Summary Tuber magnatum , an ascomycetous fungus and obligate ectomycorrhizal symbiont, forms hypogeous fruit bodies, commonly called Italian white truffles. The diversity of bacterial communities associated with T. magnatum truffles was investigated using culture‐independent and ‐dependent 16S rRNA gene‐based approaches. Eighteen truffles were classified in three groups, representing different degrees of ascocarp maturation, b...