Linking sensory sciences to microbiome and genetic analysis for the geographical traceability of truffles

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Richard Splivallo
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi ; Food Chemistry
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 336348694

Truffles are standalone gourmet products on their own right. These fungi are among the most expensive food products in the world. Traditional views about truffle farming considered that France, Italy and Spain were the countries where most truffles were collected and possibly consumed. This has drastically changed over the last decade with the start of truffle farming throughout the world (i.e. Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Central and Easter European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Hungary). Truffle aromas perceived by humans are composed of 10-20 odorants per species, which include hydrocarbons with various functional groups and sulfur atoms. Even within the same species, there is an important aroma variability that has been linked to fruiting body maturation, to truffle genetics, to the bacterial microbiome inhabiting fruiting bodies and to the geographical origins of truffles. Which of these factors govern aroma variability and how this variability influences the human perception of truffle aroma(s) is currently open to debate. The aim of this proposal is to address these questions by combining techniques in sensory sciences, genetics and microbiology and to answer how this knowledge can be used for the geographical traceability of truffles.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland