Interactions of wood decay fungi with other microorganisms, with emphasis on the degradation of cell walls

Interactions of two wood decay fungi, Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus ostreatus, with other wood inhabiting microorganisms were investigated on agar and in fagaceous wood, primarily by scanning electron microscopy. Micromorphologically, there were two principal modes of cell wall degradation: (i) selective removal of amorphous wall components, followed by the degradation of skeletal microfibrils, and (ii) simultaneous degradation of all wall components. These two modes were observed in three different degradation systems: (i) sapwood wall degradation by the wood decay fungi, (ii) hyphal wall degradation by mycoparasitic Trichoderma, and (iii) hyphal wall degradation by pathogenic bacteria. The simultaneous-type wall degradation in the systems i and ii was usually caused by hyphal tips. In addition to the three systems, bacteriolysis by the wood decay fungi was also studied. The bacterial cell walls, as well as microfibril bundles of wood cellulose and fungal chitin, were all fragmented into minute granules at later stages of microbial degradation and the granules were further degraded into smaller units. Frequency of occurrence and strength of mycoparasitic activity of Trichoderma harzianum were influenced by the degree of wood decay where the interaction occurred. Presence of both cellulose and chitin microfibrils apparently enhanced the mycoparasitic activity. In Quercus wood, P. ostreatus showed a unidirectional growth toward bacterial colonies, which formed as the result of decomposition of dead nematodes, and consumed the unidentified bacteria. In nitrogen-deficient wood, fungal and bacterial cell walls may serve as an important reservoir of nitrogen for wood inhabiting microorganisms. Key words: wood decay, mycoparasitism, bacteriolysis, cellulose, chitin.