Improving truffle mycelium flavour through strain selection targeting volatiles of the Ehrlich pathway

Truffles (Tuber spp.) are the fruiting bodies of symbiotic fungi, which are prized food delicacies. The marked aroma variability observed among truffles of the same species has been attributed to a series of factors that are still debated. This is because factors (i.e. genetics, maturation, geographical location and the microbial community colonizing truffles) often co-vary in truffle orchards. Here, we removed the co-variance effect by investigating truffle flavour in axenic cultures of nine strains of the white truffle Tuber borchii. This allowed us to investigate the influence of genetics on truffle aroma. Specifically, we quantified aroma variability and explored whether strain selection could be used to improve human-sensed truffle flavour. Our results illustrate that aroma variability among strains is predominantly linked to amino acid catabolism through the Ehrlich pathway, as confirmed by C-13 labelling experiments. We furthermore exemplified through sensory analysis that the human nose is able to distinguish among strains and that sulfur volatiles derived from the catabolism of methionine have the strongest influence on aroma characteristics. Overall, our results demonstrate that genetics influences truffle aroma much more deeply than previously thought and illustrate the usefulness of strain selection for improving truffle flavour.