New Insights into the Ligninolytic Capability of a Wood Decay Ascomycete

ABSTRACT Wood-grown cultures of Daldinia concentrica oxidized a permethylated β-14C-labeled synthetic lignin to 14CO2 and also cleaved a permethylated α-13C-labeled synthetic lignin to give Cα-Cβ cleavage products that were detected by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Therefore, this ascomycete resembles white-rot basidiomycetes in attacking the recalcitrant nonphenolic structures that predominate in lignin.