Substrate preference of Shiitake Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler strains

Genus Lentinula comprises some of the most important edible and medicinal fungal species of the world. To compare growth rate of the strains of this genus, samples were collected from different regions of the world including Iran during 2017-2018. Investigation of the growth of 40 strains on two substrates containing malt and wheat straw extracts showed their relatively excellent performance on both media. Based on preliminary growth characteristics of the strains, 20 strains were selected to study their growth rate on natural substrate containing defined proportion of straw (40%) + sawdust (40%) + wheat bran (20%). Three strains including VM230 (UK strain), VM267 (Belgium strain) and VM353 (Japanese strain) showed high growth rate (65.25, 63.75 and 64.50 mm d-1, respectively), and were identified as Lentinula edodes by ITS4 and ITS5 sequencing. Growth rate of the best strain (VM230) was evaluated on different substrates containing different proportions of straw, sawdust and wheat bran. The highest growth rate (58.75 mm d-1) for VM230 was recorded on wheat straw (80%) + wheat bran (20%). These three strains are promising for commercial production of Shiitake.