EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University researchers, in collaboration with the University of Florida, citizen scientists, and their "truffle dogs," have discovered two new species of truffle.
Tuber canirevelatum, meaning the 'dog-found' truffle, was named in honor of truffle dogs and Monza, the dog who discovered it with her trainer Lois Martin. The other, Tuber cumberlandense, was named for the Cumberland Plateau where it was found by Margaret Townsend and her truffle dog, Luca.
T. canirevelatum did not resemble or smell like any known North American truffle, prompting Martin to send it to Gregory Bonito's lab at MSU. Bonito and undergraduate researcher Alassane Sow, lead author of the study, employed DNA analyses to identify the truffles and place them in the tree of life.
“Receiving these samples was very exciting, especially because they looked very similar to the well-known edible European truffles Tuber macrosporum and Tuber aestivum,” Sow stated. “We hope that by describing both of these species there will be increased interest in cultivating North American truffles.”
Bonito indicated that both new species possess aromatic compounds found in some valuable truffle species. “In international markets, fresh truffles are sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars per kilogram,” he noted.
Although T. cumberlandense has been harvested and sold under various names, the analysis confirmed it as a distinct native North American species.
Efforts are underway in Kentucky to cultivate this native truffle by Maker's Mark, which aims to reforest their land with white oaks, hoping to harvest truffles in the future.
Bonito explained, “This particular species enjoys a symbiotic relationship with their host, white oaks, growing from their roots and providing nutrition to the trees.”
More people are attempting to grow truffles, increasing the demand for trained truffle dogs to locate them. “If you have $20,000 of truffles growing underground, you need to find them before they perish,” Bonito said.
Bonito and Matthew Smith from the University of Florida have been surveying native North American truffles since before 2010, receiving NSF funding in 2020 to research the evolution of truffles and their relatives.
Benjamin Lemmond from the Smith lab remarked, “Truffles are some of the most mysterious and alluring fungi on the planet... This study shows that there are still undiscovered truffles right under our nose.”
Bonito and Sow collaborated with MSU’s Randy Beaudry to analyze the volatile compounds that create a truffle's aroma using gas chromatography. They discovered that T. canirevelatum is enriched in compounds contributing to its savory garlic aroma.
Bonito concluded, “We suspect many native tuber species remain to be discovered and described, enhanced through collaboration between mycologists, the public, and trained truffle dogs.”