About 20,000 tons of nameko mushrooms are distributed annually in Japan, and it was revealed that 99% of the nameko mushrooms that decorate the daily dining table are derived from the wild nameko mushrooms collected in Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture 60 years ago. , Fukushima University and other research teams announced.
About 20,000 tons of nameko are distributed annually in Japan, of which 99% are produced by fungal bed cultivation.
There is a possibility that the fungus used for fungal bed cultivation has been bred and spread nationwide by improving the wild nameko fungus called F27, which was collected in Yamatomachi, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture 60 years ago. It was pointed out that it was expensive.
In order to confirm this theory, research teams such as Fukushima University and Fukushima Prefecture have developed a method to analyze the genetic lineage of nameko, and 73 different wild nameko bacteria collected in Japan and fungal bed cultivation. I investigated 50 nameko fungi distributed in Japan.
As a result, it became clear that while wild fungi showed genetic diversity, fungal bed-grown fungi were classified into one line and each was genetically very closely related.
As a result of retroactive examination of this strain, it was found that it was derived from the nameko fungus called F27, which was collected in Kitakata City, as has been pointed out for some time.
Atsushi Kumada, a member of the research team and former deputy director of the Fukushima Prefectural Forestry Center, said, "It was proved that the theory that Kitakata's fungus originated is not a tradition but a fact. It is believed that it has become widespread as a highly profitable bacterium. "