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Biotechnology of morel mushrooms: successful fruiting body formation and development in a soilless system

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Abstract

Morchella spp. ascocarps (morels) are some of the world’s most sought-after mushrooms. Successful cultivation of morels is still a rare and difficult task despite over 100 years of effort. Here we provide the first report of successful Morchellarufobrunnea fruiting body initiation and development in laboratory-scale experiments. Mushroom initials appeared 2 to 4 weeks after first watering of pre-grown sclerotia incubated at 16 to 22°C and 90% humidity. Mature fruiting bodies reached 7 to 15 cm in length and were obtained after the five morphological developmental stages of this Morchella species: sclerotium formation, scelerotium germination, asexual spore formation, formation of initial knots and development of the fruiting body.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Prof. Dan Levanon, Dr. Doron Goldberg and Dr. Ofer Danai for their help. This work was supported by the Office of the Chief Scientist, Ministry of Agriculture, Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Microbiology and Mycology Department, MIGAL, P.O. Box 831, 11016, Kiryat Shmona, Israel

    Segula Masaphy

  2. Tel Hai Academic College, 12210, Upper Galilee, Israel

    Segula Masaphy

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  1. Segula Masaphy
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Correspondence to Segula Masaphy.

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Purpose of the work The purpose of this work was to study the option of cultivating the saprophytic species Morchella rufobrunnea in a soilless system and its different developmental stages during the process.

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Masaphy, S. Biotechnology of morel mushrooms: successful fruiting body formation and development in a soilless system. Biotechnol Lett 32, 1523–1527 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0328-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0328-3

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