Tuber spp. are ectomycorrhizal ascomycetes that produce ascocarps known as truffles. Basic aspects of Tuber biology have yet to be fully elucidated. In particular, there are conflicting hypotheses concerning the mating system and the ploidy level of the mycorrhizal and truffle hyphae. We used polymorphic microsatellites to compare the allelic configurations of asci with those from the network o...

BACKGROUND Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) related to truffles represents an under-investigated area of research in ethnobiology. Nevertheless, truffles, in a few southern European areas, and notably in South Piedmont, represent a crucial component of the local economy and cultural heritage. METHODS Thirty-four white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) gatherers, locally known as trifulau...

Fungi pursuing the truffle strategy by producing underground fruiting bodies have long been recognized as an artificial group with representatives in Zygomycota, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Those producing asci (a saclike structure where the spores are produced) were at one time all placed in the order Tuberales (Ascomycota) (e.g. from Tulasne & Tulasne 1851 to Korf 1973). Similarities betwee...

Picoa species are hypogeous desert truffles, which can be found in semi-arid ranges of North Africa, West Asian, South of Europe and Middle East, including Iran (Moreno et al. 2000, Jamali & Banihashemi 2012, 2013). Picoa species form symbiosis mainly on roots of annual and perennial herbaceous plants of the Helianthemum, including H. ledifolium and H. salicifolium var. salicifolium (Jamali & B...

Background: Tuber aestivum Vittad., known as black summer truffle, represents high-value food especially used as garnishment in nouvelle cuisine. The aim of this study was to investigate on the viable microbial populations associated with T. aestivum ascomata collected in different sites of Sicily and one locality of Umbria (Italy). Methods: The ripe ascomata of black summer truffles were coll...

The ITS region including the 5.8S gene of rDNA of three desert truffle species were amplified using ITS4 and ITS1 primers. The ITS sequences were compared to those of other related authentic sequences obtained from GenBank. Among 12 specimens studied, seven isolates corresponded to Terfezia claveryi reported by other authors. Iranian T. claveryi specimens had an average similarity of 99.4% (ran...