We authored two chapters in the book Updates on Tropical Mushrooms: Basic and Applied Research, edited by Sanchez J.E., Mata G. & Royse D.J., San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, 2018. ISBN: 978-607-8429-60-8

Chapter 2, page 25: TROPICAL SPECIES OF Agaricus by Philippe Callac and Jie Chen

Agaricus is a large genus of mushrooms including species of nutritional and medicinal interest. With research programs developed over the last decade, a larger diversity of Agaricus came to light. The present review focuses on tropical species of Agaricus and their classification, including a discussion of the definition of tropical species, a brief history of the taxonomic system of classification since 2000, an updated presentation of the revised system including its recent emendation, and the distribution of tropical species in the subgenera and sections of the current system. Tropical species of interest and methods to identify tropical species of Agaricus are also introduced. The new classification system should facilitate studies of tropical Agaricus; however, more investigations in unexplored areas are necessary to complete the classification system and to clarify the evolutionary history of the genus in which climate and geography seem to have been the main factors of diversification.

Chapter 10, page 115: SHIITAKE CULTIVATION ON STRAW: AN ALTERNATIVE FOR SUBTROPICAL REGIONS by Gerardo Mata and Jean-Michel Savoie

The traditional cultivation of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) on oak logs has been replaced in part by cultivation in plastic bags with sterilized sawdust since this method offers a higher biological efficiency and a shorter cultivation cycle. However, the sterilization process has a high initial installation cost and consumes more energy. The feasibility of cultivating shiitake in pasteurized straw offers a very important alternative for subtropical regions since straw is generally an easily accessible substrate. Pasteurized straw (of different cereals: wheat, barley, etc.) has become, in recent years, a suitable substrate for the cultivation of shiitake since some strains adapted to this substrate have been selected. The selection of efficient strains is fundamental because a non-sterile substrate is used. An
update of the cultivation of shiitake on straw and an analysis of its possibilities of adaptation in subtropical climates is presented.

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