Lactarius Species (Mushrooms): In Vitro Culture and the Production of Sesquiterpenes and Other Secondary Metabloites

The genus Lactarius (family Russulaceae, class Basidiomycotina) is one of the largest and best known in North America and Europe (Burlingham 1908, 1910, 1913; Hesler and Smith 1979). Tropical species of Lactarius have been studied by several authors and are now known to occur in Asia, Africa, and central and South America (Singer 1975; Singer et al. 1983; Montoya et al. 1996). There are more than 250 species distributed in both temperate and tropical regions of the world. Several species of Lactarius are edible, known for their delicacy, and are popular all over the world.