Chitin as an indicator of the biomass of two wood-decay fungi in relation to temperature, incubation time, and media composition

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 575-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Nilsson ◽  
Jonny Bjurman

Cell wall chitin was determined in the mycelia of the brown rot fungus Neolentinus lepideus (Lentinus lepideus) and an isolate of the soft rot fungus Phialophora sp. to study the correlation to mycelial dry mass. The fungi were incubated as liquid cultures for three incubation periods at three temperatures in six nutrient media with varying levels and combinations of carbon and nitrogen. The glucosamine yield was found to be maximized by hydrolysis at 90°C for 48 h. The chitin content in the studied fungi varied from 8.3 to 39.8 μg.mg-1for N. lepideus and 7.7 to 46 μg.mg-1for the Phialophora isolate. The chitin concentration was remarkably constant, about 10 μg.mg-1, in mycelia growing on the low nitrogen malt extract medium. An experiment with wood blocks indicated that chitin may be a good marker for total fungal biomass production, including living and dead mycelia, in early stages of wood decay (dry weight loss <6%). At higher dry weight losses, the chitin content reaches a plateau or decreases despite continuing degradation as determined by the dry weight loss. The chitin content of visible mycelia growing on wood was determined for both fungi and found to be 19.1 and 12.9 μg.mg-1for N. lepideus and the Phialophora isolate, respectively.Key words: chitin, wood-decay fungi, utility poles, brown rot, soft rot, glucosamine, colorimetry.

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Schmidt ◽  
D. W. French

Successive collections of basidiospores, produced in culture from the same hymenial areas of four species of wood decay fungi, were tested for spore germination percentage on malt extract agar under controlled conditions. Spores from white rot fungi retained high germination levels after 5 weeks of spore production, but germination averages for brown rot fungi decreased by more than 50%. Such variation should be considered in wood pathology research using spore germination bioassay.


HortScience ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Baietto ◽  
A. Dan Wilson

The development of wood decay caused by 12 major root-rot and trunk-rot fungi was investigated in vitro with sapwood extracted from nine ornamental and landscape hardwood and conifer species native to southern temperate regions of North America, Europe, and the lower Mississippi Delta. Wood decay rates based on dry weight loss for 108 host tree–wood decay fungi combinations were compared at 21 °C over 1-year and 2-year incubation periods in the absence of tree-resistance mechanisms. Strains of Armillaria mellea, Ganoderma lucidum, and Heterobasidion annosum exhibited the highest decay potential in most tree species tested. The order of fungi causing the greatest decay varied over time as a result of temporal changes in decay-rate curves. Relative wood durability or resistance to decay generally was greater in gymnosperm than in angiosperm wood types. Quercus nuttallii, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Quercus lyrata sustained the highest levels of decay by all fungi. Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) sapwood was most resistant to decay by all rot-fungi tested, sustaining only limited weight loss after 1 and 2 years of decay, although sapwood of Pinus taeda, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Platanus occidentalis had relatively low levels of decay after 2 years. These results in combination with data from portable decay-detection devices provide useful information for the management of tree breakages or failures resulting from wood decay fungi in hazardous landscape trees. Some potential landscaping applications for tree evaluations, risk assessments, and selections for tree-replacement plantings are discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary C. Johnson

Six media reported to be useful for isolating Hymenomycetes from decaying wood were compared. Plates containing these media were inoculated with small segments taken from decaying wood collected in the field. Hymenomycetes and other microorganisms that grew from the segments were recorded. A malt extract – potato dextrose agar medium that incorporated benomyl, neomycin, and streptomycin was the most successful at isolating the white or brown rot fungi.Key words: isolation media, Hymenomycetes, Basidiomycotina, wood decay fungi, benomyl.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmer L. Schmidt

Influences of eight saturated aliphatic acids (C5–C10, C12, and C16) on basidiospores of four isolates of wood-decay fungi (Poria tenuis and Trametes hispida, white rot fungi, and two isolates of the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum) were observed in vitro. Spore responses after 24 h on malt extract agar containing 10, 102 or 103 ppm of each acid included normal germination, delay of germ tube emergence, vacuolation and degeneration of spore cytoplasm, and prevention of germ tube development without spore destruction. Acids of chain length C5–C10 prevented spore germination and killed spores of all fungi at concentrations of 20–50 ppm in media, whereas other acids tested were less active. Spore germination assay of decay fungi may prove useful as a screening tool to compare potency of wood preservatives.


