MRI visualization of shiitake mycelium growing in woodchip blocks used for shiitake mushroom cultivation.

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Citation abstract

In order to eliminate woodchip blocks where unwanted fungi have grown and select only blocks where shiitake mycelium are growing well, there is a need to develop a visualization technique for shiitake mycelium growing in woodchip blocks, and MRI is an obvious candidate technique. From the results of measurements of the woodchip bed in a small bottle (26 mm inside diameter) where shiitake mycelium was growing, the T 1 relaxation time constant immediately after inoculation was 77.9 ± 5.5 ms, and the value after about 10 to 20 days increased to 135.0 ± 9.8 ms (the increase rate was 73%). The T 1 maps of the wood-chip block (130 mm length, 75 mm height and 55 mm thickness) in which shiitake mycelium grew were calculated from T 1 weighted images measured by changing TR from 28 to 400 ms. From the T 1 maps of time series, it was found that the shiitake mycelium extended from the right-hand side to the left-hand side of the woodchip block in a planar manner. Furthermore, in a woodchip block in which penicillium was generated, since the T 1 relaxation time constant of only the shiitake mycelium became longer, it was possible to visualize the shiitake mycelium distinctly from penicillium.