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Xerophilic mould fungi on new and historic wood
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11056
An examination of mould fungi in 35 medieval and ten 18th Century buildings shows mould growth to varying degrees on different surfaces. The analyses also show a rapid development of mould fungi on certain wooden surfaces in recent years. A significant difference in the growth between new and old wood is the clearly more extensive growth and different species composition of mould fungi on new wo...
J Mattsson, M S Austigard


Entomopathogenic organisms: Host-pathogen interactions
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11059
The management strategy of wood attacked by wood-eating insects has been until now by the application of insecticidal products used as biocides and/or repellents, or using physical treatments. This paper describes the use of entomopathogenic organisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi and nematodes), normally used in agricultural systems, in order to study their possible transfer to wood-decay insects. ...
M T Troya, S Santos, L Robertson


Revealing the degradation process of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) by different decay fungi
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11060
Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) is the main bamboo species for engineering; however, it is highly susceptible to various fungi during use. In this study, four prevalent decay fungi, including two brown rot fungi and two white-rot fungi, were used as the test fungi to investigate the changes in structure and chemical composition of Moso bamboo samples at different incubation times in order to be...
J Xue, D Cui, M Zhou, J Cao


Durability to wood decay fungi and subterranean termites of Quercus pyrenaica Wild
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11066
The use of wood has added value since it is renewable, biodegradable, and a recyclable material. For this reason, evaluating its natural durability is essential when establishing the level of protection required, depending on the designated end use. Natural durability is defined as the intrinsic resistance of wood against the attack of destructive organisms. There are standardised methods to estim...
S Santos, M T Troya, L Robertson, S Gutierrez, G Caballe, J L Villanueva


Durability and molecular analysis of fungal communities in wood exposed above ground
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11068
The objective of the study was to explore the durability of wood exposed above ground, comprising a wide diversity of wood species and treatments and extensive assessment data on wood durability in ongoing long-term testing. Larch species and Scots pine heartwood, two tropical species ntholo and ncurri and a number of treated wood by copper-based formulations and alternatives (silanes, spiroborate...
N Högberg, D Panov, G Daniel, N Terziev


Detecting wood-decay fungi in walls: a non-destructive approach with an electronic nose
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11070
Wood-decay fungi degrade the structural integrity and safety of wooden buildings, leading to potential hazards and reduced durability. Conventional detection methods, such as visual inspection and destructive sampling, are often impractical for concealed spaces, such as those within walls or beneath floors. These methods often require specialised training and costly equipment, making non-destructi...
M Suzuki, T Miyauchi, S Isaji, R Naganawa


Interaction of cellulolytic enzymes with fungal cell wall polysaccharides
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11071
Wood rotting fungi are the primary agents responsible for the decomposition of wood in natural environments. These fungi secrete a variety of enzymes to degrade the chemically and structurally resistant components of the wood cell wall. Some of these enzymes possess a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), which enhances enzymatic efficiency by increasing their affinity to the substrate. Previously, w...
K Fukabori, N Hattori, Y Kojima, R Iizuka, M Yoshida


Physiological characterization of a key enzyme involved in gaseous COS assimilation in the filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11072
Filamentous fungi are among the primary organisms responsible for the biological deterioration of wood, including wood decay and surface contamination. Therefore, understanding their physiological mechanisms is important for developing effective wood preservation strategies. Most physiological studies on filamentous fungi have focused on the metabolism of major elements, such as carbon in the form...
R Iizuka, A Ono, T Suzuki, Y Katayama, M Yoshida


Distribution of Crystalline Cellulose-Binding Domain CBM104 in Wood Rotting Fungi
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11073
Wood rotting fungi play a crucial role in biodeterioration of wood. Many brown-rot fungi are known to rapidly degrade cellulose in wood despite lacking enzymes with cellulose-binding domains. This has led to the hypothesis that they rely on a non-enzymatic degradation system. We recently discovered a novel cellulose-binding domain, CBM104, in the brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum. In this stud...
Y Kojima, N Sunagawa, M Aoki, S Tagawa, M Wada, K Igarashi, M Yoshida


