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Tuber Hudongense: A Critical Asian Truffle to Seek in Europe

Published in Plant (Volume 13, Issue 4)
Received: 8 September 2025     Accepted: 4 October 2025     Published: 31 October 2025
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Abstract

Species belong to the genus Tuber (Pezizales, Ascomycota) are ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi that produce hypogeous fruiting establishing a symbiotic interaction with plant roots, mainly oaks and hazelnuts. Truffles are known as the gastronomically prized species, with a high market value, due to the expensive delicacies. Although these fungi are distributed worldwide, it has never been discovered in DPR Korea. In this study, we described about the first discovery of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea. Based on the discovery of specimens of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea which represents the first harvest of a true truffle in the country, a phylogenetic investigation was carried out to clarify the existence or otherwise of a complex of species around this truffle, hypothesized by various authors. A genetic analysis of all the ITS sequences available in public database was performed and it appeared very probable that two other species of Tuber (T. furfuraceum and T. lannaense) described in Far East Asia are later synonyms with T. huidongense. Therefore, their synonymization is proposed and the taxonomy of T. huidongense is clarified. From a geographical point of view, the species so far seems concentrated in South and East Asia. Its possible presence in Europe (Czech Republic) is considered doubtful to be confirmed.

Published in Plant (Volume 13, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12
Page(s) 185-190
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Phylogenesis, Taxonomy, Synonymy, Asian Truffles

References
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[2] CLARIDGE AW, TRAPPE JM (2005) Sporocarp mycophagy: nutritional, behavioral, evolutionary and physiological aspects, pp. 599–611. In: Dighton, J., J. F. White & P. Oudemans (eds.). The Fungal Community - Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem. Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, FL, USA;
[3] PACINI G, RAPINO C, ZARIVI O, FALCONI A, LEONARDI M, BATTISTA N, COLAFARINA S, BONFIGLI A, MIRANDA M, BARSACCHI D, MACCARRONE M (2015) Truffles contain endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes and anandamide. Phytochemistry 110: 104–110.
[4] BONITO GM, GRYGASKYI AP, TRAPPE JM, VILGALYS R (2010) A global meta-analysis of Tuber ITS rDNA sequences: species diversity, host associations and long-distance dispersal. Molecular Ecology 19: 4994-5008.
[5] ZAMBONELLI A, IOTTI M, HALL I (2015). Current status of truffle cultivation: recent results and future perspectives. Italian Journal of Mycology 44(1): 31–40.
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[8] WANG Y, HE XY (2002) Tuber huidongense sp. nov. from China. Mycotaxon 83: 191-194.
[9] FAN L, LI T, XU YY, YAN XY (2022) Species diversity, phylogeny, endemism and geography of the truffle genus Tuber in China based on morphological and molecular data. Persoonia 48, 2022: 175–202.
[10] LEONARDI M, Paz-Conde A, Guevara G, Salvi D, Pacioni G (2019) Two new species of Tuber previously reported as Tuber mala-codermum. Mycologia 111: 676-689.
[11] WHITE TJ, BRUNS T, TAYLOR J (1990) Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics. In PCR Protocols: a Guide to Methods and Applications 18: 315–322 (eds. Innis MA, Gelfand DH, Sninsky JJ, White TJ). Academic Press, Inc., New York.
[12] SAYERS EW, BECK J, BOLTON EE, BOUREXIS D, BRISTER JR, CANESE K, COMEAU DC, FUNK K,, KLIMKE W, MARCHLER BA, MELISSA LM, LATHROP S, LU Z, MADDEN TL, O'LEARY N, PHAN L, RANGWALA SH, SCHNEIDER VA, SKRIPCHENKO Y, WANG J, YE J, TRAWICK BW, PRUITT KD, SHERRY ST (2021) Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Nucleic Acids Research 49(D1): D10-D17.
[13] ABARENKOV K, KOLJALG U, NILSSON RH (2022) UNITE: species hypotheses matching analysis. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 6.
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[21] HUANG JY, HU HT, SHEN WC (2009) Phylogenetic study of two truffles, Tuber formosanum and Tuber furfuraceum, identified from Taiwan. FEMS Microbiology Letters 294: 157–71.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Jo, S. G., Kim, Y. N., Ri, K. C., Kim, K. M., Jo, K. C., et al. (2025). Tuber Hudongense: A Critical Asian Truffle to Seek in Europe. Plant, 13(4), 185-190. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12

