[Mycology] Re: truffles

[dwheeler from ipns.com]

On Mar 6, 7:15 am, "ram" <ram_palb... from yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Finally, hundreds if not thousands of mycorrhizal fungi can be present
> > on the same roots of a tree currently fruiting truffles. A tree
> > planted outside often has up to 7 mycorrhizal fungi per 1/2 centimeter
> > of rootlet. To limit  colonization to only Tuber species may be
> > counter-indicated for truffle production in the long-term.
>
> >DanielB.Wheeler
>
> Are you saying that for succesful colonization, it would be neccessary
> to innoculate not only with Tuber species, but with other species that
> are normally found in conjuction with Tuber sp. ?  Why would this be
> so?  Are the different species of fungi forming symbiotic
> relationships with one another as well as with the rootlets of the
> tree?
It may not be absolutely necessary. But in nature it appears to be
nearly so. Why? Dr. James Trappe has suggested there may be a
succession of mycorrhizal fungi as individual trees mature.

That's an interesting and discerning question: "Are the different
species of fungi forming symbiotic relationships with one another as
well as with the rootlets of the tree?" Pretty profound statement! It
may be. But I know of no study to prove or disprove it. Several
species of mycorhizal fungi are known to associate with nitrogen-
fixing bacteria. I would not be surprised to learn that some
mycorrhizal fungi do form symbiotic relationships with one another.
But I know of no proof for that statement.

I do know several mycologists, including NATS president Charles
LeFebre have taken rootlet samples near where Tuber species were
found. Charles told me that usually he found a different mycorrhizal
fungi on the rootlets at Paul Bishop's, rather than the Tuber
mycorrhiza he expected to find. Were Tuber mycorrhiza also present? I
don't know. I didn't see the rootlets under magnification. And I'm not
sure I would recognize Tuber gibbosum mycorrhizae under magnification.
If present, I would suspect they were less common than  other
mycorrhizal fungi. But as microscopic identification of mycorhizal
fungi is still in its infancy (I know the students at the Forestry
Sciences Lab at Oregon State University are developing a photographic
library of some).

Daniel B. Wheeler