Domizia Donnini

• Dr. PhD
• Researcher at University of Perugia

Truffles are valuable underground mushrooms with significant economic importance. In recent years, their cultivation has achieved satisfactory results, but not for all species. The harvesting of white truffles (Tuber magnatum Picco) is still dependent on natural production, which is at risk due to various issues, such as improper forest management....

Although only a few species of Tuber account for the major truffle sales volume, many species that are not considered delicacies are finding their way to the market, especially in regions where the traditionally appreciated ones do not occur. This is the case for whitish truffles. Specimens of whitish truffles were collected in pecan (Carya illinoi...

Seminatural grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in Europe and worldwide, mainly due to changes in/abandonment of their traditional extensive use by grazing animals. This study aimed to develop an innovative model that integrates plant biodiversity, animal husbandry, and geo-informatics to manage and preserve seminatural grasslands in...

The growing demand for truffles has led to a global pursuit for their occurrence in the wild, and studies concerning their cultivation. Although European countries such as Italy, France and Spain have been known for truffle production, truffle hunting is new to Finland. The present study reports for the first time, the findings of Tuber maculatum i...

Truffles produced by Tuber species (Ascomycota) represent an additional income in economically marginal areas, especially if cultivating mycorrhized seedlings in dedicated truffle orchards. However, despite the great progress made in cultivation, truffle production has not increased substantially. One of the reasons may be the lack of knowledge on...

Fungi belonging to the genus Tuber produce edible ascocarps known as truffles. Tuber magnatum Picco may be the most appreciated truffle species given its peculiar aroma. While its life cycle is not yet fully elucidated, some studies demonstrated an active role of microorganisms. The main goal of this study was to determine how the T. magnatum micro...

Pecan trees are known to form ectomycorrhizae with a wide range of fungi, including commercial truffles that can be cultivated in agroforestry systems. Here, we investigated whether pecans can be successfully mycorrhized by Tuber spp. and whether the mycorrhization affects growth parameters and nutrient content of two productive pecan cultivars und...

Wild harvested plants (WHP) and crop wild relatives (CWR), part of the segment of natural diversity that is collectively known as ‘Plant Genetic Resources’, have great socioeconomic importance for humans because they are used either directly or in crop breeding. In order to lay down a solid base for constructing conservation strategies for Italy, a...

Background: Tuber aestivum Vittad., known as black summer truffle, represents high-value food especially used as garnishment in nouvelle cuisine. The aim of this study was to investigate on the viable microbial populations associated with T. aestivum ascomata collected in different sites of Sicily and one locality of Umbria (Italy). Methods: The ri...

Tuber aestivum, one of the most sought out and marketed truffle species in the world, is morphologically similar to Tuber mesentericum, which is only locally appreciated in south Italy and northeast France. Because T. aestivum and T. mesentericum have very similar ascocarp features, and collection may occur in similar environments and periods, thes...

The cultivation of Tuber melanosporum Vittad., the black truffle, recently expanded all over the world. For successful truffle production, an important factor to consider is the mycorrhization level of the planted mycorrhized-seedlings. To assess the mycorrhization level of a truffle orchard it is necessary to develop a sampling strategy. Root samp...

Sphaerosporella brunnea is a pioneer ectomycorrhizal fungus with facul-tative saprophytic capacities. Here, we sequenced the genome of S. brunnea strain Sb_GMNB300, which is estimated at 51.6 Mb in size with 872 assembled contigs accounting for 12,597 predicted coding genes. This genome will be useful for comparative studies of Pezizales ectomycorr...

Tuber mesentericum Vittad., also known as the “black truffle of Bagnoli Irpino”, is a lesser known ectomycorrhizal hypogeous fungus in the Pezizales. Known from the majority of European countries, this species characteristically lives in loose, easily warming up, calcareous soils. The aim of this study was to propose a comprehensive morphological d...

There is an increased consumer interest in minimally processed vegetables that has led to the development of products, such as pre-cut sliced mushrooms. Few data are available on the hygienic condition and the presence of foodborne pathogens in such products. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the safety and hygienic characteristics of...