Investigation of oxalic acid production in brown-rot fungi
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11074
Brown-rot fungi play a crucial role as wood decomposers in forests and are also known as the main cause of biodeterioration of wooden buildings in Japan. Therefore, understanding their decomposition mechanisms is important for the maintenance and preservation of wooden structures. While white-rot fungi generally use enzyme-system for degradation, many brown-rot fungi lack cellobiohydrolases which ...
S Matsumoto, R Tsukida, T Ito, M Iritani, M Yoshida


Effect of the Cellulose-Binding Domain Associated with Xylanase on the Degradation of Softwood and Hardwood Xylan
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11078
Brown rot fungi rapidly degrade hemicellulose, which is recognized as a key decomposition process during the early stages of wood decay. Brown rot fungi possess multiple genes encoding hemicellulose-degrading enzymes, suggesting that enzymatic hydrolysis plays an important role in this process. Hemicellulases produced by these fungi often contain an additional domain classified as carbohydrate-bin...
R Tsukida, Y Kojima, S Kaneko, M Yoshida


Natural and enhanced durability of wood exposed above ground
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11079
Understanding and predicting the durability of wood is essential for ensuring its effective use, long-term reliability, and sustainability in various applications. To address this need, the "Wood Above Ground" project was initiated in 1999 at the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) to investigate the natural durability of wood species under a wide range of above-ground exposure scenarios. This ex...
R Digaitis, J Stenbaek, A W Christof, N Morsing, B Lindegaard


Screening of fungi capable of degradation of β-aryl ether bond from lignin model compounds by using highly fluorescent-emitting detection
2025 - IRG/WP 25-11081
Lignin is an aromatic polymer and composed of phenylpropane units polymerized by dehydrogenases in cell walls. Lignin has a complex chemical structure with C-C and C-O-C bonds, and it is difficult to decompose lignin structure by microorganisms in natural conditions. For the microbial degradation of lignin structure, wood decay fungi can non-specifically degrade the lignin polymeric structure by o...
A Ishikawa, Y Mori, Y Ota, M Kiguchi


Synergistic effect of the association of Prosopis juliflora polyphenolic extractives with tebuconazole on the growth inhibition of brown and white rot fungi: a solution to increase the naturality and safety of wood preservation treatment
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20732
The antifungal effect of catechin and extractives from Prosopis juliflora was studied against one white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor (TV), and one brown rot fungus, Rhodonia placenta (PP). The extractives from Prosopis julilfora were crude mesquitol and pure mesquitol. Tebuconazole was used in this study as a known fungicide against the two named fungi. Wood protection using fungicides can be h...
J Owino, J Tuimising, F Mangin, P Gérardin, A Kiprop, C Gérardin-Charbonnier


Potential co-valorization of pyrolysis tars from five wood species form Tunisia as wood preservatives bases: Chemical compositions, antifungal and anti-termite activities
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20739
The pyrolysis of five Tunisian wood species (Ceratonia siliqua, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus maidenii, Pinus pinea, and Quercus canariensis) was carried out in a custom-designed carbonisation reactor developed at the INRGREF's Wood Technology Section (Tunis, Tunisia). This process aimed to produce both char and pyrolysis by-products, particularly pyrolysis oils. The experiments were conduc...
M T Elaieb, J Valette, E Kiény, L Pignolet, S Ghariani, K Candelier


Functionalization of wood with nano-sized titanium dioxide – Efficacy against mould growth and effect on cell wall integrity
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20740
Nano-sized titanium dioxide (nano TiO2) is a photocatalytic compound that generates reactive radicals under UV radiation, which can inhibit microbial growth and impart self-cleaning properties. This effect has been widely utilised on materials such as glass or tiles. This study investigates the potential of nano TiO2 treatments to prevent mould growth on wood and their impact on cell wall integrit...
U Hundhausen, S Bollmus, L Ross


Citric acid/urea derivatives as an anti-discolouration treatment for wood surfaces
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20741
The exterior-use wood faces raining and sunlight exposure, which can cause property changes of the wood, such as the discolouration, dimensional instability, and biological attack. This article explores the use of citric acid and urea as surface protection of wood. The heating of citric acid and urea can result in the fluorescent carbon dots. These carbon dots can absorb UV light with the emission...
C-F Lin, O Myronycheva, D Jones, O Karlsson


