Optimal growth conditions for basidiospore germination and morphogenesis of Philippine wild strain of Lentinus tigrinus (Bull.) Fr.

Lentinus tigrinus is a basidiomycetous fungus that is usually found growing in clusters on fallen logs of the forest. This mushroom is considered as the local counterpart of shiitake (L. edodes), since it is endemically growing in the tropical countries such as the Philippines. In our intention to develop production technology for this mushroom, we determined the influence of nutritional (local culture media) and physical (pH, aeration, illumination and temperature) factors for basidiospore germination and morphogenesis of wild strain of L. tigrinus. Basidiospores of L. tigrinus germinated efficiently in a submerged culture with potato sucrose broth (pH 7.5) incubated in a lighted air-conditioned room (23 degrees C) with a mean of 91.33% after 10h of incubation. A peculiar type of germination process was evident as the spore coat was retained, elongated and eventually became part of the hypha. A sequence of significant developmental stages; mycelial coat thickening, swelling formation, browning and primordial initiation arises prior to basidiomata maturation and basidiospores liberation. L. tigrinus is a further addition to the list of Philippine wild edible mushrooms with great potential for cultivation.