Shannon M. Berch – , Canada

ruffles are the underground interest can drive the price up to truffles for study through the use of fruiting bodies of certain thousands of dollars per kilogram. a rake. One of the keys to success ectomycorrhizal fungi (Trappe Human interest in truffles is based when foraying for truffles with a rake Tand Claridge, 2010). Fungi that fruit as on the very same feature that is so is to search for non-olfactory clues truffles can be found in all of the major intimately involved with dispersal to the presence of truffles, especially Divisions of the Fungi - , by animals – the heady, pungent odor of fresh small animal digs in the forest Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and a ripe truffle. Mice, squirrels, armadillos, floor. Sometimes it is possible to find Zygomycota - indicating that the truffle meerkats, deer, bears, baboons and form has evolved multiple times in wallabies all seek out truffles (Trappe multiple lineages through the loss of and Claridge, 2010). Although many ancestral characteristics (e.g. lamellae people believe that truffles in Europe or pores) and the selection for drought are harvested with the assistance of resistance and animal dispersal (Bruns pigs, in fact most truffles worldwide are et al., 1989). Of the thousands of harvested by trained dogs. truffles species that exist worldwide, For many years, scientists like Dr. Jim only a handful holds culinary interest Trappe who have been at the forefront for humans. But, for those few, human of truffle science (truffology?) collected the terms “environmental sample,” with the death of her beloved cat. “,” and “British Columbia” Pursuing a lifelong desire to own a dog, produces over 700 accessions and many she researched many pure and designer of those are truffles in the broad sense breeds in search of a dog that would (e.g. false truffles such as Rhizopogon, be neither too large nor too “precious,” Gautieria, Hysterangium). Trained that would be loyal, friendly, relaxed, truffle dogs are now providing us with and up for a day in the woods yet not actual collections of ripe truffles that too prone to wandering. She hit on the are now making their way into fungal puggle – part beagle, part pug – which collections at the University of British promised the best of both breeds while Columbia (UBC) and Pacific Forestry avoiding or moderating the pushed-in Centre (DAVFP). nose problems (brachycephaly). As luck would have it, she found a puggle breeder in Salmon Arm, her home town; with that a powerful new partnership was created. Although Dexter, the puggle, was a pet for his first truffles left behind by few years, serendipity set the animal by “truffling” the partnership off in a new with a rake around these direction. Brooke was in the digs. Truffologists these audience when I spoke to days, like Dr. Alessandra the Vancouver Mycological Zambonelli, sometimes use Society (VMS) about trained truffle dogs to find truffles, dog training, and the truffles they study (e.g. truffle guru Dr. Jim Trappe; Lancellotti et al., 2016). little did I know a seed was Many fear that raking planted that evening that disrupts the soil, roots, soon after would bear fruit. and mycelium At the Sicamous Mushroom and might decrease the Festival in Salmon Arm, number of truffles fruiting Brooke met Larry Evans over time. Whether or and experienced for the first not this is so, the clear time the tantalizing aroma problem with raking for of a ripe truffle that Larry truffles is that truffles of had brought with him. At any maturity are found. forays of the Vancouver Since only mature truffles Mycological Society, Brooke are complexly odoriferous, began looking in animal raked truffles often include digs for truffles, found a immature truffles with poor few, and got hooked on the aromas and little appeal. treasure hunt. Knowledge of the A cancelled road trip to diversity of truffles in Arizona found Brooke and British Columbia (BC) had until recently Tis article is mostly a celebration Dexter travelling to instead at been based on the occasional lucky of Dexter and Brooke – the first really a time when Jim Trappe happened to find and the occasional incursion of successful truffle dog/handler team in be speaking to the North American truffologists from other parts of the BC. I hope, by highlighting Dexter’s Truffling Society about truffles of Pacific Northwest. Two developments accomplishments, to encourage many Papua, New Guinea. At that meeting, have changed this recently – the more people to get themselves and their she learned about an upcoming truffle relatively easy availability of molecular dogs into the classroom and then out dog training opportunity and when analyses and the appearance on the into the forests of BC with their noses that training session was also cancelled, scene of trained truffle dogs. DNA to