Mycorrhizal Formation of Tuber melanosporum

The Perigord black truffle,Tuber melanosporum Vittad.,which has a symbiotic relationship with roots of suitable host trees and naturally occurs on calcareous soils in Continental Europe,is the most commercial edible fungus for consumption around the world.The European truffles have been recently introduced to China but most work is still on the level of laboratory or nursery.This paper reports our preliminary work on inoculation program with the black truffle on Castanopsis hystrix,a native broad-leaf tree species of Fagaceae in sterilized mixed soils in a glasshouse.Pure cultured mycelium of the fungus was used as inoculum material other than spores.Both macroscopic and microscopic appearance was illustrated and described.Distinctive features including setae and mantle structure were observed.Inoculation of T.melanosporum also significantly improved the growth of saplings.