L12 Saprotrophy Flashcards
What is saprotrophy
Nutrition obtained from dead or decaying matter
What metabolic method does saprotrophy fall under
Chemoheterotrophy
How similar is the amount of carbon dioxide released by fungal decomposition to the amount released by mankind
The same
How were coal seams created
Vast coastal swamp forests in carboniferous period
What originally happened to wood that died
Could not decompose as a result of environmental and biological conditions so fell into water
When did fungi evolve
800 MYA
What is the challenge of decomposing wood
Dense and complex structure
What are the 3 main components of lignocellulose
Cellulose
Lignin
Hemicellulose
What is the primary cell wall of lignocellulose made of
Cellulose
What is the chemical structure of cellulose
B1-4 linked glucose chain
What is the most abundant biopolymer on the planet
Cellulose
What is the chemical structure of hemicellulose
Monomers of various sugars (xylose, glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, rhamnose)
Why is lignocellulose of high value of microbes
Microbes will feed on sugars wherever possible
What is the chemical structure of lignin
A complex macromolecule of lingol monomers in a phenylpropanoid framework
What component of lignocellulose makes it so hard to break down
Lignin
How many different linkages are there in lignin and how easy are they to breakdown
Roughly 5
Some are easy to breakdown and susceptible to degradation, others are very difficult
What happens to wood that falls into the ocean and why
It does not breakdown well as oxygen is required for wood decomposition
What is the main group of fungi responsible for wood decay
Agaricomycetes
What are the 3 types of rot
White rot, brown rot, soft rot
What types of rot are Basidiomycota responsible for
White and brown
What type of rot are ascomycota and bacteria responsible for
Soft rot
What was the first lignin decay form to evolve
White rot fungi
How many types did wood decay species evolve to decay wood
Once
What components of wood does white rot fungi decompose
Lignin and cellulose
What causes the white colour in white rot fungi
Delignification
What environment is white rot fungi likley to be found
Hardwood and broadleaf
How many species of white rot fungi are there
2000
How many times did brown rot fungi evolve
At least 7
What environments are brown rot fungi most common in
Softwood, coniferous
How many species of brown rot fungi are there
200
how many species of soft rot fungi are there
300
What parts of wood does soft rot attack
cellulose and hemicellulose
What environments is soft rot found
Wet and damp habitats
What moisture content is required in wood for soft rot to occur
20%
How do brown rot fungi break down lignin to access cellulose
Alter chemistry of environment using Fentin chemistry to make hydroxyl radicals
What is the largest single organism
fungus
What is responsible for causing physiological, morphological and genetic responses in the rhizomorph
Intracellular carbon to nitrogen ratios
What happens when a rhizomorph finds a new food source
All resources in the system actively move nitrogen to new food source
When do primary decay species begin to exist in the wood
Well before it hits the ground, often in dead branches that are still attached
What is the priority affect
When action of one species affects following colonisation
Primary species alter the wood and can influence which species move in next
What are interaction zone lines
Different fungi competing with eachother release antibiotics which create different pigmentations in the wood
When do secondary decay species move in
When the bow breaks
What are some outcomes of fungal warfare
Deadlock,
Overgrowth (no interaction),
Replacement,
Mutual replacement
What factors influence fungalwarfare
Growth rate
Colony resource
Chemicals produced
Nature of substrate
Where do primary, secondary and teritary decay species originate from
Primary and secondary always originate from spores
Teritary decay species exploit cord-based resource management
