Abstract
SUMMARY Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as Chinese (paddy straw) mushroom, is a basidiomycete. Within each basidiocarp, protein content is least in the volva and greatest in the pileus. Both the stipe and volva exhibit a more or less similar pattern in protein content and electrophoretic spectra while the pileus possesses a unique pattern. Certain protein bands exist only in the pileus at a specific developmental stage of the basidiocarp. The high protein content and complicated electrophoretic spectra of the pileus relative to the stipe and volva suggest that the controlling mechanisms of morphogenesis within the pileus are different from those within the other two regions of the basidiocarp.