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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

Researchers studied how microorganisms change in soil as truffle forests expand into new areas in Italy. They found that young, expanding truffle areas had more diverse microbial communities compared to established productive forests. The study showed that forest management practices, like selectively removing vegetation to help truffle-associated trees grow, significantly influence which fungi and bacteria thrive in the soil. This research provides insights into how to better protect and expand natural white truffle habitats.

Background

White truffles (Tuber magnatum Picco) are valuable underground mushrooms with significant economic importance. Their natural production is at risk due to improper forest management and climate change. Understanding the microbiome dynamics in truffle-producing habitats is essential for developing sustainable conservation strategies.

Objective

To investigate the dynamics of the microbiome in an old productive truffle forest and a newly expanding truffle habitat using amplicon sequencing of fungal ITS regions and bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The study aimed to monitor soil biological community development and compare differences and similarities between the primary productive forest and the expanding area.

Results

Basidiomycota abundance increased in 2022 in both areas, while Ascomycota and Mucoromycota declined. Mortierella fungi showed opportunistic colonization of empty niches in the new area. The bacterial community was dominated by Pseudomonadota, Planctomycetota, and Actinomycetota. The Tuber genus showed positive correlations with bacterial taxa including Ktedonobacter, Zavarzinella, and Sphingomonas.

Conclusion

The expanding truffle forest exhibits greater dynamism in microbial communities compared to the stabilized old productive forest. The study demonstrates that forest management interventions, particularly selective cutting to promote symbiotic plant growth, influence ectomycorrhizal fungal dominance and associated bacterial consortia. Further species-specific research is needed to clarify individual taxon interactions in expanding truffle habitats.
  • Published in:Journal of Fungi (Basel),
  • Study Type:Observational Field Study,
  • Source: 10.3390/jof10110800, PMID: 39590719
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