In this paper, new floristic records for 55 taxa for central Italy are reported. In particular, 39 taxa are native and 16 aliens, 9 are new or confirmed to Abruzzo, 1 to Marche, 21 to Molise, 16 to Umbria, 1 is excluded from the flora of Abruzzo, 1 from Molise and 1 from Lazio. Furthermore, new distribution data for 2 rare species in Abruzzo and Mo...

Pecan, Carya illinoinensis, is an economically important nut producing tree that can establish ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with a high diversity of fungi. In the southern USA, truffles (Tuber spp.) sometimes fruit prolifically in cultivated pecan orchards and regularly associate with pecan roots as ectomycorrhizae (ECMs). It has been demonstrated tha...

Not all the commercial truffles (Tuber sp.) have equal importance in the market. Tuber macrosporum and Tuber mesentericum are considered less valued species, due to the peculiar organoleptic traits and/or the limited amounts collected and available to trade. However, some markets refer them as truffles of promising and increasing value. In this cha...

New distribution data on the genus Gagea (Liliaceae) in Umbria, Marche e Lazio (Central Italy). After years of extensive field research, new localities in Umbria, Marche and Latium are reported for eight species of the genus Gagea: G. bohemica (Zauschn.) Schult. & Schult.f., G. fragifera (Vill.) Ehr.Bayer & G.López, G. granatellii (Parl.) Parl., G....

In this work 13 new floristic records for Umbria region (central Italy) are reported. The survey was carried out from 2009 to 2015. Some species are of particular interest from a phytogeographical or conservational point of view.

In this work 21 new floristic records for Umbria region (central Italy) are reported. Particularly 19 are new and 2 are confirmed for the Umbria region. The survey was carried out from 2010 to 2014 some species are of particular interest from a phytogeographical or conservational point of view, as they are very rare in central Italy. In questo con...

After years of extensive field research, new localities in Umbria, Marche and Latium are reported for eight species of the genus Gagea: G. bohemica (Zauschn.) Schult. & Schult.f., G.fragifera (Vill.) Ehr.Bayer & G.López, G. granatellii (Parl.) Parl., G. lutea (L.) Ker Gawl., G. minima (L.) Ker Gawl., G. pratensis (Pers.) Dumort., G. tisoniana Peruz...

Hypogeous fungi are common in arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterranean basin and, in particular, they are found in Italy, Spain, northern African countries (especially in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), and in the Middle East. These fungi and, in particular, some species belonging to the genus Tuber and the desert truffles (Terfezia spp. and T...

Nel presente contributo sono riportati i risultati di uno studio sulla diversità della comunità fungina ectomicorrizica (ECM) presente in un impianto artificiale di conifere alloctone (Abies alba Mill., Pinus nigra Arnold e Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carrière), in cui è presente rinnovazione di A. alba e di Quercus ilex L., unica specie ve...

Aim of study: The main aims of this study were to evaluate the quality of truffle-inoculated seedlings produced by commercial nurseries in Italy and to identify their minimum requisites in terms of plant age, health, homogeneity, and cut-off percentage of inoculated Tuber and non-Tuber ectomycorrhizae, based on the analysis of an extensive sample o...

The aim of this study was to construct a solid basis for developing a crop wild relatives (CWR) and wild harvested plants (WHP) conservation strategy at the European and national levels. To this end we (i) worked out an annotated and synonymized Working Database of the Italian Vascular Plants, (ii) worked out a full CWR–WHP checklist for Italy, (ii...

In Italy, to improve good practices for truffle cultivation, some regional governments require specific certification of mycorrhization level and plant quality for marketing, out-planting and establishment of truffle orchards. The Department of Applied Biology at the University of Perugia has dealt with certification of truffle plants since the 198...

Tuber macrosporum Vittad. is a truffle with superb organoleptic properties, whose cultivation is still in its infancy. For the first time we have aimed to provide information on ectomycorrhizal communities in natural and cultivated T. macrosporum sites. Ectomycorrhizal morphotypes were identified using ITS nrDNA sequencing and sorted into molecular...

