Abstract

Desert truffles have been harvested in a wild area in Saudi Arabia for both food and medicinal purposes for centuries. Limited information exists on the host plant and desert truffle diversity found in Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia. Terfezia claveryi isolates from Hafr Al Batin, have been identified based on their morphology and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS)-rDNA sequencing data. Pictures, macro- and micro-descriptions of the two isolates, along with ITS phylogenetic data, revealed how they relate to other members of the genus and their host plants. According to the results, the herbaceous Helianthemum lippii was the dominant host plant at all different locations in Hafr Al Batin. In the investigated locations, two different strains of T. claveryi were identified. T. claveryi 49–621 was the most widely distributed strain across all surveyed sites, with a mean relative abundance of 63.4%, followed by T. claveryi 1–564, whose incidence was 11.7%. According to the findings of this study, host plants and the local environment influence the distribution of desert truffles throughout the Hafr Al Batin region.

Key words: Desert truffles, Biodiversity, morphological, ITS-rDNA sequence, Helianthemum lippii