2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 3599-3610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Vanden Wymelenberg ◽  
Jill Gaskell ◽  
Michael Mozuch ◽  
Grzegorz Sabat ◽  
John Ralph ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Cellulose degradation by brown rot fungi, such as Postia placenta, is poorly understood relative to the phylogenetically related white rot basidiomycete, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. To elucidate the number, structure, and regulation of genes involved in lignocellulosic cell wall attack, secretome and transcriptome analyses were performed on both wood decay fungi cultured for 5 days in media containing ball-milled aspen or glucose as the sole carbon source. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a total of 67 and 79 proteins were identified in the extracellular fluids of P. placenta and P. chrysosporium cultures, respectively. Viewed together with transcript profiles, P. chrysosporium employs an array of extracellular glycosyl hydrolases to simultaneously attack cellulose and hemicelluloses. In contrast, under these same conditions, P. placenta secretes an array of hemicellulases but few potential cellulases. The two species display distinct expression patterns for oxidoreductase-encoding genes. In P. placenta, these patterns are consistent with an extracellular Fenton system and include the upregulation of genes involved in iron acquisition, in the synthesis of low-molecular-weight quinones, and possibly in redox cycling reactions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Garrido Pinheiro ◽  
Nadia Helena Bianchini ◽  
Alana Silveira Pavlack ◽  
Marlove Fátima Brião Muniz ◽  
Victor Dos Santos Barboza ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Ergosterol is responsible for important functions in the fungal plasma membrane. The influence of fungitoxic agents on membrane ergosterol content is one of the most important mechanisms of antifungal action and its knowledge allows the generation of products that associate active compounds of different mechanisms, consequently improving the effectiveness of wood preservatives. Therefore, this study optimized a method for quantifying ergosterol in wood-decay fungi. The white-rot species selected were Ganoderma applanatum and Trametes versicolor, while the brown-rot were Gloeophyllum trabeum and Lentinus lepideus. Mycelial discs of each species were transferred to Petri dishes containing a cellophane-covered potato-dextrose-agar medium. Mycelia of each fungus were collected, weighed, and transferred to test tubes with 5 mL of 25% alcoholic potassium hydroxide. The tubes were vortexed for 5 min, subjected to ultrasound for 5 min, incubated at 85 °C for 4 h, followed by the addition of 2 mL of sterile distilled water and 5 mL of n-heptane and subsequent ultrasound shaking for 2 min. The n-heptane layer was analyzed by UV spectrophotometry between 230 and 300 ηm. The blank sample only contained n-heptane. The mycelia wet weight of the fungi ranged from 0.061 to 0.296 g. Ergosterol content was 0.007% for Lentinus lepideus and 0.004% for the other species. The absorbance was higher than the ones observed in the blank for all samples. The adapted method was efficient for ergosterol extraction.


Holzforschung ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 682-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Schilling ◽  
Jody Jellison

AbstractTwo brown-rot wood decay fungi,Fomitopsis pinicolaandMeruliporia incrassata, and the white-rot speciesPhanerochaete chrysosporiumwere grown for 4 weeks in liquid culture at 0.35, 0.70, 1.05, and 5.00 mM calcium (Ca) and 1.35 and 2.70 mM magnesium (Mg) concentrations. Soluble and total oxalate levels were quantified using a revised ion-exchange HPLC protocol developed specifically for resolving oxalate and other organic acid anions from medium components. Total oxalate concentrations in brown-rot filtrate were not significantly different among treatments; however, soluble oxalate decreased significantly with increasing Ca concentration. Higher Mg concentrations increased soluble oxalate levels only slightly. There was a significant decrease in medium pH at 5.00 mM Ca for all species, as well as an apparent increase in decarboxylation activity in brown-rot fungi. Total and soluble oxalate levels in the white-rot cultures were generally below detection for all treatments. The results show a significant influence of Ca on soluble oxalate concentrations not seen previously in the brown-rot speciesPostia placenta.


Author(s):  
Jiří Holan ◽  
Blanka Stávková

This work focus on comparison of biological degradation of wood caused by wood-decay fungi (white and brown rot). Test samples were made of European Beech Fagus sylvatica (L.). As wood-decay fungi were used Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd (white rot) and Serpula lacrymans (Wulf. Ex Fr.) Schroet (brown rot). Aim of this work was comparison of rate of propagation of wood-decay fungus and degradation of wood in time. After termination of the test was made comparison of intensity of degradation between both fungi species. Weights of test samples were diminishing for both groups of wood-decay fungi during three months. Moisture content increased in direct proportion with time. Compression strength in direction of wood fibers of tested samples was diminishing. Samples tested by Serpula lacrymans had the fastest decrease of compression strength after first and second week of degradation. Samples tested by Trametes versicolor had different course. Compression strength significantly decreased after first month and third month of degradation. On the other hand module of elasticity of both tested groups was diminishing already during first and second week of degradation. Generally, it is possible to say that Trametes versicolor has more significant impact on changes of mechanical characteristic of wood, because it causes degradation of all chemical constituents of wood.


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