Are we barking up the right tree? - the use of bark residues in wood protection
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20742
Tree bark, a lignocellulosic side-stream, is typically underutilised, often combusted or landfilled, thus contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This communication paper explores the potential of bark residues, particularly suberinic acid, tannins and other polyphenols, in wood protection applications, including coatings, adhesives, and fire retardants. Several European projects have been initi...
A Treu, M Altgen, M Sipponen, M Borrega


Sustainable and environmentally friendly bio-based protection against fire
2025 - IRG/WP 25-20756
Flame-retardant agents are used to confer fire resistant properties with effects strongly dependent on their ability to form char during the thermal degradation. The char coats the polymeric materials and provides a good barrier against heat and oxygen diffusion, thus reducing the combustion rate of the polymeric materials. Halogenated agents that are used today are toxic and may cause severe heal...
M Tanase-Opedal, A Larsson, P O Flaete


Novel treatments of solid wood - studies into the use of imidazole and succinimide
2025 - IRG/WP 25-30817
Recent activities have focussed on the use of ionic liquids (ILs) in wood treatments and bioprocessing. Most ILs are based on imidazolium systems, so it was decided to investigate the potential of imidazole as a treatment, along with another heterocyclic compound, namely succinimide. Thus, modification of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.) with heterocyclic compounds, imidazole and succinimi...
D Jones, A Scharf, H Dernegård, J Oja, S Duarte, J Levanić, M Humar


Properties of plasma etched super black wood
2025 - IRG/WP 25-30825
Super-black materials have very low reflectivity due to structural absorption of light. They are attracting considerable scientific and industrial attention because of their important applications in many fields including astronomy, photovoltaics, and optical science, amongst others. We have developed the first super-black material from wood by etching transverse basswood (Tilia americana L.) surf...
K J Cheng, X Xu, V A Hernandez, P D Evans


Modification of Beech Wood by Furfurylation with Chestnut (Castanea sativa) or Acacia (Acacia mearnsii) Tannins for Protection Against Subterranean Termites
2025 - IRG/WP 25-30832
Environmental concerns about tropical deforestation have emphasised the need to source wood from sustainably managed forests. At the same time, competition from alternative materials has amplified the demand for high-quality wood-based products that meet contemporary expectations. To date, most preservative treatments have involved impregnating wood with biocides, often derived from petrochemicals...
J V Dorini-Falavinha, K Candelier, P H Gonzales De Cademartori, C Gérardin-Charbonnier


Evaluation of oak bark extracts as bio-based preservative agents in wood protection
2025 - IRG/WP 25-30833
Bark represents a major by-product of the forestry sector and is often referred to low value uses such as combustion for energy, soil mulching or animal bedding. Nevertheless, bark contains a wide array of bioactive constituents, offering considerable potential for transformation into value-added wood protection agents. Developing sustainable wood treatments based on these natural compounds aligns...
R Herrera, A Selmanovic, F Poohphajai, C Peña, A Sandak


Performance Verification of Water-Based Outdoor Wood Protection Coatings Based on Weather Resistance Evaluation
2025 - IRG/WP 25-41015
Recent trends in wood protective coatings: Concerns over volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and the need to reduce maintenance costs have increased demand for environmentally friendly and highly durable coatings. While conventional solvent-based paints are superior in durability, they have been associated with problems such as environmental impact and odour during application. As an alterna...
N Ikemoto


Preservation conditions of wooden roofs of two historical churches in middle-Sweden
2025 - IRG/WP 25-41016
Assessment of biodegradation by the rot of shingles from the roofs of churches of Hammarby and Tångeråsa in mid-Sweden was done by studies with X-ray computer tomography. The study suggests that inner rot could be detected with CT, which was not always easily detected by visual inspection. In some cases, erosion from the weathered side was fairly large, but the inner wood part was found not to b...
O Karlsson, Y Huang, A Postovoitova, C-F Lin, O Myronycheva


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