**2. Literature review**

The fungus proposed in the present study is a wild edible and a wood decomposer (whiterot fungus), whose domestication was sought for the production of mushroom. As there is no cultivation of this fungus with the proposed wild strain, for comparison in the literature review, a parallel association was made with the cultivation of species of edible fungi of related genera that have similar physiology and cultivation conditions, being considered mainly the genera *Lentinus* and *Pleurotus*.

Productivity and Nutritional Composition of *Lentinus strigosus* (Schwinitz)

nutritional value (Miles and Chang, 1997).

Eira (1997) adaptated by Fermor (1993).

mushrooms, without proper technical conditions.

increase production.

Bononi, 1999).

Fries Mushroom from the Amazon Region Cultivated in Sawdust Supplemented with Soy Bran 229

**2.2 An overview of the commercial cultivation of edible fungi in the world and in Brazil**  After World War II, the edible mushroom industry grew from 350,000 tons in 1965 to 4.3 million tons in 1991, from which 3.4 million tons belong to the six most worldwide important genera: *Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lentinula, Auricularia, Volvariella* and *Flammulina*. The major producers are China, Japan, USA and France (Miles and Chang, 1997). The most cultivated genera are *Agaricus, Pleurotus* and *Lentinula*. This increase was due to several factors, among them: a) the increase in the number of species on a commercial scale; b) the development of cultivation techniques using plastic bags, which allowed many wood decomposers edible fungi to be grown on lignocellulosic residues, preferably the cultivation on logs, reducing considerably the cultivation time; c) due to the marketing techniques highlighting the nutritional merits of mushrooms as an important part of the diet, so they wouldn't be marketed as simple accompaniments or delicacies, but as a food of high

The literature cites approximately 200,000 species of fungi existing in the world, from which, about 2,000 are potentially edible species. However, only 25 of them are commonly used as food, and fewer still are commercially cultivated (Chang and Miles, 1984; Chang, 1980;

In the early 1980s, only *Agaricus bisporus* (Champignon de Paris) and other species of this genus and "shiitake" (*Lentinus edodes*, currently named *Lentinula edodes*) had a modern technology for commercial production, where 70% of the world production was represented by *Agaricus* and 14% by *Lentinula* (Chang and Miles, 1984). However, according to the same authors, the world's attention is turning to the development of new technologies for different species of worldwide known edible mushrooms, especially considering the difficulties of production in tropical and subtropical climates. Special technologies are being developed in several countries allowing the cultivation of: *Volvariella volvaceae* in China, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia; *Kuehneromyces mutabilis*, *Flamulina velutipes*, *Hypholoma capnoides* and *Coprinus comatus* in some countries of Europe and Asia; *Pleurotus ostreatus* in Italy, Hungary, West Germany, Mexico and Brazil (Chang and Miles, 1984; Guzman et al., 1993; Eira and Minhoni, 1997; Bononi et al., 1999; Zhanxi and Zhanhua, 2001; Urben et al., 2001). This way, the overview of the world production has changed suddenly, showing a considerable increase in cultivation and consumption of *Pleurotus* as reported by

An adaptation based on Fermor (1993), made by Eira et al. (1997), the world production of cultivated mushrooms in the early 1990s was 1,424,000 tons for *Agaricus bisporus*, 900,000 tons for *Pleurotus* spp, 393,000 tons for *L. edodes* and 887,000 tons for other mushrooms, representing, respectively, 39.51%, 24.98%, 10.91% and 24.61%. The current trend is to

Concerning the production of mushrooms in Brazil, there is not a precise documentation that could allow us to determine when the cultivation of mushrooms started in the country (Fidalgo and Guimarães, 1985). Its popularization in the Center-South region of Brazil dates back to 50 years ago. Bononi (1999) reports that the cultivation of champignon (*Agaricus*) began in 1953, when the Chinese immigrants settled in Mogi das Cruzes and the Italian Oscar Molena in Atibaia, brought technology and imported strains of their countries. For Molena (1985), mushroom cultivation began in 1953 and developed after the poultry crisis in the period of 1955-1959, when breeders began to use chicken sheds for the cultivation of

The commercial cultivation of edible fungi in Brazil is limited to *Agaricus bisporus*  (champignon), *Lentinula edodes* (shiitake) and *Pleurotus* spp, known as oyster mushroom,
