Wood wafers of Populus tremuloides sapwood were incubated on common media with the white rot fungus Phanaerochaete chrysosporium (wild isolate) and subjected to cyclic drying or chemical agents (low levels of borate or trifluoperazine [a calmodulin antagonist]). After a mass loss of approximately 5.5%, wafers were dried and analyzed for acid-insoluble lignin. Those wafers containing chemical agents had statistically higher losses in lignin than controls or those subjected to a repeated drying cycle. These preliminary results suggest that it may be possible to increase lignin degradation of aspen by low level chemical treatments which do not prevent wood decay by this fungus.

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