Mode of coniferous wood decay by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete carnosa as elucidated by FTIR and ToF-SIMS.

ABSTRACT

The softwood degrading white-rot fungus, Phanerochaete carnosa, was investigated for its ability to degrade two coniferous woods balsam fir and lodgepole pine. P. carnosa grew similarly on these wood species, and like the hardwood-degrading white-rot fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, P. carnosa demonstrated selective degradation of lignin, as observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Lignin degradation across cell walls of decayed pine samples was also evaluated by ToF-SIMS and was shown to be uniform. This study illustrates softwood lignin utilization by a white-rot fungus and reveals the industrial potential of the lignocellulolytic activity elicited by this fungus.