1 Mushroom Research 22 (1) : 1-7, 2013 N. EARANNA et al. Mushroom Research 22 (1) : 1-7, 2013 Molecular and nutritional characterization of an edible mushroom from the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India- A new report N Earanna 1 *, K Nandini 1 , MC Ganavi 1 , RS Sajeevan 2 and Karaba N Nataraja 2 1 Department of Biotechnology, 2 Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore-560065 *Corresponding author, E-mail: earanna7@yahoo.com ABSTRACT A delicious edible mushroom vernacularly known as Heggalanabe was collected from the Theertha halli forest area of Western ghats of Shimoga district of Karnataka during first week of August and identified using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA sequences. BLAST matches showed 98% indentify with 0.0 evalue with Termitomyces sp. The mushroom mycelia could grow on potato dextrose agar at room temperature under laboratory conditions. The fruit body contained 27.03% crude protein, which is higher than commonly cultivated mushrooms viz., Agaricus bisporus (24.85%) and Pleurotus florida (24.81%) and lesser than the Soybean, a highest protein containing oil seed cum pulse crop. Zinc content was also significantly higher in Termitomyces sp. compared to Pleurotus florida and Agaricus bisporus. Amongst mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus showed significantly higher iron content. Key Words: Mushrooms, Molecular identification, Western ghats, Termitomyces, ITS rDNA sequencing, Nutritional value Mushrooms growing in wild are picked up and eaten by mankind from the time immemorial. Cool and humid climate of evergreen forest canopy of Indian Western Ghats is a favourable habitat for rich mushroom biodiversity. Basidiomycetous fungi are potential wood degraders and source of supplement to vegetables (Davidson et al., 2012). The most delicious mushrooms Termitomyces belong to the class basidiomycetes and are distinguished from the other genera of agarics due to the presence of pseudorhiza (Zoberi, 1972). Although the genus is said to be cosmopolitan, its occurrence often limits to forests and grass lands. Termitomyces are the taster’s choice of vegetable for the tribal people (Davidson et al., 2012). The cultivation technology has not been developed for these mushrooms, because of their complex ecosystem (Tibuhwa, 2012). The Termitomyces sp. which is vernacularly known as heggalanabe in the native district (Shimoga) forms crisp, medium to large sphorophores and appears in the monsoon season. The wild mushroom can be identified by well- experienced mushroom hunter by its morphological and microscopic characters (Arora, 1986). However, confusion still exists in distinguishing from other species particularly during young stage. As reported in many other species (Rajaratnam and Thiagarajan, 2012) molecular characterization is essential to confirm the mushroom species precisely. In the present study, we documented a mushroom from the Western Ghats of Karnataka for the first time and identified as Termitomyces sp. by ITS rDNA sequencing. Author's Proof