Fungi are organisms of significant importance not only for the crucial roles they undertake in nature but also for many human activities that are strictly dependent on them. Indeed, fungi possess fundamental positions in ecosystems functioning including nutrient cycles and wood decomposition. As concerns human-related activities, edible and non-edi...

The natural resources are currently overexploited and since 1992 the Conference of Rio de Janeiro has focused on sustainable development to safeguard our planet for future generations. The Fungi kingdom includes producers of goods and services for ecosystems and organisms widely used in the food industry. Besides, macrofungi are recognized as non-t...

Truffles are the fruiting bodies produced by a number of sequestrate fungi, the majority of which are ectomycorrhizal. Most edible truffle species belong to the Pezizales. The greatest successes in cultivating edible ectomycorrhizal fungi have been within the truffle genus Tuber. Traditionally, hazelnut and oak are used as host plants in truffle cu...

Pecan is the common name of Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch, an ectomycorrhizal tree native to North America, also frequently known as hickory. Mycorrhizal inoculations of pecan seedlings with: Tuber aestivum Vittad., T. borchii Vittad., T. indicum Cooke & Massee, and T. lyonii Butters are described and discussed.

Tuber macrosporum Vittad. is not a common truffle species, but with remarkable organoleptic qualities and much economic interest. After the addition of truffle spore slurry, 30 seedlings of Quercus robur L., Quercus cerris L. and Corylus avellana L. were grown inside a greenhouse for 11 months before evaluation of the mycorrhizal level. Two differe...

Crop wild relatives of Apium, Avena, Beta, Brassica and Prunus genera in Umbria (Central Italy) Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa more or less closely related to species of direct socio-economic importance and that have an indirect use for their genetic relationship to a crop. They possess traits, such as biotic and abiotic stress resis...

ISSN: 1742-3694

The distribution of the narrow endemic Gagea tisoniana Peruzzi, Bartolucci, Frignani & Minutillo is reported, by the analysis of herbarium specimens, bibliographic references and records in the field. This species occurs only in a restricted range of Marche, Latium, Tuscany and Umbria (EOO: 18.048 Km²). 32 localities are known for this species (1 i...

A remarkable increase in knowledge of fungal biodiversity in Italy has occurred in the last five years. The authors report up-to-date numbers of fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) by regions together with distributional and ecological data on hypogeous fungi. Specific case studies such as alpine fungi, orchid mycorrhizas symbionts, invasive speci...

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In truffle beds planted in environments not suitable for truffles, mychorrhizal substitution usually takes place after a period of time. The present work aimed at verifying the capacity of mycorrhization of Tuber borchii Vittad. in the presence of other Tuber species in the soil. Some young plants of Quercus pubescens Willd. were inoculated in the...

Riassunto Gli scavi del castello di Miranduolo (Siena) hanno messo in luce un notevole numero di strutture chiaramente destinate all'immagazzinamento di derrate alimentari. All'interno dell'area difesa, presso l'abitazione della famiglia dominante, a ridosso della palizzata, è stata messa in luce una zona destinata allo stoccaggio delle derrate ali...

The Miranduolo (Siena) castle’s excavation has highlighted a considerable number of structures used as foodstuff warehouse. Inside the defended area, near to the lord’s family house, behind the wall, an area used for the storage of food was found. Among the cereals prevail naked wheats, Secale cereale, Hordeum vulgare, Triticum monococcum and occas...

In the last decades the production of truffles in the areas potentially suitable for its development has been gradually decreasing. The fragile balance of mycorrhizal symbiosis taking place between host plants and fungi can be altered by direct and indirect factors. Such factors are mainly unbalanced growth of some wild animal species and human int...

This study is on the influence of fallow deer grazing in a hilly area in Umbria. Over a five year period a floristic and vegetation survey was carried out as well as an evaluation of grazing load and damage. Results show a moderate reduction in total number of vegetable species present, particularly the ones most palatable to animals. Basing on the...