L12 Saprotrophy

Question 1

What is saprotrophy

Answer 1

Nutrition obtained from dead or decaying matter

Question 2

What metabolic method does saprotrophy fall under

Answer 2

Chemoheterotrophy

Question 3

How similar is the amount of carbon dioxide released by fungal decomposition to the amount released by mankind

Answer 3

The same

Question 4

How were coal seams created

Answer 4

Vast coastal swamp forests in carboniferous period

Question 5

What originally happened to wood that died

Answer 5

Could not decompose as a result of environmental and biological conditions so fell into water

Question 6

When did fungi evolve

Answer 6

800 MYA

Question 7

What is the challenge of decomposing wood

Answer 7

Dense and complex structure

Question 8

What are the 3 main components of lignocellulose

Answer 8

Cellulose
Lignin
Hemicellulose

Question 9

What is the primary cell wall of lignocellulose made of

Answer 9

Cellulose

Question 10

What is the chemical structure of cellulose

Answer 10

B1-4 linked glucose chain

Question 11

What is the most abundant biopolymer on the planet

Answer 11

Cellulose

Question 12

What is the chemical structure of hemicellulose

Answer 12

Monomers of various sugars (xylose, glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, rhamnose)

Question 13

Why is lignocellulose of high value of microbes

Answer 13

Microbes will feed on sugars wherever possible

Question 14

What is the chemical structure of lignin

Answer 14

A complex macromolecule of lingol monomers in a phenylpropanoid framework

Question 15

What component of lignocellulose makes it so hard to break down

Answer 15

Lignin

Question 16

How many different linkages are there in lignin and how easy are they to breakdown

Answer 16

Roughly 5
Some are easy to breakdown and susceptible to degradation, others are very difficult

Question 17

What happens to wood that falls into the ocean and why

Answer 17

It does not breakdown well as oxygen is required for wood decomposition

Question 18

What is the main group of fungi responsible for wood decay

Answer 18

Agaricomycetes

Question 19

What are the 3 types of rot

Answer 19

White rot, brown rot, soft rot

Question 20

What types of rot are Basidiomycota responsible for

Answer 20

White and brown

Question 21

What type of rot are ascomycota and bacteria responsible for

Answer 21

Soft rot

Question 22

What was the first lignin decay form to evolve

Answer 22

White rot fungi

Question 23

How many types did wood decay species evolve to decay wood

Answer 23

Once

Question 24

What components of wood does white rot fungi decompose

Answer 24

Lignin and cellulose

Question 25

What causes the white colour in white rot fungi

Answer 25

Delignification

Question 26

What environment is white rot fungi likley to be found

Answer 26

Hardwood and broadleaf

Question 27

How many species of white rot fungi are there

Answer 27

2000

Question 28

How many times did brown rot fungi evolve

Answer 28

At least 7

Question 29

What environments are brown rot fungi most common in

Answer 29

Softwood, coniferous

Question 30

How many species of brown rot fungi are there

Answer 30

200

Question 31

how many species of soft rot fungi are there

Answer 31

300

Question 32

What parts of wood does soft rot attack

Answer 32

cellulose and hemicellulose

Question 33

What environments is soft rot found

Answer 33

Wet and damp habitats

Question 34

What moisture content is required in wood for soft rot to occur

Answer 34

20%

Question 35

How do brown rot fungi break down lignin to access cellulose

Answer 35

Alter chemistry of environment using Fentin chemistry to make hydroxyl radicals

Question 36

What is the largest single organism

Answer 36

fungus

Question 37

What is responsible for causing physiological, morphological and genetic responses in the rhizomorph

Answer 37

Intracellular carbon to nitrogen ratios

Question 38

What happens when a rhizomorph finds a new food source

Answer 38

All resources in the system actively move nitrogen to new food source

Question 39

When do primary decay species begin to exist in the wood

Answer 39

Well before it hits the ground, often in dead branches that are still attached

Question 40

What is the priority affect

Answer 40

When action of one species affects following colonisation Primary species alter the wood and can influence which species move in next

Question 41

What are interaction zone lines

Answer 41

Different fungi competing with eachother release antibiotics which create different pigmentations in the wood

Question 42

When do secondary decay species move in

Answer 42

When the bow breaks

Question 43

What are some outcomes of fungal warfare

Answer 43

Deadlock, Overgrowth (no interaction), Replacement, Mutual replacement

Question 44

What factors influence fungalwarfare

Answer 44

Growth rate Colony resource Chemicals produced Nature of substrate

Question 45

Where do primary, secondary and teritary decay species originate from

Answer 45

Primary and secondary always originate from spores Teritary decay species exploit cord-based resource management