For My Own Use: if I write it, maybe I'll remember it

[urbpan]

Wood is composed primarily of cellulose, which is white, and lignin, which is brown.

Fungi that feed on cellulose are called "brown rot" because they leave the brown lignin behind.

Fungi that feed on lignin are called "white rot" because they leave the white cellulose behind.

Further, from Tom Volk:

Biopulping
One of the biggest energy expenditures in paper making comes from removal of the brown lignin from the wood so that the white cellulose is all that's left to make paper. What if paper companies could use the enzymes of a white rot fungus to remove the lignin? This could result in a savings in both energy and time and avoid pollutive wastes being dumped out of the mills. The ideal fungus for this endeavor would be fast growing, able to tolerate high temperatures, and would leave the cellulose virtually untouched. This ideal fungus would have the exact characteristics of Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Bioremediation.
Some of the lignin-degrading enzymes of Phanerochaete chrysosporium will also degrade toxic wastes, such as PCB's and PCP's. This is not too surprising, because those substances have chemical bonds very similar to those found in lignin. The fungus works very well on the laboratory bench, but, as with many industrial bioprocesses there are problems with scaling up the process.
As of very recently, Phanerochaete chrysosporium is the first wood-decay basidiomycete to have its genome sequenced. This genome sequence will certainly help with manipulations of Phanerochaete in future biotechnological applications. You can read more about the genome sequencing in the June 2004 issue of "Nature Biotechnology."

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/may97.html

Comments

[by-steph.livejournal.com]

Cool!!