the ground. she found Charles Lefevre of New analysis of ectomycorrhizal root tips Brooke Fochuk was born and raised World Truffieres. Charles referred her has contributed to the expansion of in the town of Salmon Arm on Shuswap to Kelly Slocum who is a canine scent what we know about the diversity and Lake in the southern interior of British work trainer. Kelly was keen to meet distribution in BC of true truffle species Columbia. When she moved to the Brooke and Dexter and start them in the genus (Berch and Bonito, Lower Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver, on their truffle dog training. As luck 2016). A search through GenBank using BC for college, her homesickness peaked would have it, Dexter was on a strict 26 FUNGI Volume 9:3 Fall 2016 diet due to a skin condition at the time characteristics; they headed down a and Kelly had raw pork to reward good bank and neared a Douglas-fir tree behavior, a strong motivator for Dexter. under which Dexter found a small (about In those first few hours, it was clear to the size of a quarter), ripe, truffle which Kelly that Dexter had promise as he I was later able to confirm as Tuber progressed rapidly through the early oregonense, the winter Oregon white phases of training. truffle. Teir very first truffle find in When Brooke and Dexter returned British Columbia! Excitement enveloped home, they began serious training – them both. Brooke became even more twenty minutes a day for 6 months. determined to find truffles locally but Tis training at home was interspersed soon became frustrated that there were with two more sessions with Kelly. no other serious truffle dog teams in For Brooke, the focus was “the BC. So, she connected with like-minded fundamentals” - detecting the scent folks in State to learn the and communicating the presence of the attributes of productive truffle sites and scent – in a controlled, non-distracting apply those parameters to BC forests. environment. Repetition and simplicity According to Brooke, she had to search were key to ensure that Dexter many promising sites in BC to find a few understood what was being asked of him with culinary native truffles. and did not get discouraged. Motivation But, Brooke and Dexter have not with a favored food reward was also an limited themselves to culinary truffles; important part of the training. Over the they have been the driving force in years, I have seen Brooke reward Dexter exploring the diversity of truffle species with cheese or carrots or prime rib, in BC. What astonishes me is that whatever it takes to keep him focused, Dexter is able to detect truffles from happy and wanting more. the four Phyla of fungi – Ascomycota, Ten, one day Brooke and Dexter Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and were out for one of their regular walks Zygomycota (Table 1). What odors in a neighborhood park. Out of the could this diverse group of fungi have in blue, Dexter began to display search common? Dexter steps over and around mushrooms of all types to find truffles, Phylum Species so it is not just some generic “fungus” Ascomycota Elaphomyces granulatus smell that he detects. Now, I have smelled and enjoyed the heady aromas Genea gardneri of the Oregon white and black truffles so Hydnotrya cerebriformis I can completely understand how dogs like Dexter can find those, but have you Leucangium carthusianum Tube anniae Tuber beyerlei Tuber gibbosum Tuber melanosporum Tuber oregonense Basidiomycota Chamonixia caespitosa Hymenogaster niveus Hymenogaster subalpinus Hysterangium setchellii Melanogaster sp. Rhizopogon hawkerae Glomeromycota Glomus sp. nov. Zygomycota Endogone lactiflua Table 1. Examples of the truffle species found by Dexter and Brooke in southwestern British Columbia. FUNGI Volume 9:3 Fall 2016 27 in Abbotsford, BC. Both Dexter and they find truffles that contribute to Macchi went on to find many more science and to the table. bianchettos in that orchard that day 3. Professional truffle dog teams work while a third truffle dog-in-training with truffle growers to ensure that was unable to find any. While training all cultivated truffles harvested is clearly very important, it takes in BC are at the peak of ripeness something more than just training to and build a first rate reputation for develop a first rate truffle dog. To me, a cultivated culinary BC truffles. non-expert in canine matters, it seems 4. Truffle dog teams search native to also take shared focus, dedication, forest and harvest native culinary hard work, enthusiasm, and desire to truffles at the peak of ripeness and please each other. build a first rate reputation for Tanks to the efforts of many, truffle native culinary BC truffles. ever tried to detect the odor of Endogone dog training is now available in North 5. Truffologists like me find truffle lactiflua? I have and I can tell you that, America in many forms – on-line, in dog teams to work with so that, to my nose, it has no aroma at all. Aroma person, from professional dog trainers, even for science, raking is no longer chemistry has been extensively studied via mentoring – but critical to the the go-to truffle collecting method. for the commercial Mediterranean development of first rate truffle dog References Cited truffles, for instance Culleré et al. (2010) teams is practice, practice, practice of reported that the aroma emitted by a the fundamentals until the dog and Berch, S.M., and G. Bonito. 