Biotechnology for in vitro growing of edible and medicinal mushrooms on wood wastes

The aim of this work was focused on finding out the best way to convert the wood wastes into useful food supplements, such as mushroom fruit bodies, by using them as growing sources for the edible and medicinal mushrooms. According to this purpose, three fungal species from Basidiomycetes, namely Ganoderma lucidum (Curt.:Fr.) P. Karst, Lentinus edodes (Berkeley) Pegler and Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacquin ex Fries) Kummer were tested to determine their biological potential to grow on substrates made of wood wastes (sawdusts as well as shavings) which could be used in this way as main ingredients for preparation of natural culture composts.The experiments were achieved by in vitro growing of all these fungal species in special rooms, where the main culture parameters were kept at optimal levels in order to get the highest production of mushroom fruit bodies. The effects of culture compost composition (carbon, nitrogen and mineral sources) as well as other physical and chemical factors (such as: temperature, inoculum amount, pH level and incubation time, etc.) on mycelial net formation and especially on fruit body induction, were investigated. From all these fungal species tested in our experiments, P. ostreatus was registered as the fastest mushroom culture, then L. edodes and finally, G. lucidum asthe longest mushroom culture. During the experiments, different logs of the same species were used as control samples for each culture compost variants. Applying such biotechnology, the environmental problems generated by the plant wastes accumulation in wood industry could be solved only by using biological means for theirvalorising, simultaneously with food supplements producing having high nutritive values as well as healing effects by increasing the consumers` health.