Involvement of bacteria in truffle aroma formation

在过去的20年里，研究植物挥发物的生态作用的研究数量激增。相比之下，真菌和细菌产生的挥发物的作用在很大程度上被忽视了，特别是在地下相互作用中。这项建议的目的是探索地下真菌和细菌挥发物的形成和生态功能。松露为研究两者提供了一个独特的机会，因为它们的子实体含有大量的细菌，这些细菌可能与真菌一起构成最终的松露香味。这项提议的目的是双重的。第一个目标是了解在黑色和白色松露品种中，松露子实体释放的挥发性物质中有哪些来自真菌本身，哪个来自细菌。第二个目标是了解松露/细菌如何利用挥发性物质和挥发性前体(非挥发性物质)来调节寄生在松露子实体上的细菌群落。由于在松露中发现的大量挥发性物质在真菌和细菌中广泛传播，这项工作将为微生物中的挥发性信号奠定基础。从生态学的观点来看，它将阐明地下微生物挥发物在多营养相互作用中基本上未被探索的功能。

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.