ECOLOGICAL AND GENETIC ADVANCES IN THE CULTIVATION OF TUBER SPP.

Abstract

Recent advances on the ecology and genetics of true truffles (Tuber spp.) are reported and their impact on truffle cultivation is discussed. New insights have been gained on truffle soil ecology and interrelationships of truffles with associated microorganisms in the soil. For instance, some bacteria seem to play a key role in truffle fruiting body formation and maturation. However, the most important advance in truffle genetics over the past 20 years has been the sequencing of the Tuber melanosporum genome and the discovery that truffles, like other Pezizalean fungi, are heterothallic. This finding has had a significant impact on research on truffles and many studies have been devoted to better understanding the distribution of the mating types in soil in natural and cultivated truffières. The characterization of the mating type idiomorphs of several Tuber species has led to the possibility of selecting mycelial strains for truffle cultivation in particular sites.