evidence to decisions about sampling and maintaining dikaryotic material.","layers":[{"id":"diagnostic-evidence","name":"Diagnostic evidence","description":"Combines microscopy and genetic evidence without treating either as universally decisive.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-sufficiency","name":"Evidence sufficiency","description":"Assess whether methods establish co-residence of the partners rather than merely detecting two genotypes in pooled material.","questions":[{"text":"Which observations demonstrate that both nuclear partners occupy the same compartments rather than separate mixed hyphae?","id":"evidence-sufficiency-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What additional observation would resolve the current uncertainty in a provisional dikaryon assessment?","id":"evidence-sufficiency-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"propagation-fidelity","name":"Propagation fidelity","description":"Evaluates retention of the paired state after transfer, storage or experimental manipulation.","findings":[{"id":"post-handling-verification","name":"Post-handling verification","description":"Treat continued growth and continued dikaryosis as separate outcomes requiring appropriate evidence.","questions":[{"text":"Which propagation or storage method has been shown to retain both partners in this material?","id":"post-handling-verification-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"What post-handling checks establish partner identity and dikaryotic organization before further use?","id":"post-handling-verification-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of dikaryon this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of dikaryon this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of dikaryon this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of dikaryon this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of dikaryon this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe a dikaryon and its place in the fungal life cycle, citing sources.","Report microscopy evidence, such as paired nuclei or clamp connections, that supports a dikaryotic state."],"mustNot":["Claim a culture is dikaryotic without microscopic or genetic evidence.","Use dikaryon features alone to declare a wild mushroom safe to eat.","Release cultures of plant pathogenic fungi outside containment.","Confuse a dikaryon with a diploid or a heterokaryon in reports."],"requiresHuman":["Releasing fungal strains into fields or the environment.","Approving a strain for food production."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Many crop diseases are caused by dikaryotic fungi, so handling cultures affects farmers.","Fungal identification errors can poison people who forage."],"affectedParties":["Farmers and crops","Foragers","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The laboratory or culture collection that holds the strain.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Culture collection catalogues"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q116342419","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q7868","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.dikaryon","Wikidata: Q1923203 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1923203)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Observation unit: cell | hyphal compartment | delimited hyphal region | sampled mycelium","Nuclear count distribution: nuclei per compartment, with compartment counts and division stage","Ploidy of each nuclear partner: haploid | diploid | other | unresolved, recorded separately for each partner","Nuclear partner identities: links to two nuclear genotypes or parental lineages, with identification evidence","Mating compatibility: demonstrated | predicted | incompatible under tested conditions | unresolved","Dikaryotic compartment fraction: % of assessed compartments meeting stated criteria, with sample size","Nuclear partitioning structures: clamp connections | croziers | other observed mechanism | none observed | unresolved","Observed state trajectory: forming | maintained | sectoring or losing a partner | undergoing karyogamy | unresolved"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Seen only under a microscope, as compartments with two nuclei each.","In many basidiomycetes, clamp connections at the septa of hyphae."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classify sampled fungal material as confirmed, provisional or unsupported dikaryon using explicit evidence criteria.","Map nuclear partner distribution across hyphae, compartments and culture sectors.","Trace a dikaryon to its contributing isolates and recorded mating event.","Select observations that distinguish nuclear count, nuclear identity and per-nucleus ploidy.","Assess whether propagation preserves both nuclear partners.","Identify tissue in which nuclear fusion or partner loss ends the dikaryotic state."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Misreading microscopy leads to wrong strain records.","Escape of pathogenic cultures."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Dikaryons occur during the life cycles of many fungi, especially basidiomycetes and some developmental stages of ascomycetes.","They are studied in fungal genetics, mating biology and development to understand how distinct haploid nuclei coexist before nuclear fusion."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1923203: dikaryon","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1923203","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Dikaryon","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dikaryon","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which authoritative definition should govern atypical material with two persistent nuclear lineages but variable numbers of nuclei per compartment?","What lineage-specific evidence is sufficient to confirm dikaryosis when clamp connections or croziers are absent?","How should the model represent genetic divergence arising within either nuclear lineage during prolonged growth?","What sampling coverage justifies describing an entire mycelium as dikaryotic when different sectors have different nuclear states?","Which propagation and storage conditions preserve the paired state for each relevant species or strain?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1923203/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1923203/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T09:11:46Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"not-applicable","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:27+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.interfaces":"No generally applicable standard, law or official classification specifically governs the dikaryotic cell state independently of the organism and its use."},"score":1.0}}