Browsing by Subject "Italian valkoinen tryffeli"

The Italian white truffle Tuber magnatum is globally one of the most sought after culinary delicacies with retail prices ranging up to 4000€/kg. The White truffles sold on the market are harvested from natural truffle forests as the successful cultivation of the species has to date not been reached. Great economical interest lies in better understanding the growth, life cycle and ascocarp production of T. magnatum, which is why researchers have focused on studying the interactions between the truffle and soil microorganisms. In this study, the bacterial genus Methylosinus and the phylum Firmicutes were found to be present at T. magnatum productive sites. It was also found that the diversity of soil bacteria changes when a) moving from one succession stage to another according to a truffle producing site’s life cycle and b) when the canopy cover of an area changes. These findings can help with better characterising and forecasting T. magnatum productive sites, yet further research is needed to confirm whether the bacteria found present in this study are a cause or effect of white truffle productivity.