How spectroscopy and microspectroscopy of degraded wood contribute to understand fungal wood decay

Fungal hydroquinones contribute to brown rot of wood.

The fungi that cause brown rot of wood initiate lignocellulose breakdown with an extracellular Fenton system in which Fe(2+) and H(2)O(2) react to produce hydroxyl radicals (.OH), which then oxidize and cleave the wood holocellulose. One such fungus, Gloeophyllum trabeum, drives Fenton chemistry on defined media by reducing Fe(3+) and O(2) with two extracellular hydroquinones, 2,5-dimethoxyhydr...

Studies in Wood Decay

Circumstantial evidence is presented which indicates that Polyporus volvatus is parasitic. Cultures of Polyporus volvatus and Fomes igniarius may be obtained from the young sporophores by the tissue method. In Polyporus volvatus the presence of the following enzymes was demonstrated: esterase, maltase, lactase, sucrase, raffinase, diastase, inulase, cellulase, hemicellulase, glucosidase, rennet...

How to Make a Beetle Out of Wood: Multi-Elemental Stoichiometry of Wood Decay, Xylophagy and Fungivory

The majority of terrestrial biomass is wood, but the elemental composition of its potential consumers, xylophages, differs hugely from that of wood. This causes a severe nutritional imbalance. We studied the stoichiometric relationships of 11 elements (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Na) in three species of pine-xylem-feeding insects, Stictoleptura rubra, Arhopalus rusticus (Coleoptera, Cer...

Inhibition of Cellulases of Wood - Decay Fungi

How Wood Shrinks and Swells

Shrinking and swelling play important roles in the utilization and seasoning of wood. The mechanics of shrinking and swelling and the influence of wood structure are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the variability of shrinking and swelling, and the chief reasons for variability. The effects of shrinking and swelling on wood during seasoning and in use are discussed, along with methods of minim...