Abstract: In this paper, we investigated differences in the nutritional contents, texture and microstructure of Auricularia auricula-judaes from Tibet and Dongning of Heilongjiang province. The results indicated that total sugar, reducing sugar, fiber and fat contents of A. auricula-judaes were significantly affected by genotype, while the unique geographical environment of Tibet influenced the accumulation of mineral elements, such as calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium, and functional compounds, such as polyphenols, flavonoids and melanim. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis demonstrated that environmental factors had a greater impact on the nutritional contents than genotype. Along with the changes in nutritional contents, geographical environment influenced the springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience, while genotype influenced only the hardness of A. auricula-judae. Electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that different A. auricula-judae strains from Tibet had similar morphology, while significant morphological differences were observed between A. auricula-judaes cultivated in Dongning and Tibet. These results suggested that the differences in the nutritional contents and texture properties in A. auricula-judae depend more heavily on environmental factors and less on the genetic background. This study can provide an important guidance for A. auricula-judae cultivation and for further studies on the underlying physiological and molecular mechanism.

Key words: Auricularia auricula-judae, environment, genotype, nutrition, texture