Rapid dye decolorization method for screening potential wood preservatives

We developed a new screening method for potential wood preservatives based on decolorization of the dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R by extracellular oxidative agents produced by wood decay fungi. Oxidative biodegradation of lignin yielded decolorized zones around and under fungal cultures on a dyed agar medium. Inhibitory effects were detected by direct observation and measurement of the decolorized zones.     

Reliability of Poly B-411, a Polymeric Anthraquinone-Based Dye, in Determining the Rot Type Caused by Wood-Inhabiting Fungi

In both Basidiomycotina and Ascomycotina, Poly B-411 decolorization was an excellent indicator of the ability to cause white rot: 109 of the 110 isolates of brown rot fungi tested definitely did not decolorize Poly B-411, and 392 of the 401 mainly active isolates of white rot fungi decolorized Poly B-411. The Bavendamm (tannic acid) reaction was a less reliable test: of 74 white rot isolates examined that could not decay wood, 6 decolorized Poly B-411, but 19 gave positive Bavendamm reactions. Of 80 isolates of Ascomycotina and Deuteromycotina that do not cause white rot, only 4 decolorized Poly B-411, but 17 gave a positive Bavendamm test.     

Estimation of the hydrocarbon-oxidizing activity of microorganisms

A method allowing the microorganisms growing on substrates with a low water solubility (oil, fuel oil, resins, and asphalthenes) to be isolated and counted was developed. An advantage of the method is its ability to estimate the oil-utilizing activity of each strain visually according to the decolorized zones formed during its growth on oil products. The sizes of these zones indicate which oil-degrading strain is most active.     

Estimation of the Hydrocarbon-Oxidizing Activity of Microorganisms

A method allowing microorganisms growing on substrates with low water solubility (oil, fuel oil, resins, and asphalthenes) to be isolated and counted was developed. The method makes it possible to estimate the oil-utilizing activity of each strain visually according to the decolorized zones formed during its growth on oil products. The sizes of these zones indicate which oil-degrading strains are most active.     

Effects of flooding on wood and bark anatomy of four species in a mangrove forest community

Variation in the wood and bark anatomy of the dominant species of a mangrove forest community in Mexico was evaluated in relation to some environmental factors, and their physiological adaptations to salinity and flooding period are discussed. The forest is characterized by three zones according to the presence of dominant tree species and flooding periodicity. Vessel arrangement and wood and bark ray height are strongly associated with flooding zones where trees are growing. Variance analyses revealed significant differences among zones for these anatomical characteristics. Soil texture and water salinity were the most useful parameters for the prediction of values of anatomical characteristics. More abundant vessels in radial multiples in a shorter flooding period suggest a functional advantage of multiple vessel groups. Taller wood and bark rays in response to prolonged flooding period can be attributed to anoxic conditions. Among zones, significant differences in the vulnerability index of the species were detected, but not with respect to relative conductivity. Significant differences among zones exist for wood and bark characteristics involved in vertical and horizontal water transport, photosynthates and gas exchange.     

Involvement of carbohydrates and cytokinins in pathogenicity ofHelminthosporium carbonum

Significant stimulation of the number of appressoria, penetration and colonization by conidia ofHelminthosporium carbonum occurred on decolorized maize leaves when exogenous carbohydrates and leaf leachates were added. Germination and germ tube length, however, did not exhibit appreciable differences on decolorized or non-decolorized maize leaves. Lower germination was recorded by leached conidia on decolorized leaves; while appressoria, penetration and colonization were absent. Addition of exogenous nutrients (sucrose>leaf leachates>yeast extract>glucose) enabled conidia to accomplish appressoria, penetration and colonization. Optimum levels for various nutrients observed were 2% (w/v) sucrose/glucose or 0.1% (w/v) yeast extract. Higher concentrations inhibited the infection stages of the pathogen. Depletion of host carbohydrates from green islands/infection sites adversely affect appressoria formation, penetration and colonization; and the loss of carbohydrates from the spore affects germination. Cytokinin-like activity at the infection site/green islands increased with the period of incubation of the host as compared to the surrounding tissue or tissue under water drops. The culture filtrate extracts ofH. carbonum recorded cytokinin-like activity which increased with growth of the fungus. TLC (thin layer chromatography) of cytokinin-like substances (tissue extract and culture filtrate) revealed major activity was confined to Rf zones 0.6 to 0.8 which co-chromatographed with zeatin and zeatin riboside. These substances increase at infection sites by virtue of which carbohydrates accumulate at these sites ensuring a continuous supply to the growing pathogen.     

