Young Woon Lim, Russell J. Chedgy, Sabarish Amirthalingam, Colette Breuil
Screening fungi tolerant to Western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn) extractives. Part 2. Development of a feeder strip assay
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn) is a naturally durable softwood species native to British Columbia in Canada, and Washington, Oregon and California in the USA. Untreated T. plicata products are usually durable because of the presence of extractives with anti-microbial activity. However, there are extractive tolerant fungi that can attack T. plicata. To screen for extractive-tolerant species we developed a T. plicata feeder strip assay. When the feeder strips were placed on malt extract agar, extractives from the wood accumulated in the media and strongly inhibited growth of non-tolerant fungal strains. Extractives remaining in feeder strips following incubation on media were characterized. Of the many compounds leached out, ?- and ?-thujaplicin, ?-thujaplicinol, plicatic acid and thujic acid were quantified. The growth of selected fungal strains was not affected by plicatic acid; however, it was inhibited to different degrees by ?- and ?-thujaplicin. Pachnocybe ferruginea was extractive-tolerant and may play an important role in the initial stages of degradation of T. plicata products.
Holzforschung, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 0018-3830
Volume: 61, 03/2007
Pages: 195 - 200
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