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Tuber canaliculatum
Fruiting bodies of Tuber canaliculatum. Image courtesy of Gregory Bonito.

Tuber canaliculatum

Within the framework of the "1000 Fungal Genomes Project (1KFG): Deep Sequencing of Ecologically-relevant Dikarya" (CSP1974) we sequenced the genome and transcriptome of Tuber canaliculatum GB_Tcana1. In the 1KFG project, genome sequences will be generated for keystone lineages of saprophytic, mycorrhizal, and endophytic fungi that are of special ecological importance and will provide comparative genomics resources. Several species with sequenced genomes were harvested from Long-Term Observatories to serve as the foundation for a reference database for metagenomics of fungi and for a comprehensive survey of the soil fungal metatranscriptome.

Tuber canaliculatum is native to Eastern North American where it associates with a wide range of broadleaf trees, including oak (Quercus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), pecan (Carya illinoinensis), and coniferous species such as pine (Pinus spp.) and spruce (Picea spp.). Due to its aromatic profile, a commercial market for this species is developing in North America. Following this trend, nurseries are successfully producing and selling T. canaliculatum mycorrhized seedlings for truffle cultivation in North America.

Tuber canaliculatum is distinguished by its brick-red peridium that is conspicuously covered by small polygonal warts, and its dark veined gleba at maturity (see Figure). Phylogenetically, this species belongs to a clade of truffles with species in North America, Asia, and Europe1. Comparative genomics of this species and other Pezizales will provide novel insights into the evolution of the symbiotic life-style in the Tuberaceae, an early diverging lineage of ascomycetes.



1Bonito, Gregory, Matthew E. Smith, Michael Nowak, Rosanne A. Healy, Gonzalo Guevara, Efren Cázares, Akihiko Kinoshita, et al. 2013. “Historical Biogeography and Diversification of Truffles in the Tuberaceae and Their Newly Identified Southern Hemisphere Sister Lineage.” PloS One 8 (1): e52765.