Five New Wood Decay Fungi (Polyporales and Hymenochaetales) in Korea

The wood decay fungi are a diverse taxonomic group that plays a pivotal role in forest carbon cycling. Wood decay fungi use various enzymatic pathways to digest dead or living wood in order to obtain carbon and other nutrients and these enzymatic systems have been exploited for both industrial and medical applications. Over 600 wood decay fungi species have been described in Korea; however, the recent application of molecular markers has dramatically altered the taxonomy of many of these wood decay fungi at both the genus and species levels. By combining molecular methods, specifically sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region, with traditional morphological characters, this study identified five new species records for Korea in five genera: Aurantiporus, Favolus, Neofavolus, Loweomyces, and Hymenochaetopsis. Three of these genera (Aurantiporus, Favolus, and Loweomyces) were previously unknown in Korea. The relatively simple morphology of the wood decay fungi often leads to ambiguous taxonomic assignment. Therefore, molecular markers are a necessary component of any taxonomic or evolutionary study of wood decay fungi. Our study highlights the need for a more robust and multifaceted approach in investigating new wood decay fungi in Korea.

La bacteria Arthrobacter agilis UMCV2 y diversas aminas inhiben el crecimiento in vitro de hongos destructores de madera / Bacterium Arthrobacter agilis UMCV2 and diverse amines inhibit in vitro growth of wood-decay fungi

El reino Fungi está representado por innumerable cantidad de organismos entre los cuales se encuentran hongos patógenos que deterioran los principales componentes estructurales de la madera, como celulosa, hemicelulosa y lignina. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue caracterizar la actividad antifúngica y la producción de diversas aminas de Arthrobacter agilis UMCV2 con acción antagónica sobre hongos xilófagos. Para ello, se aislaron 4 organismos fúngicos (designados en conjunto UMTM) a partir de madera en descomposición en un bosque de pino encino de la comunidad de Cuanajo, Michoacán, México. Dos de ellos presentaron una clara actividad enzimática de celulasas, xilanasas y enzimas accesorias óxido-reductoras, y fueron identificados como pertenecientes a 2 géneros agresivos para la madera: Hypocrea (aislado UMTM3) y Fusarium (aislado UMTM13). In vitro, las aminas evaluadas mostraron tener efecto inhibitorio sobre el crecimiento de los UMTM y la dimetilhexadecilamina; uno de estos compuestos mostró un fuerte potencial para ser utilizado como tratamiento preventivo contra el ataque de hongos destructores de madera.

The kingdom Fungi is represented by a large number of organisms, including pathogens that deteriorate the main structural components of wood, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The aim of our work was to characterize the antifungal activity in Arthrobacter agilis UMCV2 and diverse amines against wood-decaying fungi. Four fungal organisms (designated as UMTM) were isolated from decaying wood samples obtained from a forest in Cuanajo-Michoacán, México. Two of them showed a clear enzymatic activity of cellulases, xylanases and oxido-reducing enzymes and were identified as Hypocrea (UMTM3 isolate) and Fusarium (UMTM13 isolate). In vitro, the amines showed inhibitory effect against UMTM growth and one of the amines, dimethylhexadecylamine (DMA16), exhibited strong potential as wood preventive treatment, against the attack of decaying fungi.

Four Unrecorded Wood Decay Fungi from Seoul in Korea

During the investigation of Korean indigenous fungi from Seoul, three genera-Fuscoporia, Porostereum, and Trametopsis, and four species-Fuscoporia senex, Phlebia acerina, Porostereum spadiceum, and Trametopsis cervina were found. Their morphological characteristics were examined and their identification was confirmed by molecular analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA region sequences. These fungi are new to Korea and registered here with descriptions.

Durabilidade natural de painéis aglomerados confeccionados com Eucalyptus grandis e Bambusa vulgaris em ensaio de apodrecimento acelerado / Natural durability of Eucalyptus grandis and Bambusa vulgaris particleboards under accelerated fungi decay test

O conhecimento acerca da resistência dos compostos ligno-celulósicos ao ataque de microrganismos é primordial para servir de base à prevenção da deterioração e a correta destinação de emprego do material. Nesse sentido, avaliou-se a resistência natural a fungos apodrecedores de painéis aglomerados confeccionados com partículas de madeira (Eucalyptus grandis) e/ou bambu (Bambusa vulgaris). Foram produzidas, em laboratório, chapas aglomeradas nas dimensões 50x50x0,95cm e massa específica pré-estabelecida em 0,70g cm-3, nas proporções de 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 e 0:100 de madeira e bambu, respectivamente. A massa de partículas representou 91 por cento da massa seca de cada painel, sendo, o restante, formado pelo adesivo ureia-formaldeído (8 por cento) e parafina (1 por cento). Para determinação da resistência natural ao ataque de fungos xilófagos, os painéis foram testados em laboratório e utilizados os fungos Gloeophyllum trabeum (podridão parda) e Trametes versicolor (podridão branca), de acordo com a ASTM D 2017 (2005). Quanto aos resultados, foi observado que os painéis confeccionados com mistura de partículas de madeira e bambu apresentaram menor resistência ao ataque dos fungos apodrecedores. Painéis que utilizaram apenas bambu ou madeira apresentaram resistência biológica semelhante. Dentre os fungos, T. versicolor atacou mais severamente os painéis.

The knowledge about lignocellulosic compounds strength to the attack of microorganisms is essential for preventing deterioration and also for knowing the correct usage of the material. Accordingly it was evaluated the natural resistance of wood panels made of particles of wood (Eucalyptus grandis) and/or bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) to decay fungi. Particleboards were produced in laboratory, each of them with dimensions 50x50x0.95cm and density pre-set at 0.70g cm-3, in proportions of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 of wood and bamboo, respectively. The particles mass represented 91 percent of the dry mass of each panel while the remainder was formed by the urea-formaldehyde adhesive (8 percent) and paraffin (1 percent). The panels were tested in the laboratory and Gloeophyllum trabeum (brown rot) and Trametes versicolor (white rot) were used to determine the natural resistance to attack by wood decay fungi. It was observed that panels which were made with a mixture of particles of wood and bamboo were less resistant to attack by decay fungi. Panels that were made from bamboo or wood only showed similar biological resistance. Among fungi, T. versicolor was the one that attacked panels more severely.

Checklist of Hymenomycetes (Aphyllophorales s.l.) and Heterobasidiomycetes in Israel

A checklist is presented concerning the species composition of Hymenomycetes (Aphyllophorales s.l.) and Heterobasidiomycetes in Israel based on data of previous studies and field sample collections. In total, 242 species are presented, of which five are new records for the Israeli mycobiota, namely Australohydnum dregeanum, Ceriporiopsis consobrina, C. resinascens, Fibroporia vaillantii, and Postia inocybe. The distribution and habitat of each species in Israel are also summarized. This checklist will serve as valuable data for future species diversity studies of these fungi in Israel.