2014. typical Périgord black truffle is due to at handler are both fully confident. For the Cultivation of Mediterranean species least 17 different aroma molecules. In truffle grower, it is particularly important of Tuber () in British addition, odor compounds in culinary that this confidence be based on Columbia, Canada. 24(6): Mediterranean truffles originate not demonstrated success. No truffle grower 473-479. just from the fungus but also from the wants truffles left in the ground to rot Berch, S.M., and G. Bonito. 2016. Truffle bacteria associated with the truffle. But, because a trained dog team turns out not diversity (Tuber, Tuberaceae) in British to my knowledge, other than a 1985 thesis to be a competent dog team. Columbia. Mycorrhiza DOI 10.1007/ on the aroma volatiles of Tuber gibbosum Te Truffle Association of BC is s00572-016-0695-2. (Marin, 1985), the odor profiles of our supporting the development of best Bruns, T.D., R. Fogel, T.J. White, and J.D. native culinary truffles and the many false management practices and standards Palmer. 1989. Accelerated evolution truffles are virtually unknown. for truffle dog teams to help ensure that of a false-truffle from a mushroom Now that Mediterranean truffle truffle growers can be confident of the ancestor. Nature 339: 140-142. orchards in BC are starting to produce abilities of truffle dog teams they hire to Culleré, L., V. Ferreira, B. Chevret, M.E. truffles of Tuber melanosporum search their truffières. Scent detection Venturini, A.C. Sánchez-Gimeno, (Périgord black truffle), Tuber aestivum canine handlers and their dogs can D. Blanco. 2010. Characterization (summer or Burgundy truffle) and already be certified by independent of aroma active compounds in black Tuber borchii (bianchetto truffle), certifying bodies using rigorous, double- truffles (Tuber melanosporum) and Dexter has become the gold standard blind testing to find such things as summer truffles (Tuber aestivum) by against which other truffle dogs are termites, narcotics, mold, explosives, gas chromatography–olfactometry. compared. But, one truffle dog, even and bed bugs. Truffle detection is Food Chemistry 122: 300–306. one superdog like Dexter, cannot single- fundamentally no different from finding Lancellotti, E., P. Fantini, M. Iotti, handedly work all truffle orchards, anything else and the competence of A. Franceschini, and A. Zambonelli. document all native truffles, and find the canine team is just as important 2016. Tuber melosporum smooth all the native culinary truffles that are to truffle growers as is it is to police : an anomalous feature in the becoming known and asked for in fine officers searching for narcotics and genus Tuber. Mycologia 108: 174-178. restaurants. We are incredibly lucky property owners concerned about bed Marin, A.B. 1985. An Analytical and that John Kelly and his dog Macchi, bugs. Certification might provide truffle Sensory Evaluation of the Aroma are also now on the scene. Macchi growers with a measure of assurance that Volatiles of Tuber gibbosum. M.Sc. is a Lagotto Romagnolo, the breed if truffles are present, they will be found. thesis, Oregon State University http:// known as the Italian truffle dog, and I have a five-part truffle dream for BC ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/ his motivator is play rather than food. (you should have this same dream for bitstream/handle/1957/27224/ When Macchi finds a truffle, John your part of the world): MARINANNA1985.pdf?sequence=1 tosses him his special, only-used- 1. Truffle dog teams scour the Trappe, J.M., and A.W. Claridge. 2010. when-truffling ball and joyous play province for truffles and Te hidden life of truffles. Scientific erupts. Ten, the ball goes back in the dramatically increase what American 302: 78-84. doi:10.1038/ pack and the hunt continues. Macchi we know of the diversity and scientificamerican0410-78. is young but even so is making a distribution of truffles. Acknowledgement tremendous contribution. In January, 2. Truffle dog teams enjoy being in the Tanks to Luke Mikler and Brooke Macchi was the first dog to find a ripe forest, hunting for treasures, and bianchetto truffle in a truffle orchard Fochuk for providing some of the working together. As a side benefit, photos. 28 FUNGI Volume 9:3 Fall 2016