Mushroom Biotechnology: Developing Cultivation Protocol for Four Different Mushrooms and Accessing Their Potential in Pollution Management

Abstract

The proteinaceous food value of mushrooms is well recognized and it may offer effective and lasting solutions to the problems of child malnutrition and protein supplement in pregnant ladies. Advancements have been made toward understanding mushroom biology, cultivation aspects, using a variety of agro lingo-cellulosic waste, breeding high yielding varieties, medicinal implications and uses of these unique fruiting bodies in bioremediation and waste water management. Mushrooms contain antioxidants and anticancerous chemicals in significant quantities. Use of Chaga mushroom in corona virus disease control has been suggested recently in Russia. After first cultivation of rat ear fungus (Auricularia auricula) in 600 A.D., now more than 20 species are commercially cultivated and protocols to culture about 300 mushrooms is now known. New cultivation methods are developed and discussed for Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes), Lenzites sterioides, Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) and Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor).

The biological efficiency was 45% for Lentinus and 56% for Reishi in experiments conducted at Botany Department of the M.S. University of Baroda. An increase in yield was recorded when Lentinus mycelium was exposed to blue light and 5–10 ppm Veradix (IBA). The cultivation of medicinal mushroom is profitable as well fascinating since it requires a range of specific environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature, etc. The efforts have been made to eliminate the use of polythene bags by using earthen pots in case of oyster mushroom. A range of substrates have been used to increase the yield and manage agro-waste produced in large quantity in different countries. Cellulose and hemicellulose served as better sources of mushroom production, whereas, in lignin containing substrates the growth was slower. Apart from using substrates, dilute acid soaking of the leaves produced better growth of oyster. Light and temperature levels are also critical for example Lentinus cultivation required 15–20 °C temp, while it was 20–25 °C in certain other species. For G. lucidum the temperature required was 30 °C. Exposure to light acts as a shock to switch over the mycelium from vegetative to reproductive stage. The efforts are being made to increase number of fruiting bodies by the use of Ni and Sn salts. This chapter deals with spawn production and the advances in cultivation of four medicinal mushrooms made in different parts of the world. Mushrooms breeding and strain improvement has resulted into many new and high yielding strains. Production of oyster mushroom is done in almost all parts of the country, extensive fungal surveys are needed for developing better conservation strategies.