Evaluation and characterization of pellet morphology of genus Termitomyces heim of a wild tropical edible mushroom

Abstract

In view of difficulty of domestication of the tropical, wild edible, Termitomyces species, the mycobiont of fungus grower termites were subjected to submerged conditions. The present work was aimed at morphological assessment of pellets obtained from 13 submerged cultures of seven Termitomyces species- T. microcarpus, T. albuminosus, T. striatus, T. aurantiacus, T. heimii, T. globulus, and T. clypeatus, in order to characterize pellet morphology under submerged conditions as a future source of mycoprotein. Pelletization was achieved in 100 ml Czapek Dox Solution, pH 5.5, with 1% v/v inoculum at 150 rpm in dark after incubation for 20 days at 28 degrees C. All species produced good pelletization evidenced by micro and macro pellets. Spiky, loose and dispersed mycelial morphology was common. The most promising strains were T. albuminosus (0.72 g/L), and T. globulus (0.7 g/L), which produced brown to black, spherical spiky pellets (diameter 1-12 mm), and white to brown spherical oval compact pellets (diameter 3-12 mm) respectively. Pellet morphology of promising strains were analyzed using Digital Image Analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy. FTIR studies were also carried out for detection of chemical groups of T. albuminosus, and T. globulus pellets