Record ID No. |
2031 |
Author(s) |
Federica Piattoni, Antonella Amicucci, Mirco Iotti, Francesca Ori, Vilberto Stocchi, *Alessandra Zambonelli , 2014 |
Affiliation |
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, University of Bologna, V.le Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy, *email: alessandr.zambonelli@unibo.it |
Title |
Viability and morphology of Tuber aestivum spores after passage through the gut of Sus scrofa |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Fungal Ecology, 9(1): 52–60p. |
Categories |
Ectomycorrhiza |
Subjects |
Morphology |
Host |
Ectomycorrhiza |
Organism |
Tuber aestivum, Sus scrofa (Wild boar) |
Country |
Italy, Southern Europe |
Abstracts |
Truffles have hypogeous fruit bodies that are dependent on mycophagous animals for spore dispersal. In our study we assessed the effect of passage through the gut of Sus scrofa on the morphology and viability of Tuber aestivum asci and ascospores. Light and Atomic Force Microscopy showed that passage through the gut freed spores from the asci, eroded the walls of free spores and modified their structure but spores were still viable. We believe this was the reason for the observed improvement in forming mycorrhizas with oak. These results confirm the role of wild boars in long distance dispersal of Tuber and support the theory that pigs play a significant role in truffle survival and territorial expansion during climatic changes. |