About this Research Topic
Morchella species possess diverse ecologies, including saprotrophic and biotrophic nutrition modes. Artificial cultivation of black morels is an outdoor-soil ecosystem dominated by natural microbes, rather than quasi-sterile substrates routinely used for typical wood-decaying fungi such as oyster mushroom and shitake. Therefore, the growth and fruiting of morels are complex and rely on the physiological status of the morel mycelial network in combination with soil physiochemical factors and microbiota in the mycosphere. Studies are needed that combine interdisciplinary research toolkits - from fungal genetics, developmental biology, functional multi-omics, biochemistry, and soil science, to microbial ecology.
We welcome the submission of original research, reviews, methods, and perspectives on “Morels: physiology, genetics, and interactions with the environment”. The potential topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Mechanisms driving the transition of morels from vegetative growth to reproductive growth.
- C and N fluxes during growth and fruiting of morels.
- Nutrients that are required for the growth and fruiting of morels.
- Mechanism of morels to mineralize, solubilize, and assimilate N, P, and S from soil organic and inorganic fractions.
- Interactions between morels and the biotic and abiotic factors in the soil environment.
- Mycorrhizal morels (e.g., the Esculenta clade) and the interactions with their host plants.
- Growth-promoting or pathogenic microorganisms associated with morel cultivation.
- Genetic, molecular, metabolic, and cellular mechanisms affecting the vitality, degeneration, and fruiting capacity of morel cultures.
- Report of new germplasm resource of morels with genetic analysis.
Keywords: morel, ecophysiology, metabolism, fruiting, nutritional acquisition, mineralization, environmental influences
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.