Intra- and Extracellular Localization of Lignin Peroxidase during the Degradation of Solid Wood and Wood Fragments by Phanerochaete chrysosporium by Using Transmission Electron Microscopy and Immuno-Gold Labeling

The distribution of lignin peroxidase during degradation of both wood and woody fragments by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium was investigated by using anti-lignin peroxidase in conjunction with postembedding transmission electron microscopy and immuno-gold labeling techniques. The enzyme was localized in the peripheral regions of the fungal cell cytoplasm in association with the cell membrane, fungal cell wall, and extracellular slime materials. In solid wood, lignin peroxidase was detected in low concentrations associated with both superficial and degradation zones within secondary cell walls undergoing fungal attack. A similar but much greater level of extracellular peroxidase activity was associated with wood fragments degraded by the fungus grown under liquid culture conditions optimal for production of the enzyme. Efforts to infiltrate degraded wood pieces with high levels of lignin peroxidase showed the enzyme to be restricted to superficial regions of wood decay and to penetrate wood cell walls only where the wall structure had been modified. In this respect the enzyme was able to penetrate characteristic zones of degradation within the secondary walls of fibers to sites of lignin attack. This suggests a possibility for a close substrate-enzyme association during wood cell wall degradation.     

Isolation and selection of novel basidiomycetes for decolorization of recalcitrant dyes

Thirty wood-rotting basidiomycetes, most of them causing white rot in wood, were isolated from fruiting bodies growing on decaying wood from the Sierra de Ayllón (Spain). The fungi were identified on the basis of their morphological characteristics and compared for their ability to decolorize Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Blue 38 (as model of azo and phthalocyanine type dyes, respectively) at 75 and 150 mg/L. Only eighteen fungal strains were able to grow on agar plates in the presence of the dyes and only three species (Calocera cornea, Lopharia spadicea, Polyporus alveolaris) decolorized efficiently both dyes at both concentrations. The ligninolytic activities, involved in decolorization dyes (laccases, lignin peroxidases, Mn-oxidizing peroxidases), were followed in glucose basal medium in the presence of enzyme inducers. The results indicate a high variability of the ligninolytic system within white-rot basidiomycetes. These fungal species and their enzymes can represent new alternatives for the study of new biological systems to degrade aromatic compounds causing environmental problems.     

Characterization of white zones produced on Pinus radiata wood chips by Ganoderma australe and Ceriporiopsis subvermispora

White zones produced on biodegraded Pinus radiata wood chips were characterized by micro-localized-FTIR (Fourier Transformed Infra Red) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Both techniques permitted assignment of the white zones to a selective lignin removal process. Although both fungi studied have degraded lignin selectively in these restricted superficial areas, chemical analysis of the wood chips indicated that Ganoderma australe removed 16% of the initial amount of glucan at the 20% weight loss level. Ceriporiopsis subvermispora did not remove glucan at weight loss values below 17%. Prolonged biodegradation resulted in reduction of white zones by G. australe, and increased white zones from C. subvermispora decayed samples. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial distribution of red wood ants and scientific basis of their protection

The results of long-term research on spatial distribution of red wood ants in the Urals and Western Siberia are presented. It was shown that large complexes counting tens and hundreds of nests clearly tended to form aggregations, or zones of high density. These zones are extended latitudinally and arranged in a striate pattern, with stripes about 15 km wide, about 100 km long, and positioned 100–120 km apart. The possibility of using these trends for the protection of red wood ants and for future research is discussed.     

我国西北和东南地区多孔菌种群差异

多孔菌是木材腐朽真菌中对木材降解发挥作用最大、种类最多的一个类群,对森林中营养物质的循环具有极为重要的作用.本文对北起天山、祁连山、宝天曼,南至武夷山的4个不同地点的多孔菌物种组成和区系进行了比较分析.调查发现,天山地区具有多孔菌种类72种,祁连山为99种,宝天曼为124种,武夷山为156种.这4个地区的共有物种为14种.上述地区多孔菌的属地理成分均以世界广布和北温带分布为主,具有明显的北温带成分区系特征.比较木材降解方式发现,白腐菌种类在各地区所占物种比例由北到南呈上升趋势,褐腐菌的比例总体呈下降趋势.生长在被子植物上的多孔菌种类在宝天曼地区所占比例最多.天山和祁连山地区的稀有种和濒危种主要生长在针叶树上,宝天曼和武夷山则主要生长在阔叶树上.从4个地区多孔菌的多样性、基质选择和降解方式差异来看,森林植被类型在其中起到很大的作用.     

