Wood decay enzymatic ability of Fusarium circinatum

IRG/WP 12-10777

M T Troya, F Llinares, Y Serrano, M Conde

There exists pathogens that attack standing trees of forests, and do not usually thrive once the tree is felled. However, occasionally they can be present in a latent state in the wood and can spread and affect new areas with economic, ecological and social consequences. Fusarium circinatum is a fungus that causes “pitch canker” in pine species, and is considered a quarantine organism within the European Union. Some studies have reported that this fungus can survive in wood wastes, however no studies to show what kind of substrates, and if the affected wood losses its physico-mechanical properties. In this paper has been studied the possible degradative capacity of Fusarium circinatum on Pinus radiata. Two tests were carried out, one to determine weight loss of wood with varying degrees of nutritional richness, and another to determine the lignocellulolytic activities of two isolates of Fusarium circinatum. The results showed that both presented hemicellulolytic and cellulolytic activities, but not ligninolytic. This degradative ability could affect the quality of felled wood and consequently adversely affect the industrial sector.


Keywords: Fusarium circinatum, Pinus radiata, lignocellulolytic, enzymes, weight loss

Conference: 12-05-06/10 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


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