A love story between the Périgord black truffle and Chinese oaks!

This work demonstrates that the French Périgord black truffle - Tuber melanosporum - can form mycorrhizae on five oak species native to China. The mycorrhizae obtained are similar in structure and morphology to those formed by this fungal species on its native European host trees.

The work further demonstrates for the first time that an ectomycorrhizal fungus, here T. melanosporum, can accelerate bud-break of its host plant, here Quercus mongolica, probably through mycorrhiza-mediated internal control (e.g., hormones).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-019-00925-y

An international team of mycologists reviewed the ecological functions and multiple benefits of edible mycorrhizal fungi (EMF) and published a (growing!) list of EMF species worldwide
Pérez-Moreno J, Guerin-Laguette A, Rinaldi AC, Yu FQ, Verbeken AM, Hernández-Santiago F, Martínez-Reyes M. Edible mycorrhizal fungi of the world: What is their role in forest sustainability, food security, biocultural conservation and climate change? Plants People Planet https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10199 (Open Access, i.e., full text freely available)

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