Production of manganese-dependent peroxidase in a new solid-state bioreactor by Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown on wood shavings. Application to the decolorization of synthetic dyes

The production of manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) byPhanerochœte chrysosporium in a new solid-state bioreactor, the immersion bioreactor, operating with lignocellulosic waste, such as wood shavings, was investigated. Maximum MnP and lignin peroxidase (LiP) activity of 13.4 and 8.48 μkat/L were obtained, respectively. Thein vitro decolorization of several synthetic dyes by the extracellular liquid produced in the above-mentioned bioreactor (containing mainly MnP) was carried out and its degrading ability was assessed. The highest decolorization was reached with Indigo Carmine (98%) followed by Bromophenol Blue (56%) and Methyl Orange (36%), whereas Gentian Violet was hardly decolorized (6%).     

Variation of stilbene glucosides in bark extracts obtained from roots and stumps of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.)

Acetone-soluble compounds found in different root zones and stumps of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst), which were grown on either peatland or a mineral soil site, were studied. Samples from stumps and roots of different sizes and ages were collected a day after the trees were felled. The wood and bark of stumps and three zones of the roots were separated and extracted with acetone in an ultrasonic bath. Extracts were silylated and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The stilbene glucosides astringin and isorhapontin were major compounds in the spruce bark samples. The resveratrol glucoside piceid and the flavonoid catechin were also extracted from spruce bark. We also found the lignan hydroxymatairesinol in some wood extracts. Total concentrations of stilbene glucosides in bark of stumps and different root zones varied between 0.53 and 8.29 % (w/w, dry weight) with isorhapontin being the major compound. Isorhapontin concentrations were highest in the spruce samples grown on mineral soil. The bark of the roots close to the stem is a rich source of stilbenes for commercial utilisation.     

How Deep-Sea Wood Falls Sustain Chemosynthetic Life

Large organic food falls to the deep sea – such as whale carcasses and wood logs – are known to serve as stepping stones for the dispersal of highly adapted chemosynthetic organisms inhabiting hot vents and cold seeps. Here we investigated the biogeochemical and microbiological processes leading to the development of sulfidic niches by deploying wood colonization experiments at a depth of 1690 m in the Eastern Mediterranean for one year. Wood-boring bivalves of the genus Xylophaga played a key role in the degradation of the wood logs, facilitating the development of anoxic zones and anaerobic microbial processes such as sulfate reduction. Fauna and bacteria associated with the wood included types reported from other deep-sea habitats including chemosynthetic ecosystems, confirming the potential role of large organic food falls as biodiversity hot spots and stepping stones for vent and seep communities. Specific bacterial communities developed on and around the wood falls within one year and were distinct from freshly submerged wood and background sediments. These included sulfate-reducing and cellulolytic bacterial taxa, which are likely to play an important role in the utilization of wood by chemosynthetic life and other deep-sea animals.     

Decolorization of synthetic and real textile wastewater by the use of white-rot fungi

Batch and continuous reactors inoculated with white-rot fungi were operated in order to study decolorization of textile dyes. Synthetic wastewater containing either Reactive Blue 4 (a blue anthraquinone dye) or Reactive Red 2 (a red azo dye) was used during the first part of the study while real wastewater from a textile industry in Tanzania was used in the later part. Trametes versicolor was shown to decolorize both Reactive Blue 4 and Reactive Red 2 if glucose was added as a carbon source. Reactive Blue 4 was also decolorized when the fungus was allowed to grow on birch wood discs in a continuous biological rotating contactor reactor. The absorbance at 595 nm, the wavelength at which the dye absorbs at a maximum, decreased by 70% during treatment. The initial dye concentration in the medium was 200 mg/l and the hydraulic retention time in the reactor 3 days. No glucose was added in this experiment. Changes of the absorbance in the UV range indicated that the aromatic structures of the dyes were altered. Real textile wastewater was decolorized by Pleurotus flabellatus growing on luffa sponge packed in a continuous reactor. The reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time of 25 h. The absorbance at 584 nm, the wavelength at which the wastewater absorbed the most, decreased from 0.3 in the inlet to approximately 0.1 in the effluent from the reactor.     

