The Importance of Fungi in the Sea 307 



nels within the cell walls as they are found in wood that was 

 infected in the sea. As bacteria attack wood in a different way 

 and do not form these characteristic tunnels, it is evident that 

 "soft rot" decomposition in the sea is caused by marine fungi. 



Pure cultures of the following species that were growing on 

 balsa wood caused a distinct decomposition ("soft rot") of tho 

 secondary walls of the wood cells ( Fig. 2 ) : 

 Fungi Impei'fecti 



Cirrenalia macrocephala (Kohlm.) Meyers et Moore 



Hwnicola alopallonella Meyers et Moore 



Piricauda pelagica Johnson 

 Ascoinycetes 



Ceriosporopsis calyptrata Kohlm. 



C. hamata Hohnk 



Halosphaeria appendiciilata Linder 



H. mediosetigera Cribb et Cribb var. grandispora Kohlm. 



Lulworthia opaca (Linder) Cribb et Cribb 



Peritrichospora comata Kohlm. 



P. cristata Kohlm. 



P. Integra Linder 



Remispora quadri-remis (Hohnk) Kohlm. ^ 



Thus far, only one species of wood inhabiting marine fungi 

 is known to attack ligneous cell walls— unlike the soft rot fungi— 

 without causing tunnels: the Ascomycete AmyJocarpus encepha- 

 loides Currey starts attack in the lumina by dissolving the tertiary 

 walls, thus imitating deterioration of wood by many Basidiomy- 

 cetes (32, 33). 



Direct quantitative determination of wood deterioration by 

 marine fungi has not yet been made. It is known, however, that 

 terrestrial soft rot fungi produce considerable weight losses in 

 wood (15) and cause a reduction of bending strength and tougli- 

 ness, as AiTnstrong and Savory (1), and Liese and Pechmann 

 (37) found out in mechanical strength tests. Chemical investi- 

 gations also showed a severe decomposition of cell wall com- 

 ponents, mainly of polvsaccharide constituents (52). Similar ex- 



' Pure cultures of these and other marine fungi are maintained in the Botanical 

 Museum in Berlin-Dahlem and in the C^entraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, 

 Baarn/Netherlands. 



