Studies on Mycelial Growth and Biomass Production of Eight Lentinoid and Pleurotoid Species of Wild Edible Mushrooms from Brazil

ABSTRACT Among the 22,000 known species of mushrooms, around 2,000 are edible and only 100 species are cultivated worldwide. Species occurring naturally in local habitats may be very promising for cultivation studies to introduce new edible species in the local mushroom market. The objective of this study was to evaluate the conditions of mycelial growth and biomass production of Brazilian wild isolates of edible mushrooms for future domestication and cultivation studies. The wild mushrooms were collected, obtained or recovered and identified the pure cultures, and evaluated the mycelial growth and biomass production in Potatoes Dextrose Agar medium of eight lentinoid and pleurotoid species at four to five different temperatures: 20°C, 25°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C, 45°C. Nine isolates of Lentinus berteroi, one of Lentinus concavus, five of Lentinus crinitus, three of Panus strigellus, one of Panus cf. tephroleucus, six of Pleurotus albidus, seven of Pleurotus djamor, and one of Pleurotus pulmonarius were identified and evaluated. The minimum colonization period (in days) on the Petri dish and the better temperature of both mycelial growth and biomass production for each species were as follows: three days and 35°C for L. berteroi, three days and 35-40°C for L. crinitus, four days and 35°C for L. concavus and P. strigellus, five days and 30-35°C for Panus cf. tephroleucus, six days and 25-30°C for Pl. albidus and Pl. djamor, and seven days and 30°C for Pl. pulmonarius. Thus, this study provides data on species selection and mycelial growth of wild isolates for further research on domestication and cultivation of edible mushrooms.