Termitomyces, a genus of edible fungi within the Lyophyllaceae family, is well-known for its symbiotic relationship with termites from the Macrotermitinae subfamily. These mushrooms are highly valued for their outstanding taste, sub-stantial texture, nutritional and medicinal properties. Found extensively across Africa and Asia, Termitomyces mushrooms significantly contribute to local economies, ecosystems, and traditional healing practices. Recent molecular research has verified the genus as monophyletic and has identified new species through ITS, LSU, and mt SSU sequencing (Paloi et al., 2023; Seelan et al., 2022). In India, species like Termitomyces microcarpus, T. heimii, and T. schimperi are commonly found and consumed, particularly during the monsoon period. They are rich source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive substances such as flavonoids, phe-nolics, and antioxidants (Manjula et al., 2024; Kumar et al., 2022a). Cultivating Termitomyces is challenging due to their reliance on termites, although methods like artificial inoculation and fungal comb simulation are being investigated (Nguyen et al., 2023). Ethnomedicinally, they are used in various cultures to treat fevers, infections, and digestive issues. They are also being researched for industrial uses, including enzyme production, nutraceutical development, and bioremediation.
", "languages": [ { "id": "eng", "title": { "en": "English" } } ], "publication_date": "2025-07-01", "publisher": "RD Agriculture", "references": [ { "reference": "1.\tAanen, D.K., Eggleton, P., Rouland-Lefevre, C., Guldberg-Fr\u00f8slev, T., Rosendahl, S. & Boomsma, J.J. (2002). The evolution of fungus-growing termites and their mutualistic fungal symbionts. Science, 298(5595): 94\u201398." }, { "reference": "2.\tAryal, H.P., Ghimire, S.K. & Budhathoki, U. (2022). Termitomyces: New to the science. Journal of Plant Science & Research, 3: 148." }, { "reference": "3.\tDabolkar, S., & Kamat, N.M. (2020). Ethnomycological documentation and culinary usage of Termitomyces species from Goa. Kavaka, 55: 21\u201328." }, { "reference": "4.\tDe Souza, D., & Kamat, N.M. (2021). Termite-mound mushrooms: Rare fungi with cultivation potential. Mycology, 12: 11\u201320." }, { "reference": "5.\tElkhateeb, W.A., & Daba, G.M. (2022). Muskin: The amazing potential of mushrooms in human life. 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Milk-clotting proteases from Termitomyces clypeatus. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 48(1): 1\u201310." }, { "reference": "11.\tManjula, S., Mishra, S., & Kumar, S. (2024). Termitomyces microcarpus: A wild edible mushroom of India. In: Mishra S. (Ed.) Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of India, Vol. 1." }, { "reference": "12.\tMishra, A.K., Mahapatra, R.K., & Dash, P.K. (2021). Documentation of wild edible mushrooms and their medicinal uses in southern Odisha. European Journal of Medicinal Plants, 32(6): 19\u201327." }, { "reference": "13.\tMossebo, D.C., Fotso, F.L., & Ngono, T.G. (2023). New taxa of Termitomyces from Cameroon based on morphology and DNA sequencing. Journal of Fungal Taxonomy and Ecology, 9: 55\u201370." }, { "reference": "14.\tNguyen, L.T., Le, V.H., & Tran, D.Q. (2023). Optimization of mycelial growth and cultivation of wild Ganoderma sinense. BioTechnologia, 104(1): 65\u201374." }, { "reference": "15.\tPaloi, S., Kumla, J., Paloi, B.P., Karunarathna, S.C., Hyde, K.D., & Sabaratnam, V. (2023). Termite mushrooms (Termitomyces): A potential source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. Journal of Fungi, 9(1): 112." }, { "reference": "16.\tSeelan, J.S.S., Anandan, R., & Kathiresan, R.M. (2022). Molecular phylogeny and new species identification of Termitomyces from Southeast Asia. Mycological Progress, 21: 201\u2013209." } ], "resource_type": { "id": "publication-article", "title": { "de": "Zeitschriftenartikel", "en": "Journal article" } }, "rights": [ { "description": { "en": "The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited." }, "icon": "cc-by-icon", "id": "cc-by-4.0", "props": { "scheme": "spdx", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode" }, "title": { "en": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International" } } ], "subjects": [ { "subject": "Termitomyces" }, { "subject": "Mushrooms" }, { "subject": "Edible fungi" }, { "subject": "Termite" } ], "title": "Nature's Hidden Delicacy: The Termite Mushroom" }, "parent": { "access": { "owned_by": { "user": "615339" }, "settings": { "accept_conditions_text": null, "allow_guest_requests": false, "allow_user_requests": false, "secret_link_expiration": 0 } }, "communities": { "default": "c9893faf-a419-4302-adb9-2cabc2a1c5e7", "entries": [ { "access": { "member_policy": "open", "members_visibility": "public", "record_submission_policy": "open", "review_policy": "open", "visibility": "public" }, "children": { "allow": false }, "created": "2023-09-28T06:37:45.461059+00:00", "custom_fields": {}, "deletion_status": { "is_deleted": false, "status": "P" }, "id": "c9893faf-a419-4302-adb9-2cabc2a1c5e7", "links": {}, "metadata": { "curation_policy": "", "page": "It is an Open Access |Double-Blind Peer-Reviewed journal. 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