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Horticulturae
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Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation
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Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinals, Herbs, and Specialty Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 4148

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Yongchang Zhao

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Guest Editor
Biotechnology and Germplasm Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Interests: genetics; breeding; cellular development
Dr. Hao Tan

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Guest Editor
Sichuan Institute of Edible Fungi, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610000, China
Interests: Microbial physiology; metabolic biochemistry; microbial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xi-Hui Du

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Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China
Interests: taxonomy; mating type; population genetics; molecular evolution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Commonly known as morels, species of Morchella are important gourmet mushrooms in Ascomycota. Morchella rufobrunnea (the so-called red-blushing morel) and species of black morels in the Elata clade of Morchella were once only wild-foraged, but have been domesticated as horticultural crops, feasible to cultivate artificially in recent decades. The scale of commercialized morel cultivation is expanding very rapidly. For instance, the area of black morel cultivation in China has expanded about two thousand times since 2012. While the innovative morel industry is thriving all over the world, several problems are always hampering its sustainable development: the lack of cultivars with improved performances; technologies for stable and high yield are still underdeveloped; the lack of elucidation of the chemical constitution with healthy effects; and limited diversified and value-added morel products. The aim of this Special Issue is to gradually promote some progresses of solving these problems.

Prof. Yongchang Zhao
Dr. Hao Tan
Dr. Xi-Hui Du
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wild morel germplasm
  • domestication from wild
  • morel cultivar breeding
  • genetics and epigenetics
  • microbial physiology and biochemistry related to morel cultvation
  • soil microbial ecology of morel mycosphere
  • proceeding
  • morel products
  • metabolites and bioactive compounds
  • conditions for morel drying, storage and delivery
  • pathogenic resistance
  • heat tolerance

