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Microscopic characteristics of microbial attacks of CCA-treated radiata pine wood
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10011
Light and electron microscopic observations were made of CCA-treated radiata timbers, which had been placed in service in a vineyard soil as supporting poles and as part of a house pile, to determine the cause of their deterioration. The house pile had failed in service after between 9 and 13 years and was of particular interest because decay was more severe in deeper regions than at the surface a...
A P Singh, R N Wakeling


Immunolocalization of xylanase produced by Clostridium xylanolyticum Rogers and Baecker during anaerobic decay of Pinus patula
1991 - IRG/WP 1505
The xylanolytic fraction from a 72h culture of Clostridium xylanolyticum ROGERS and BAECKER was separated using non-denaturing PAGE and then used to raise polyvalent antisera in rabbits. Antibodies were purified using an affinity gel column and coniugated with colloidal gold. Pinus patula was exposed to axenic cultures of Clostridium xylanolyticum for 3 weeks, fixed, embedded and converted to ultr...
A A W Baecker, G M Rogers


Accelerated decay tests on DNBP-treated Pinus patula and Eucalyptus grandis
1987 - IRG/WP 3441
Blocks (10 x 10 x 5 mm³) of Pinus patula and Eucalyptus grandis were impregnated to 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 kg/m³ 2-sec-butyl, 4, 6 dinitrophenol (DNBP). They were monitored microscopically and for weight losses over 16 weeks against monocultures of Coriolus versicolor and Coniophora puteana. Treated ministakes (10 x 10 x 100 mm³) and blocks in soil contact were similarly monitored to determine wei...
L D Abraham, A A W Baecker


Biodegradation of wood in wet environments: A review
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10217
Wood in wet environments is attacked and degraded by soft rot fungi and erosion and tunnelling bacteria, which are more tolerant to high moisture and reduced oxygen conditions than basidiomycetes, such as white and brown rot fungi. Since basidiomycetes are normally more aggressive and can degrade wood faster than soft rot fungi and bacteria wood in wet environments can survive longer. In fact, arc...
A P Singh, Yoon Soo Kim


Isolation of soil borne bacteria and fungi from treated timber
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50174
Most research in the last few decades has focused on the development of new strategies to control biological attack and the means to quantify this. Comparatively little work has been done to examine the effect that treated timber might have on its surrounding environment. This presentation will describe a methodology that attempts to detect any changes which might occur in the soil microflora foll...
I Stephan, A Stegemann, G Heidrich


A study of the colonization of wood blocks in a laboratory unsterile soil test
1988 - IRG/WP 2318
CCA treated and untreated beech blocks were exposed to a defined horticultural loam using the method proposed for the collaborative soft rot test in the soft rot sub-group of Working Group Two. At intervals during the incubation wood samples were removed and fungal isolations were made using selective media. Fungi were identified and tested for their cellulolytic ability and their decay capacity i...
M T De Troya, S M Gray, D J Dickinson


Bacterial brown stain on sawn timber cut from water-stored logs
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1532
Brown stains which appear on the surface of sawn radiata pine cut from water-stored logs were identified as tannin-like compounds. They are derived from bacterial breakdown of flavanoid-glucosides. When timber is sawn from infected logs, the free flavanoids migrate to the wood surface as the timber dries. There, they condense and oxidise to form permanent brown discolourations. Stains occurred on ...
M E Hedley, R Meder


Evaluation of bacteria for biological control of wood decay
1990 - IRG/WP 1426
Laboratory soil-block and agar-block tests were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of bacteria as biological control agents against 5 brown-rot and 3 white-rot fungi. Pretreatment of Southern pine and sweetgum with a bacterial solution prevented decay in agar-block tests. However, the bacteria were generally ineffective in preventing decay in Southern pine, Douglas-fir, sweetgum and yellow popla...
R Benko, T L Highley


