Involvement of bacteria in truffle aroma formation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Richard Splivallo
• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems ; Biochemistry ; Plant Physiology
• Term: from 2012 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 229779116

The number of studies investigating the ecological role of plant volatiles has surged in the last 20 years. By contrast, the functions of volatiles produced by fungi and bacteria have been largely ignored, especially in belowground interactions. The aim of this proposal is to explore the formation and the ecological function of belowground fungal and bacterial volatiles. Truffles offer a unique opportunity to investigate both since their fruiting bodies contain numerous bacteria that might, together with the fungus, contribute to the final truffle aroma. The aim of this proposal is double. The first goal is to understand, in both a black and a white truffle species, which proportion of the volatiles released by truffle fruiting bodies is derived from the fungus itself and which one is derived from bacteria. The second goal is to understand how truffles/bacteria use volatiles and volatile precursors (non-volatiles) to modulate the bacterial communities inhabiting truffle fruiting bodies. Because numerous volatiles found in truffles are wide spread among fungi and bacteria, this work will lay the foundations of volatile signaling in microbes. From an ecological viewpoint it will shed light on the largely unexplored functions of belowground microbial volatiles in multitrophic interactions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants