Adapting liquid spawn Lentinus edodes to oak wood

Abstract

Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing. is a commercially important edible mushroom cultivated on oak (Quercus spp.) logs or wood particles. Inoculum (spawn) of this white-rot saprophyte, made by homogenizing cultures grown on a chemically defined liquid medium, dies when transferred to oak wood. This study shows that an aqueous extract of the oak wood is inhibitory to growth. Inoculum produced by homogenizing stationary-grown cultures was particularly sensitive to the extract. Three different methods decreased the sensitivity of inoculum: (1) use of intact (nonhomogenized) cultures as inoculum, (2) use of homogenized cultures produced from shaken rather than stationary cultures as inoculum, or (3) use of cultures grown in the presence of wood extract as inoculum. With the use of shaken cultures adapted to oak wood extract, homogenized-culture inoculum successfully colonized an oak wood medium. Adaptation of the fungus to extracts made from an intended substrate may be an inexpensive way of producing liquid spawn specifically suited for the inoculation of the substrate.