The rôle of lignin in the nutrition of several Australian termites
1983 - IRG/WP 1191
The ability of Nasutitermes exitiosus (Hill), Coptotermes acinaciformis (Frogatt), Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt) and Mastotermes darwiniensis (Froggatt) to degrade 14C-lignin preparations was examined. The lower termites were unable to degrade lignin. Nasutitermes exitiosus was able to cause a 5-8% degradation of hardwood lignins and a synthetic lignin. It failed to degrade the lignin of Pinus ra...
L J Cookson


Effect of volatiles from bacteria and yeast on the growth and pigmentation of sap-stain fungi
2000 - IRG/WP 00-10331
Sapstain fungi cause deterioration of wood due to colonisation by pigmented hyphae but without producing significant strength losses. This is due to the production of melanin in the fungal cell walls of the staining fungi. Any biological control strategy targeted against this type of deterioration would therefore be considered successful if it inhibited either fungal growth or pigment production. ...
A Bruce, R E Wheatley, S Verrall


Ponding of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) - 1. The effect of bacteria on wood
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10265
Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) wood panels which had been ponded for periods ranging from 2 to 12 weeks were examined by light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for bacterial colonisation of wood and degradation of pit membranes. After 2 weeks of ponding bacteria colonised the outer few cells of wood, ...
A P Singh, Y S Kim, U Schmitt, B S Dawson


Microbial fouling of 10-40% naphthalene in creosote treated and untreated wooden pilings in the marine environment - A progress report
1980 - IRG/WP 455
In June 1978, Document No: IRG/WP/442 entitled 'Microbial Biofouling of 10-40% Naphthalene in Creosote Treated and Untreated Wooden Pilings in the Marine Environment" was released to the IRG members as a report on the early results of a long term (about 5 years) study of whether the naphthalene content of creosote was importart in protecting wood pilings in the marine environment from bor...
R R Colwell, A J Emery


Bacteria are important degraders of cooling tower timbers: New Zealand experience
1995 - IRG/WP 95-10128
Microscopic examinations of CCA-treated Pinus radiata timbers in industrial cooling towers in New Zealand showed bacteria and soft rot fungi to be primarily responsible for the decay of these timbers. Of these micro-organisms, erosion bacteria appeared to be most widespread, attacking wood cell walls independently as well as together with tunnelling bacteria and soft rot fungi. Tunnelling bacteria...
A P Singh, R N Wakeling


Aspects of leaching
1976 - IRG/WP 267
With respect to Document No: IRG/WP/246, and the recommendation that an economic leaching test can be based on a non-changing volume of water (500 ml/block), I would like to relate our experiences with this suggestion. Following 14 days of continuous immersion in de-ionized water it was found that blocks treated with moderate and above concentrations of a preservative gave no problems, but those b...
R S Smith


Borate-treated food affects survival, vitamin B12 content, and digestive processes of subterranean termites
1990 - IRG/WP 1448
Toxicity of boron compounds was studied by analyzing survival rates and vitamin B12 contents in Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, that were exposed to dietary treatments for 10 days. The dietary treatments applied in moistened cellulose were (a) 0.05% boric acid equivalent (BAE) of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, (b) 0.05% BAE of anmonium pentaborate plus sodium sul...
L H Williams, S I Sallay, J A Breznak


The effect of water storage on the cell-structure of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) with reference to its permeability and preservation
1970 - IRG/WP III 3A
Commercial treatment trials with full sized transmission poles have shown that water storage considerably improves the permeability of Sitka and Norway spruce. These results were confirmed by laboratory measurements which showed that in the sapwood of ponded Sitka spruce there is a vast improvement in permeability in all three grain directions. Heartwood permeability does not seem to be affected t...
J A Dunleavy, A J McQuire


