Mycorrhizal synthesis of Tuber indicum with two indigenous hosts, Castanea mollissima and Pinus armandii

Abstract

Tuber indicum is one of the most renowned commercialized fungi in China. Mycorrhizal investigations, however, have been carried out mainly with exotic trees. Up to now there is no detailed description of morphology of the mycorrhizae formed with the indigenous hosts of T. indicum. Containerized seedlings of two indigenous hosts of the fungus in southwestern China, Pinus armandii and Castanea mollissima, were inoculated with aqueous spore suspension of T. indicum in two kinds of substrates. Mycorrhizae began to form 4 months after inoculation and were harvested at 9 months. The contributing fungus of the mycorrhizae was confirmed to be T. indicum by morphological and ITS-rDNA sequence analyses. The morphology of emanating hyphae and epidermoid-like mantle appearance was similar to the mycorrhizae obtained with some European trees. The high morphological variation and the similarity to that of Tuber melanosporum makes it difficult to distinguish the mycorrhizae of the two species by morphology alone. The synthesis of mycorrhizae of T. indicum with its indigenous hosts will be of great significance for planned cultivation of the Asian black truffles.

Contribution to Confirmed & Synthesized on Mycorrhizae of <i>Tuber indicum</i> s.l. with Two Dominated & Subalpine Broadleaf Trees in Southwestern China

“…mycorrhizae are characterized by a mantle composed of epidermoid cells interlocked in a puzzle-like pattern and woolly emanating hyphae that branch almost perpendicularly [5] [10]- [13] [35]. The mycorrhizae of T. melanosporum, a member of the same phylogenetic lineage, share all these characters with T. indicum s.l.…”

“…The methods for the production of T. indicum s.l. mycorrhizae on host trees and the examination of mycorrhizae followed the protocols in [5].…”

“…Seeds of Q. pannosa provided by the Kunming Botanical Garden were used to produce seedlings following the method in [5]. The Po.…”

“…on Castanea mollissima BL. and P. armandii have been described in China [5]. The widespread distribution of T. indicum s.l.…”

Current progress on truffle submerged fermentation: a promising alternative to its fruiting bodies

“…Moreover, it usually takes 4-12 years to harvest the truffle fruiting body, which is a timeconsuming and quality-fluctuating process. Intense research is being carried out on semi-artificial cultivation of truffle fruiting bodies to meet the ever-increasing world market demands and to mitigate the excessive exploitation of natural truffles, which threatens the species (Geng et al 2009). Submerged mushroom fermentation is viewed as a promising alternative for the efficient production of bioactive mycelia and metabolites (Tang et al 2007a, b;Zhong and Tang 2004).…”