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The Expanding Truffle Environment: A Study of the Microbial Dynamics in the Old Productive Site and the New Tuber magnatum Picco Habitat

Summary

This study examined the microbial communities in white truffle forests in Italy, comparing an established productive forest with a nearby expanding area. Researchers found that the expanding area had more diverse fungal communities with opportunistic species like Mortierella, while the mature forest had a more stable community dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungi. The study identified specific bacteria like Sphingomonas that showed positive associations with white truffles, suggesting these microbes may play important roles in truffle development and could help guide future cultivation efforts.

Background

White truffles (Tuber magnatum Picco) are valuable underground mushrooms with significant economic importance. Their natural production is at risk due to forest management issues and climate change. Understanding the microbial dynamics in truffle habitats is essential for developing sustainable cultivation practices.

Objective

To investigate the dynamics of the soil microbiome in an established productive truffle forest and an adjacent expanding area using amplicon sequencing of fungal ITS regions and bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The study compared microbial community differences and similarities between the two sites over a two-year sampling period.

Results

Basidiomycota increased in relative abundance in 2022, while Ascomycota and Mucoromycota declined in both areas. Bacterial communities were dominated by Pseudomonadota, Planctomycetota, and Actinomycetota. The Tuber genus showed positive correlations with bacterial taxa Ktedonobacter, Zavarzinella, and Sphingomonas, and displayed different ecological dynamics compared to other ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Conclusion

The expansion of truffle forests through selective forest management shows distinct microbial community dynamics compared to established productive sites. The expanding area exhibited higher fungal diversity with opportunistic colonization, while the old forest showed a stabilized, more competitive community dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungi. Further research is needed to understand species-specific interactions between individual microbial taxa in truffle ecosystems.
  • Published in:Journal of Fungi (Basel),
  • Study Type:Observational Field Study,
  • Source: 10.3390/jof10110800, PMID: 39590719
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