Crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata): mycophagist spore dispersers of the ectomycorrhizal truffle Tuber aestivum. 2018

Francesca Ori, and James Trappe, and Marco Leonardi, and Mirco Iotti, and Giovanni Pacioni
Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.

Truffles, as hypogeous, ectomycorrhizal fungi, have no means to actively discharge spores into the environment and thus depend on mycophagists for spore dispersal. After consumption of fruiting bodies by animals and passage through the digestive tract, the spores are released in faecal pellets. Recently, in the Abruzzo region (Italy), Hystrix cristata has been spotted inside private truffières, but its role in spore dispersal has never been investigated. Here, we report our research on the occurrence of Tuber aestivum spores in porcupine's faecal contents in a truffière in L'Aquila, Italy, where a H. cristata specimen was photographed. The spores were isolated from faeces by using a suspension of 0.7 M ZnSO4. We also verified degradation and disfiguration of the digested spores' reticular ornamentation compared to that of fresh spores from ascomata collected inside the truffière, through measurements performed by scanning electron microscopy. A few truffle spores had germinated within the faeces.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007558 Italy A country in southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The capital is Rome. Sardinia
D004718 Saccharomycetales An order of fungi in the phylum Ascomycota that multiply by budding. They include the telomorphic ascomycetous yeasts which are found in a very wide range of habitats. Budding Yeast,Endomycetales,Endomycopsis,Yeast, Budding,Budding Yeasts,Endomycetale,Endomycopses,Saccharomycetale,Yeasts, Budding
D005243 Feces Excrement from the INTESTINES, containing unabsorbed solids, waste products, secretions, and BACTERIA of the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000821 Animal Feed Foodstuff used especially for domestic and laboratory animals, or livestock. Fodder,Animal Feeds,Feed, Animal,Feeds, Animal,Fodders
D001203 Ascomycota A phylum of fungi which have cross-walls or septa in the mycelium. The perfect state is characterized by the formation of a saclike cell (ascus) containing ascospores. Most pathogenic fungi with a known perfect state belong to this phylum. Ascomycetes,Cochliobolus,Sclerotinia,Ascomycete,Ascomycotas,Sclerotinias
D013172 Spores, Fungal Reproductive bodies produced by fungi. Conidia,Fungal Spores,Conidium,Fungal Spore,Spore, Fungal
D046328 Porcupines Common name for large, quilled rodents (RODENTIA) comprised of two families: Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) and New World porcupines (Erethizontidae). Coendou,Hystrix,Porcupine
D048690 Fruiting Bodies, Fungal The fruiting 'heads' or 'caps' of FUNGI, which as a food item are familiarly known as MUSHROOMS, that contain the FUNGAL SPORES. Basidiocarp,Basidiocarps,Bodies, Fungal Fruiting,Body, Fungal Fruiting,Fruiting Body, Fungal,Fungal Fruiting Bodies,Fungal Fruiting Body
D018625 Microscopy, Atomic Force A type of scanning probe microscopy in which a probe systematically rides across the surface of a sample being scanned in a raster pattern. The vertical position is recorded as a spring attached to the probe rises and falls in response to peaks and valleys on the surface. These deflections produce a topographic map of the sample. Atomic Force Microscopy,Force Microscopy,Scanning Force Microscopy,Atomic Force Microscopies,Force Microscopies,Force Microscopies, Scanning,Force Microscopy, Scanning,Microscopies, Atomic Force,Microscopies, Force,Microscopies, Scanning Force,Microscopy, Force,Microscopy, Scanning Force,Scanning Force Microscopies

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