Evaluation of Wild-Isolated and Commercial Strains of Lion’s Mane Mushrooms for Spawn Production
Disciplines
Agriculture | Microbiology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Hericium erinaceus, commonly known as “Lion’s Mane” mushrooms, are a type of wood-decaying fungus, noted for their choice-edible status along with unique medicinal benefits. Lion’s Mane mushrooms have acquired growing interest from consumers in recent years due to their unique flavor and visual appeal, in addition to their potential neurological benefits. Despite the profit potential, local specialty mushroom farmers often fail to meet the demand for this mushroom due to difficulty in the production of consistent spawn. Strains of Hericium erinaceus are often slower growing and lower yielding than other commonly cultivated specialty mushrooms, and often will produce mushrooms on growth media prematurely, resulting in loss of product. Due to these challenges, cultivation trials were conducted using thirteen isolates of Hericium mushrooms, primarily Hericium erinaceus as well as another related edible species, Hericium americanum, to characterize their cultivation process for commercial spawn generation. Isolates were collected from mushrooms growing locally, as well as strains used in commercial operations, and are compared on growth rate and biological efficiency of mushroom production, as well as qualitative data on the strains pertinent to commercial cultivation, such as whether they form fruiting bodies prematurely. A variety of substrates were compared, including materials often used in commercial operations, as well as agricultural byproduct-based substrate blends, which allow mushrooms to be produced as value-added products from otherwise wasted materials. These experiments assess the efficacy of each strain’s usage in a standard commercial setup, and data has shown that isolates collected by our lab have significantly outperformed commercial strains that currently are in usage. As this study is ongoing, future plans include determining ideal growing conditions for the highest-performance strains, as well as potentially conducting cross-breeding between high-performing strains to obtain desirable qualities for commercial production.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Molecular and Cellular Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Christopher Cornelison
Evaluation of Wild-Isolated and Commercial Strains of Lion’s Mane Mushrooms for Spawn Production
Hericium erinaceus, commonly known as “Lion’s Mane” mushrooms, are a type of wood-decaying fungus, noted for their choice-edible status along with unique medicinal benefits. Lion’s Mane mushrooms have acquired growing interest from consumers in recent years due to their unique flavor and visual appeal, in addition to their potential neurological benefits. Despite the profit potential, local specialty mushroom farmers often fail to meet the demand for this mushroom due to difficulty in the production of consistent spawn. Strains of Hericium erinaceus are often slower growing and lower yielding than other commonly cultivated specialty mushrooms, and often will produce mushrooms on growth media prematurely, resulting in loss of product. Due to these challenges, cultivation trials were conducted using thirteen isolates of Hericium mushrooms, primarily Hericium erinaceus as well as another related edible species, Hericium americanum, to characterize their cultivation process for commercial spawn generation. Isolates were collected from mushrooms growing locally, as well as strains used in commercial operations, and are compared on growth rate and biological efficiency of mushroom production, as well as qualitative data on the strains pertinent to commercial cultivation, such as whether they form fruiting bodies prematurely. A variety of substrates were compared, including materials often used in commercial operations, as well as agricultural byproduct-based substrate blends, which allow mushrooms to be produced as value-added products from otherwise wasted materials. These experiments assess the efficacy of each strain’s usage in a standard commercial setup, and data has shown that isolates collected by our lab have significantly outperformed commercial strains that currently are in usage. As this study is ongoing, future plans include determining ideal growing conditions for the highest-performance strains, as well as potentially conducting cross-breeding between high-performing strains to obtain desirable qualities for commercial production.