TuberIndex 1.0, a dataset of ecological interactions from five centuries of French literature on Tuberaceae

TL;DR

This paper introduces TuberIndex 1.0, a dataset compiling 500 years of French literature on truffles and their ecological interactions.

Contribution

The novelty lies in compiling and digitizing underexplored French literature on truffles into a structured, open-access dataset.

Findings

The dataset includes 493 documents and 3,508 interaction records involving truffles, plants, and fungi.

It covers 26 truffle taxa, 418 plant taxa, and 53 fungal taxa, offering insights into ecological relationships.

The dataset aims to support future ecological research and agricultural innovation.

Abstract

True truffles include the most prized mushrooms in the world and some of the most studied species model for mycorrhizal ecology. Despite the recurring difficulties encountered in isolating and cultivating truffle mycelium, a wealth of literature has been dedicated to the biology and ecology of these fungi since the early 19th. Here, we compile French-language literature on Tuberaceae, much of which remains underexplored despite its scientific potential. We report ecological interactions between truffles, plants, and other fungi. We present TuberIndex 1.0, an open-access dataset compiling five centuries of literature on Tuberaceae and their ecological interactions. The dataset indexes 493 documents and reports 3,508 records of interactions involving 26 truffle taxa, 418 plant taxa, and 53 fungal taxa. A central objective of the dataset is to facilitate future research by providing a valuable resource on truffle interactions, while also supporting innovative agricultural practices.

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