Morphological Characteristics of Decomposition and Browning of Oak Sawdust Medium for Ground Bed Cultivation of Lentinula edodes

Abstract

: This study investigated the internal and external morphological characteristics of decomposition and browning of oak sawdust medium for ground bed cultivation of Lentinula edodes. Within fifty days after L. edodes inoculation, surface hyphae on the bed browned. In 110 days, the fungal hyphae occupied and decomposed wood fibers, vessels and parenchymatous cells from the inside as white profuse hyphal mass was amorphously dissolving the saw dust particles from the outer surface. Most of the white hyphal bed surface became cleanly brown, however, some colony surface became blackened and slimy with contaminating bacteria, hyphae and spores. The brown layer was ca. 0.34 mm thick with highly dense and white hyphal mass beneath, whereas the blackened layer was ca. 1.17 mm thick with shrunken hyphae and less decomposed sawdust particles beneath. The surface hardness of the brown surface was ca. 0.73 kgf/cm 2 , soft and resilient, while that of the blackened was ca. 0.91 kgf/cm 2 , hard and nonresilient. By 150 days Lentinula edodes mushrooms fruited only on the brown surface and not on the blackened medium.

Comparative transcriptome analysis identified candidate genes involved in mycelium browning in Lentinula edodes

“…The agricultural cultivation of L. edodes is normally achieved by two representative methods, namely, log-media-based and sawdust-media-based cultivation. The yield efficiency of the sawdust cultivation method is approximately 15% higher than that of the log cultivation method, and the sawdust cultivation period is short [3], thereby making it the preferred method for the cultivation of L. edodes worldwide.…”

“…The formation of brown film on the mycelial tissue surface is a feature of sawdust cultivation for L. edodes , and this process is critical for maintaining water contents in the medium and ensuring a high quantity and quality of fruiting body formation. Additionally, the surface of the medium without brown film formation is easily occupied by pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria, green molds and fungi [3]. These results indicate that the presence of brown film on the sawdust medium surface provides a protective shield on the medium, similar to the bark of a tree [5].…”

Introducing Protein Homeostasis and Glycogen Synthesis as Two Targets of Blue Light Radiation in Lentinula edodes

“…4 The formation of a brown layer on the surface of mycelium always occurs on the developing bud of the fruit and prevents the growth of other bacteria and pathogenic agents on these surfaces. 5 There are documents about the important roles of light in the promotion of vital activities of fungi. The light effects are induced via different types of proteins which are characterized as photoreceptors.…”