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3077 KiB  
Article
Whole-Genome Resequencing and Evolutionary Analysis of Wild Morel Mushroom Morchella sp.
by Rui Ren, Shaojun Tang, Lianlian Yan, Tingting Fan, Xiao Lei, Chenxia Shao, Yi Yang, Huajun Zhu, Di Yang and Jun Xu
Horticulturae 2024, 10(12), 1287; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121287 - 3 Dec 2024
Viewed by 481
Abstract
Morels (Morchella sp.) are important edible fungi cultivated mainly in China. Although the relevant culture technology for Morchella is now fundamentally mature, it is limited to the Elata and Rufobrunnea clades, and the artificial culture technology for the Esculenta clade, which also [...] Read more.
Morels (Morchella sp.) are important edible fungi cultivated mainly in China. Although the relevant culture technology for Morchella is now fundamentally mature, it is limited to the Elata and Rufobrunnea clades, and the artificial culture technology for the Esculenta clade, which also has economic value, has not been extensively studied. In this study, we selected a wild morel belonging to the Esculenta clade as the research material and performed de novo sequencing and assembly of the Morchella sp. (Mosp) genome using second- and third-generation sequencing. The whole-genome size of Mosp was 55.17 Mb with a contig N50 of 1.89 Mb, and the GC content was 47.49%. A total of 10,896 protein-coding genes were identified. The non-coding RNA prediction results showed that there were 329 tRNAs, 65 rRNAs, and 37 snRNAs in the Mosp genome. The functional annotation of the Mosp genes showed that most of the genes were related to the reproductive and metabolic processes of the cells and participated in nutrient digestion, absorption, utilization, and catabolism in morels. There was a high degree of repetition (21.58%) in the Mosp genome, and the sizes of the DNA transposons and the long terminal repeats were 0.55 Mb and 5.85 Mb, respectively. The phylogeny analysis showed that Mosp clusters together with four other Morchella species: Morchella importuna, Morchella conica, Morchella sextelata, and Morchella snyderi. Molecular dating indicated that the differentiation of Mosp and the black morels group occurred about 147.0 million years ago (MYA). In addition, the evolutionary analysis showed that 296 gene families were contracted and 96 gene families were expanded in Mosp versus the related morel species. The results of this study provide new insights into the genome evolution of Mosp and lay the foundation for future in-depth research into the molecular biology and breeding of the genus Morchella. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation)
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15 pages, 5091 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Molecular Identification of the Pure Culture of Morchella Collected from Türkiye and Its Characteristics
by Mustafa Kemal Soylu
Horticulturae 2024, 10(10), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10101020 - 25 Sep 2024
Viewed by 936
Abstract
True morels (Morchella spp.) are highly valuable and medicinal mushrooms. Saprophytic morels have been cultivated, especially in China and some Western countries, over the last few decades. Türkiye has a rich potential in terms of wild morel diversity, with nearly 40 Morchella [...] Read more.
True morels (Morchella spp.) are highly valuable and medicinal mushrooms. Saprophytic morels have been cultivated, especially in China and some Western countries, over the last few decades. Türkiye has a rich potential in terms of wild morel diversity, with nearly 40 Morchella species in its genetic pool, though only 22 of these have been identified molecularly. It has high economic value worldwide, and Türkiye exports morels worth approximately 2 million $ annually. There is also significant interest in morel mushroom cultivation in Türkiye. In this study, 40 Morchella strains were collected and isolated from different regions of Türkiye and analyzed based on the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region. A phylogenetic dendrogram was drawn. The isolates of M. importuna, M. exima, M. exuberans, M. dunali, M. tridentina, M. crassipes, and M. esculenta were identified based on the ITS rDNA region. However, the identification of isolates 849-Kg027 and 966-Kg142 could not be determined clearly, and the isolates of M. vulgarius and M. spongiola were not distinct based on the ITS analysis. The macro-morphological features of the mycelia were investigated. Mycelia colors ranged from off-white to pale gray in the juvenile stage, orange to pale brown during early pigmentation, and pale brown to dark brown in the senescence stage. M. crassipes, M. exuberans, and 966-Kg142 formed lighter-colored mycelia, whereas M. dunali and M. vulgarius exhibited the darkest mycelial pigments. Sclerotia formation was compact, pale yellow to yellow, and abundant. In conclusion, molecular identification of Turkish morel cultures was performed, and cultural characteristics along with morphological differences were examined. The cultures have been deposited for further study in the Mushroom Gene Bank at the Atatürk Central Horticultural Research Institute. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation)
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13 pages, 4829 KiB  
Article
Nitrates and Microbiome Components Engaged in Denitrification within Soil Regulate Morchella spp. Growth
by Yujia Li, Wei Lin, Jie Chen, Junbin Lin, Rencai Feng, Junjie Yan, Renyun Miao and Bingcheng Gan
Horticulturae 2024, 10(9), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10090905 - 26 Aug 2024
Viewed by 646
Abstract
Morels (Morchella spp.) are a kind of rare and precious edible fungus and have been successfully cultivated in many places. Currently, the widespread cultivation of morels poses a significant challenge owing to their demanding environmental requirements. Soil properties and the soil microbiome [...] Read more.
Morels (Morchella spp.) are a kind of rare and precious edible fungus and have been successfully cultivated in many places. Currently, the widespread cultivation of morels poses a significant challenge owing to their demanding environmental requirements. Soil properties and the soil microbiome are thought to play pivotal roles in morel growth. However, it remains unknown what factors exert a decisive influence on morel growth. In this study, soils with different morel yields were studied in nine sites from four locations. The basic soil physical and chemical properties were measured. In addition, the soil microbiome was analyzed using high-throughput metagenomic sequencing. We found that soil pH, nitrogen, carbon and conductivity were key indicators for the impact on microbial communities in soil for cultivating morels. Among these, nitrate was more positively associated with morel yield. The soil microbial diversity was more abundant in the soil with a high morel yield. Moreover, certain unknown archaea might be unfavorable to morel growth. The microbes that perform incomplete denitrification (no step of N2O reduction to N2) and nitrogen fixation were positively and negatively correlated with morel growth, respectively. In summary, morels prefer to live in nutrient-rich soils with a variety of microbes and are supported by nitrate and microbiome components involved in denitrification. The findings elucidate a pivotal mechanism in eliciting morel fructification and provide valuable insights for guiding production practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation)
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11 pages, 1422 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Different Postharvest Drying Temperatures on the Volatile Flavor Components and Non-Volatile Metabolites of Morchella sextelata
by Tianhai Liu, Xiang Wu, Weiwei Long, Yingying Xu, Yang Yu and Haixia Wang
Horticulturae 2024, 10(8), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10080812 - 31 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 745
Abstract
True morels (Morchella spp.) are renowned for their aroma and taste, and hot air drying is widely used to extend the shelf life of harvested morels. However, the effects of different drying temperatures on volatile flavor compounds and non-volatile metabolites in the [...] Read more.
True morels (Morchella spp.) are renowned for their aroma and taste, and hot air drying is widely used to extend the shelf life of harvested morels. However, the effects of different drying temperatures on volatile flavor compounds and non-volatile metabolites in the morel are poorly understood. Here, fresh morels (Morchella sextelata) were air-dried at low (45 °C, LT), medium (55 °C, MT), and high temperatures (65 °C, HT). The volatile flavor compounds and non-volatile metabolites were analyzed using GC-IMS and LC-MS/MS, respectively. The GC-IMS revealed that aldehydes, hydrocarbons, and pyrazines increased at greater temperatures, while acids, alcohols, and esters decreased. Random forest machine learning indicated that 1-hexanol and ethyl 3-methylbutanoate were indicative flavor compounds at LTs, while those at MTs and HTs were hexanal and valeraldehyde, respectively. Greater temperatures reduced acetic acid, an unpleasant sour flavor. The LC-MS/MS showed that the relative abundance of amino acids and nucleotides increased with the temperature, with the same trend in 5′-nucleotides and flavor amino acids. Sorbitol 6-phosphate was indicative of the non-volatile metabolites at LTs, while several amino acids were indicative at MTs and HTs. This study revealed the flavor and taste characteristics of morels dried at different temperatures, providing a theoretical reference for establishing a standardized postharvest morel drying process and maintaining morel quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation)
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Review

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12 pages, 1894 KiB  
Review
Challenges and Strategies for Continuous Cropping of Morchella spp.: A Review
by Lingling Xu, Yan Zhang, Haijuan Li, Jing Li and Jing Xu
Horticulturae 2024, 10(12), 1288; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10121288 - 3 Dec 2024
Viewed by 693
Abstract
Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) have increasingly become an important phenomenon affecting morel mushroom yield and quality. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the driving factors behind morel mushroom continuous cropping, including the increase in soil nutrients, disorder of the soil [...] Read more.
Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) have increasingly become an important phenomenon affecting morel mushroom yield and quality. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the driving factors behind morel mushroom continuous cropping, including the increase in soil nutrients, disorder of the soil microbial structure, aggravation of diseases, and accumulation of allelochemicals and autotoxins. Furthermore, we analyze the interrelationships among these driving factors. To mitigate these adverse effects, we propose five potential strategic approaches aimed at optimizing existing interventions. This overview not only delineates the causative agents and their intricate interactions under continuous cropping scenarios but also consolidates prospective solutions to alleviate these constraints, thereby advancing our understanding and management of morel production sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Morel Crops: Cultivation, Breeding and Their Processing Innovation)
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