Cultivation of mushrooms of edible ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Pinus densiflora by in vitro mycorrhizal synthesis

Abstract 

The morphology and anatomy of ectomycorrhizas of edible mushroom fungi in association with Pinus densiflora seedlings are described. These include species of Lyophyllum, Tricholoma, Suillus, Rhizopogon, and Lactarius. Almost all mycorrhizas synthesized in vitro could be acclimatized in open-pot soil conditions after 8–9 months. Although mycorrhizal anatomy was almost identical under in vitro and open-pot culture conditions, external morphology, such as the development of rhizomorphs and hydrophobic aerial hyphae, differed between the two conditions in some fungal species. Fully developed, mature mycorrhizas of different fungal species could be distinguished as ectomycorrhizal morphotypes, which could also be distinguished by PCR-RFLP analysis of their rDNA.