Pathogenesis of barley leaves by Helminthosporium teres II: Carbohydrate involvement

Conidia of Helminthosporium teres had negligible difference in germination and germ tube length between the decolorized and non-decolorized host leaves. Appressoria, penetration and colonization were less on decolorized host leaves, but addition of exogenous nutrients stimulated these stages. Leached conidia had reduced germination on decolorized host leaves, while appressoria formation, penetration and colonization were negligible. The addition of nutrients in the external environment, however, enabled some of the leached conidia to penetrate and colonize. Stimulation by the exogenous nutrients in decreasing order were: sucrose > glucose > yeast extract > leaf leachates. Optimum levels for various nutrients tested were 2% (w/v) each of sucrose and glucose, and 0.1% (w/v) yeast extract. Higher concentrations inhibited these stages of infection. Leached conidia and decolorized leaves had smaller amounts of carbohydrates than non-leached conidia and non-decolorized leaves, respectively. Depletion of host carbohydrates reduced appressoria formation, penetration and colonization and loss of carbohydrates from spores reduced germination.     

Contribution of manganese peroxidase and laccase to dye decoloration by Trametes versicolor

During dye decoloration by Trametes versicolor ATCC 20869 in modified Kirk’s medium, manganese peroxidase (MnP) and laccase were produced, but not lignin peroxidase, cellobiose dehydrogenase or manganese-independent peroxidase. Purified MnP decolorized azo dyes [amaranth, reactive black 5 (RB5) and Cibacron brilliant yellow] in Mn²⁺-dependent reactions but did not decolorize an anthraquinone dye [Remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR)]. However, the purified laccase decolorized RBBR five to ten times faster than the azo dyes and the addition of a redox mediator, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), did not alter decoloration rates. Amaranth and RB5 were decolorized the most rapidly by MnP since they have a hydroxyl group in an ortho position and a sulfonate group in the meta position relative to the azo bond. During a typical batch decoloration with the fungal culture, the ratio of laccase:MnP was 10:1 to 20:1 (based on enzyme activity) and increased to greater than 30:1 after decoloration was complete. Since MnP decolorized amaranth about 30 times more rapidly than laccase per unit of enzyme activity, MnP should have contributed more to decoloration than laccase in batch cultures.     

A Consideration of French's Test of Basic Fuchsin for Endo's Medium

In describing a method of testing for the return of color in decolorized fuchsin for use in Endo Medium, French states that variations in hydrogen ion concentration fail to influence the appearance of color in this medium.

Duplications of this test were made using alcoholic and aqueous solutions of fuchsin and both sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite as decolorizing agents.

In the decolorized alcoholic solutions of fuchsin the color failed to reappear when formalin was added, but a small amount of a weak solution of lactic acid caused the color to return.

Alcoholic solutions of fuchsin failed to decolorize in sodium bisulfite solutions until a few drops of NaOH were added. The color, then, reappeared immediately.

Solutions of peptones to which fuchsin had been added were substituted for the original fuchsin solution. Alcoholic and aqueous solutions of fuchsin were added to equal amounts of a 1% peptone solution. The peptone solutions varied in their hydrogen ion concentration and the results showed that those which were neutral decolorized readily while the more acid solutions were but partially decolorized.

Fuchsin decolorized according to results found in this test, was not satisfactory in the Endo medium, especially in the case of the aqueous solutions of fuchsin.

Experiments which were carried on by other workers and checked with this method all indicated that some acid is necessary to secure the restoration of color.     

Wood anatomy and vessel characteristics of spiny monkey orange (Strychnos spinosa) in Benin (West Africa)

The response of plant species to varying climate conditions in tropical Africa remains poorly understood but can be assessed using wood anatomical traits. These traits play an important role for the adaptive capacity of a species to environmental stress, since environmental conditions can modify the proportion, size, and morphology of wood anatomical elements. This study reports quantitative data on vessel characteristics of the diffuse porous angiosperm Spiny monkey orange (Strychnos spinosa Lam.) in Benin in tropical West Africa. The vessel-related anatomical traits varied with high amplitude (coefficient of variation CV ˃ 25%) between different sites located in different climate zones. The variability of the traits is higher within one climatic zone than between climatic zones, and even more pronounced within trees. Consequently, the climatic zones have less influence on the studied features than local site conditions. However, the study showed that S. spinosa individuals that have numerous vessels also have a high lumen fraction and total ring area. On the other hand, individuals presenting a high vessel density also display vessels of smaller size. The correlation between vessel number and total ring area on the one hand, and between vessel size and lumen fraction on the other hand are highly significant and positive. In Benin, S. spinosa wood anatomical traits are likely linked to local site factors rather than to regional climatic factors.     

枯枝暗色丝孢菌研究Ⅰ.两个中国新记录种

<正>A recent investigations of dematiaceous hyphomycetes occurring on dead wood in various subtropical and tropical zones of southern China have yielded two species new to China, and they are