Lipid composition in truffle is essential for nutraceutical and medicinal purposes. Currently, there is no data regarding the lipid content in Moroccan truffles. Therefore, we determined the fatty acid and sterol composition of six Moroccan truffles and desert truffles. The gas chromatography analysis revealed the predominance of fatty palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids. The prominent sterol components were brassicasterol and ergosterol. Besides, the sterol analysis discriminated between the Tuber and Terfezia truffles. These differences seem to be exploitable at a taxonomic level. This is a preliminary report disclosing the fatty acid and sterol composition of Moroccan truffles, indicating the potential use of lipids analysis, especially sterol analysis, as biomarker for truffles distinction.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a primary staple crop globally and holds particular significance in the West Asia and North Africa region, where it plays a central role in food security and dietary intake. However, rising temperatures, decreased precipitation, and other climate-related stresses increasingly threaten local production. Understanding the genetic basis of agronomic traits is essential for developing high-yielding wheat varieties under harsh conditions. In this study, 191 spring bread wheat genotypes developed by ICARDA for drought and heat tolerance were evaluated across seven environments in Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and Lebanon for five key agronomic traits. A genome-wide association study using 12,954 SNPs identified 37 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs). The highest number of MTAs was detected for plant height (19), followed by days to maturity (14), thousand kernel weight (5) and three each for days to heading and grain yield. Among these, five MTAs were associated with multiple traits, particularly days to heading, days to maturity and plant height. These included tplb0057m23_716 (5A), AX-94506854 (1B), RAC875_c17628_867 (2A), and wsnp_Ra_rep_c69692_67234463 (3A), validated by both BLINK and FarmCPU models. Candidate genes associated to key traits were identified, such as TraesCS5A02G261900 (tplb0057m23_716), regulating flowering time, pollen maturation and plant height, and TraesCS2D02G583000 (tplb0049b24_1152), associated to grain yield through its role in grain peroxidase activity. Other notable genes include TraesCS5B02G022300 (AX-94476767), encoding N-carbamoyl putrescine amidohydrolase (TaNPLP1−1), involved in abiotic stress tolerance, and TraesCS7D02G102000 (wsnp_Ex_c2054_3852564), associated with cuticular wax biosynthesis for drought and heat protection. Further validation of these SNPs, using inbred lines tested across diverse environments, is required. Once validated, these SNP-derived KASP markers will support breeding for heat- and drought-tolerant lines with desirable agronomic traits.

The desert truffle (Terfezia) and other truffles (Tuber) have a significant economic and ecological value and are considered as important fungi in Morocco. Desert truffles are important to combat desertification and enhance soil fertility. As these fungi form a mycorrhizal symbiosis with several specific desert shrubs, it protects the soil from degradation and assists plant growth in the semi- arid and desert areas. The aim of this short paper is to present the different species of desert truffle that exist in Morocco and identify their macroscopic and microscopic characteristics and their host plants as well as their areas of distribution. There are strong analogies between the species found in Morocco with those previously discovered in other countries. Terfezia arenaria, T. leptoderma and Delastria rosea were mainly available in Mamora forest and T. boudieri in Oualidia. Otherwise, the species Picoa juniperi, Terfezia claveryi, Tirmania pinoyi and T. nivea were present in the Oriental regions of Morocco.