The production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been suggested to play a key role in the degradation of wood by wood-rotting fungi. The production of extracellular hydrogen peroxide was studied by a quantitative method which detects the oxidation of the 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) by H2O2 and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in liquid culture medium. The carbon sources used were crystalline and amorphous cellulose. Two brown-rotters, Serpula lacrymans and Poria placenta, were able to produce clearly detectable amounts of extracellular hydrogen peroxide in liquid medium which contained crystalline cellulose as carbon source. No detectable H2O2 was produced in conditions where amorphous medium was used as carbon source. This result suggests that the conformational structure of the substrate may induce H2O2 production by brown-rot fungi.

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