The results show that this wild tough mushroom belongs to Lentinus squarrosulus (Polyporaceae). The best mycelial growth rate ( mm/day) was recorded on the unhusked rice medium containing CaCO3 (1 %) and MgSO4 (1 %). In both of rubber tree sawdust medium supplemented with corn bran (10 %) and the one supplemented with earthworm fertilizer. | Journal of Science and Technology 55 (1A) (2017) 107-116 DOI: PURE CULTURE OF WILD TOUGH MUSHROOM COLLECTED FROM TAY NINH PROVINCE OF VIET NAM Tran Thi Huong, Le Thanh Huynh Trang, Luong Thi My Ngan, Le Thi Thanh Loan, Tran Trung Hieu*, Pham Thanh Ho* Faculty of Biology – Biotechnology, University of Science, VNU-HCM, 227 Nguyen Van Cu Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City * Email: hieutt@, phthho@ Received: 30 October 2016; Accepted for publication: 30 May 2017 ABSTRACT Pure cultures of wild edible mushroom have drawn much attention all over the world for exploitation and conservation of precious genetic resources. In this study, a wild strain of tough mushroom, which has been used as human food in Tay Ninh Province, was collected. The strain was purely cultured on agar medium and grown on different culture media for mycelial growth and fruiting body production. It was also classified based on morphological characteristics and molecular methods. The results show that this wild tough mushroom belongs to Lentinus squarrosulus (Polyporaceae). The best mycelial growth rate ( mm/day) was recorded on the unhusked rice medium containing CaCO3 (1 %) and MgSO4 (1 %). In both of rubber tree sawdust medium supplemented with corn bran (10 %) and the one supplemented with earthworm fertilizer (5 %), the mycelial growth rates were significantly similar ( mm/day) and achieved full colonization of the both supplemented sawdust bags (each 1 kg) after 24 days of incubation. The fresh fruiting bodies yielded 398 - 412 g/bag of the both sawdust media. Keywords: Lentinus squarrosulus, pure culture, tough mushroom, wild edible mushroom. 1. INTRODUCTION Wild edible mushrooms have been collected across the globe for thousands of years as their medicinal and nutritional values. Most mushrooms are known to be rich in proteins, fibers, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and low/no calories and cholesterol [1]. Out of 15000 .