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    ACS Style

    Jo, S. G.; Kim, Y. N.; Ri, K. C.; Kim, K. M.; Jo, K. C., et al. Tuber Hudongense: A Critical Asian Truffle to Seek in Europe. Plant. 2025, 13(4), 185-190. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12

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    AMA Style

    Jo SG, Kim YN, Ri KC, Kim KM, Jo KC, et al. Tuber Hudongense: A Critical Asian Truffle to Seek in Europe. Plant. 2025;13(4):185-190. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12,
      author = {Su Gyong Jo and Yong Nam Kim and Kuk Chol Ri and Kwang Myong Kim and Kuk Chol Jo and Il Gwang Yun and Jong Hyok Pak and In Chol Kye and Hui Won Kim},
      title = {Tuber Hudongense: A Critical Asian Truffle to Seek in Europe
    },
      journal = {Plant},
      volume = {13},
      number = {4},
      pages = {185-190},
      doi = {10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20251304.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.plant.20251304.12},
      abstract = {Species belong to the genus Tuber (Pezizales, Ascomycota) are ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi that produce hypogeous fruiting establishing a symbiotic interaction with plant roots, mainly oaks and hazelnuts. Truffles are known as the gastronomically prized species, with a high market value, due to the expensive delicacies. Although these fungi are distributed worldwide, it has never been discovered in DPR Korea. In this study, we described about the first discovery of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea. Based on the discovery of specimens of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea which represents the first harvest of a true truffle in the country, a phylogenetic investigation was carried out to clarify the existence or otherwise of a complex of species around this truffle, hypothesized by various authors. A genetic analysis of all the ITS sequences available in public database was performed and it appeared very probable that two other species of Tuber (T. furfuraceum and T. lannaense) described in Far East Asia are later synonyms with T. huidongense. Therefore, their synonymization is proposed and the taxonomy of T. huidongense is clarified. From a geographical point of view, the species so far seems concentrated in South and East Asia. Its possible presence in Europe (Czech Republic) is considered doubtful to be confirmed.
    },
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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    AU  - Su Gyong Jo
    AU  - Yong Nam Kim
    AU  - Kuk Chol Ri
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    JO  - Plant
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    AB  - Species belong to the genus Tuber (Pezizales, Ascomycota) are ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi that produce hypogeous fruiting establishing a symbiotic interaction with plant roots, mainly oaks and hazelnuts. Truffles are known as the gastronomically prized species, with a high market value, due to the expensive delicacies. Although these fungi are distributed worldwide, it has never been discovered in DPR Korea. In this study, we described about the first discovery of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea. Based on the discovery of specimens of Tuber huidongense in DPR Korea which represents the first harvest of a true truffle in the country, a phylogenetic investigation was carried out to clarify the existence or otherwise of a complex of species around this truffle, hypothesized by various authors. A genetic analysis of all the ITS sequences available in public database was performed and it appeared very probable that two other species of Tuber (T. furfuraceum and T. lannaense) described in Far East Asia are later synonyms with T. huidongense. Therefore, their synonymization is proposed and the taxonomy of T. huidongense is clarified. From a geographical point of view, the species so far seems concentrated in South and East Asia. Its possible presence in Europe (Czech Republic) is considered doubtful to be confirmed.
    
    VL  - 13
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Daily Food, Institute of Microbiology, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Breeding, Central Institute of Mushroom, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Branch of Biotechnology, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

  • Department of Daily Food, Institute of Microbiology, Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

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