Studies on the Toxicity of IPBC and Other Biocides to Bacteria
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10544
Twenty-six strains of bacteria were isolated from IPBC-, Bethoxazin- and creosote-enrichment. These were found to fall into six principal clades: enterics, pseudomonads, Stenotrophomonas, Actinomycetes, Alcaligenes and Bacillus. Of these, only the last group was largely incapable of the dehalogenation of IPBC. Six representative strains were chosen for further study, and the ability of these six b...
S R Cook, D J Dickinson


Destruction of two tropical timbers by marine borers and micro-organisms in Goa waters (India)
1992 - IRG/WP 92-4176
The paper deals with the pattern of microbial attack in relation to marine borer damage of test panels of African rosewood and Brazilian jackwood exposed in Goa waters (Western India) for a period of seven months. The degradation of wood cell walls in both the timber samples occurred due to infestation of soft-rot fungi and tunnelling bacteria. African rosewood, which was severely damaged by tered...
L N Santhakumaran, A P Singh


Laboratory studies on control of sapstain and mold on unseasoned wood by bacteria
1991 - IRG/WP 1493
A malt-agar and nonagar laboratory test was used to evaluate the efficacy of bacterial preparations as biological control agents against several sapwood-inhabiting fungi. Both nonsterilized and filter sterilized bacteria preparations prevented attack by the sapwood-inhabiting fungi. Streptomyces rimosus was the most effective bacteria, giving good protection, with a 1-hr soak in a filter-sterilize...
T L Highley, R Benko, S C Croan


Attempts to isolate tunnelling bacteria through physical separation from other bacteria by the use of cellophane
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1535
During attempts to isolate tunnelling bacteria in pure culture, physical separation from other bacteria was successfully achieved by the use of cellophane. Cellophane was used in liquid cultures as a substrate for tunnelling bacteria that were present in a mixture with other bacteria. By tunnelling into cellophane, TB were physically removed from contaminating bacteria which could then be removed ...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Visualising Bacteria in Wood Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM)
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10272
A fluorescent phospholipid probe was used in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), to visualise bacteria which inhabit in radiata pine wood and degrade pit membranes. CLSM has the ability to collect fluorescent images through different emission filters at the same time, so it is possible to distinguish gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in infected wood by counterstaini...
Ying Xiao, A P Singh, R N Wakeling


Detoxification of methylene bisthiocyanate by bacteria isolated from freshly felled, anti-sapstain treated timber
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10017
The microbial defacement of freshly-felled timber treated with organic biocides continues to be a major problem in stored lumber. As part of a study to investigate the depletion in chemical activity of methylene-bis-thiocyanate (MBT) in green timber, bacteria were isolated from freshly-felled boards of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima Arnold) previously treated with different biocides. The...
R J Wallace, R A Eaton, G R Williams


Detection of methanogenic bacteria in mining timber
1988 - IRG/WP 1352
Methane explosions in gold mines have been attributed to spontaneous ignition of methane/air mixtures. Biogenesis of methane in the heartwood of diseased trees has been shown, but never in timber in service. Studies were therefore undertaken to establish whether methanogens were present in wooden pit props. Core samples were removed by Pressler increment borer from props in disused areas 2,600 m d...
L D Abraham, K Westlake, R I Mackie, J F Putterill, A A W Baecker.


Tunnelling bacteria
1983 - IRG/WP 1186
The micromorphology of decay in wood caused by a certain group of single-cell bacteria, called tunnelling bacteria (TB), is described. TB are characterised by their tunnelling ability within the secondary cell walls of wood fibres. Pure cultures of TB have not yet been obtained although the typical decay patterns can be reproduced using mixed bacterial cultures. Some indications of lignin degradin...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Microbial decay in an extremely durable Malaysian hardwood Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) - an overview
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10216
The heartwood of Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) is highly regarded among the naturally durable Malaysian hardwoods, and is therefore a choice timber for soilcontact use in the humid tropics such as untreated telecommunication poles, fence posts and railway sleepers. The high microbial resistance of the wood is evidenced by the mere superficial degradation observed in some pole samples after 20 yea...
A H H Wong, A P Singh


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