Matsutake, the fruiting body of Tricholoma matsutake, is among the most economically important edible ectomycorrhizal (EM) mushrooms worldwide. This EM fungus develops “shiros”, which are mycelial aggregations that develop in association with the roots of EM coniferous trees and soil particles in well-drained and nutrient-poor forest soil. The fruiting bodies occur on the periphery of the outward-growing shiro. In spite of vast research, the cultivation of matsutake has been mostly unsuccessful. Commercial demand is therefore met by harvesting the fruiting bodies that naturally occur in forests of EM coniferous trees, mainly Pinus densiflora. Recent inoculation studies have produced mycorrhiza and shiro structures, and the host range of Tr. matsutake and associated species has been clarified. It has also become possible to identify strains of Tr. matsutake by DNA sequencing, which has also been useful to determine the origins of matsutake species in Asia and to elucidate the genetic structure of shiro. In this review, basic research and the outcomes of various trial of matsutake cultivation are discussed.

松茸，子实体松茸，是世界上最重要的经济外生菌根食用菌（EM）蘑菇之一。这种EM真菌会形成“ shiros”，这是菌丝聚集体，与排泄良好且营养不良的森林土壤中的EM针叶树的根部和土壤颗粒结合在一起形成。子实体出现在向外生长的四郎的外围。尽管进行了广泛的研究，松茸的种植大部分都没有成功。因此，通过收获天然存在于针叶树（主要是松树针叶树）EM针叶林中的子实体，可以满足商业需求。最近的接种研究产生了菌根和四郎结构，以及Tr的寄主范围。松茸和相关的物种已经澄清。鉴定Tr的菌株也成为可能。通过DNA测序进行松茸的研究，这对于确定亚洲松茸种的起源和阐明shiro的遗传结构也很有用。在这篇综述中，讨论了松茸栽培的基础研究和各种试验的结果。