Imagine sitting in an ultra-nice restaurant like The French Laundry and being presented with a beautifully fragrant and exceptionally expensive plate of gnocchi and black truffles. For gastronomes this sounds like the definition of culinary heaven, but even those who will never experience a truffle can appreciate such a dream. Such is our attraction to the truffle. For centuries, the truffle has held an interesting history and a certain mystique. Ever since the privileged classes discovered them, truffles have served as a decadent pleasure. Until recently, however, we haven’t fully understood them. In the 16th and 17th centuries, many believed they reproduced through seeds or spontaneous generation (Hall et al, 26). It wasn’t until later that botanists like Gaspard A. Chatin proved truffles reproduce through spores (Hall et al., 30). According to Nicholas Wade in his article “Unearthing the Sex Secrets of the Périgord Black Truffle”, scientists have recently discovered that truffles actually reproduce sexually. Clearly we have come a long way in our understanding of truffles, but they will always retain their mystique. To better understand the truffle, though, is to better understand food in general. But where does this intrigue come from? Before learning more about the biology of truffles, it is vital to understand their history. First of all, there are two major types of truffles: the Périgord black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) from France, and the Italian white truffle (Tuber magnatum) from the Piedmont region in northern Italy. While there are many other species of truffles from all over the world, none are more sought after and valuable than the Périgord and white truffles. Much of this affection towards these particular truffles comes from the Greeks and Romans who were the first to use truffles. For instance, Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, and Roman statesman Cicero both spoke of the powers and interesting qualities of truffles. Later on, Emperor Nero called truffles the “food of the gods” (Hall et al., 23). After hearing such praise for truffles, people started to eat them more and more. During the Dark Ages, however, truffles began to disappear and actually became the food of peasants who had nothing else (Hall et al., 25). Up to the 14th century, truffles flew mostly under the radar, which was when the French and Italian royalty adopted the truffle as a major part of their cuisine. Attracted to the lore and extravagance of the fungi, royal families such as the Valois ate dishes that sometimes called for 12 black truffles. Then, when Catherine de Medici of Italy married King Henry II of France, she brought with her the Italian taste for white truffles and sweetbreads, thus igniting haute cuisine in France (Hall et al., 31). Ever since then, the truffle has been a mainstay on the plates of the wealthy, as well as a cultural icon due to its breathtaking prices. Those that can afford to pay upwards of $3000 per kilogram are not disappointed though, and famous restaurants like El Bulli in Spain and Alinea in Chicago regularly use the truffle to wow their customers with intense and unique flavors. So, fungi, especially truffles, really have played a surprisingly important role in history. Now, understanding the history of truffles is important, but comprehending their biology is equally important, as it explains why truffles are so unique. Truffles are fungi that grow beneath certain trees such as the Oak and Hazelnut (Wade). But instead of living off soil or other plants, truffles form organs called ectomychorrhiza, a type of mycorrhiza, which wrap around the roots of the trees and create a saprophytic relationship in which the truffles live off the tree. In exchange for the nutrients from the tree, the truffles provide the tree with water and Phosphorus that the tree would not normally have access too. In this sense, the relationship is actually beneficial for the tree. So, the truffles can easily survive of the tree, and they are protected from any changes in climate above ground; all they need to worry about is reproduction (Trappe, Claridge, 78-84). To reproduce, the truffles produce spores and attract other animals and insects to spread them. For instance, they lure pigs and squirrels by producing androstenol, which is similar to the animals’ sex hormone. When such animals dine on the truffles and excrete them near other trees, they very effectively spread the spores into concentrated areas (Wade). In addition, the truffles entice flies to lay their eggs on them by releasing anisole and veratole, which are insect pheromones. Once the flies come in contact with the truffles, they carry the spores of to other locations, thereby continuing reproduction. Potential consumers might gag at the idea of eating the eggs of flies attached to their truffles, but scientists believe this only intensifies the flavor of the truffle. This seems quite likely given the added intensity of natural truffles over artificially grown truffles. Now, while proponents of the theory that truffles reproduce through spores are not incorrect, new information has come to light that they don’t have the full picture. As Dr. Francis Martin, a plant biologist at the University of Nancy in France, and his team discovered, truffles actually have two sexes (Wade). This epiphany has the potential to make truffle production much more efficient, as growers now know to introduce both sexes to roots, which will help spur reproduction greatly. And this is likely just one part of a bright future for biological discovery about truffles. According to Dr. Martin, “The Périgord black truffle has a large genome, made of 125 million units of DNA that contain about 7,500 genes.” Clearly, it will take years for scientists to decode what each gene does, and I believe they will continue to unveil more layers of the mystery surrounding truffles. The immense potential for discovery that scientists possess does have some major consequences, all of which are very likely to impact the future of truffles. Firstly, one issue brought about by the discovery of the two sexes is the differing opinions of truffle growers about how new growing methods might increase production. Growers in Italy and France have long been asking botanists for ways to increase their yields and plant more truffles, but many are now worried that planting both sexes will increase production to the point of monetary loss (Wade). Growing truffles is the livelihood of many people throughout the world, and while the scientific community is very excited about this breakthrough, it’s important not to lose sight of the major impacts of scientific innovation. In other words, it’s important not to become greedy and plant as many truffles as possible to the detriment of growers. But is there another way to increase yields without them getting out of control? Well, scientists have had some success with introducing pureed truffles, infected roots, and spores to sterile soil and growing the truffles “artificially” rather than planting a new tree. This does help with efficiency and yield, but the method’s major downfall is its inability to reproduce the T. magnatum and T. melanosporum (Hall et al., 45-50). It seems, then, that growing truffles in their natural habitat is best, especially when it comes to flavor (Trappe, Claridge, 78-84). Therefore, I believe growers should use both sexes, but keep a very close watch over production. If the planters can find a happy medium between higher yields and over production, everyone will be happy. The same goes for future innovations. Science will inevitably evolve over the years and discover more and more about the genetic makeup of truffles. Such innovations may help increase yields, but they will probably be most beneficial in helping identify all the different types of truffles. As Nicholas Wald predicts, scientific revolutions could create a system for identifying what region truffles come from, much like how wines are categorized. In this sense, I am all for the continuation of scientific discovery, which if thought about carefully, carries major potential for the future. The future of truffles is somewhat unknown at this point, and it will be very interesting to see where scientific innovation takes truffle production down the road. It will also be intriguing to see if diners will continue to shell out such obscene amounts of money in a society where austerity and restraint are increasingly valued. Only time will tell. However, I have a hunch that truffles will continue to awe all kinds of different people. They really are unique, and I think more and more people will want to experience the wonder of truffles.

Works Cited
Hall, Ian R., and Brown, Gordon T., and Zambonelli, Alessandra. Taming the Truffle. Portland:
Timber Press, 2007. Print.
Madhani, Aamer. “Italian village to give Obama rare mushroom.” USA Today 13 Nov. 2012. Print.
Trappe, James M., and Claridge, Andrew W., “The Hidden Life of Truffles.” Scientific American
April 2010: 78-84. Web.
Wade, Nicholas. “Unearthing the Sex Secrets of the Périgord Black Truffle.” The New York
Times 28 March 2010. Np. Web.