Chapter 31 



Degradation of Lignocellulose Material 

 by Marine Fungi'' 



Samuel P. Meyers and Ernest S. Reynolds*"^' 



x\n extensive number of papers has appeared in recent years 

 characterizing hgnicolous marine fungal populations. In studies 

 of the association of fungi with submerged wood in our laboratory 

 the primary consideration is the determination of the ability of 

 these organisms to attack actively the wood substrate and its 

 constituent parts. 



The presence of active cellulolytic systems in various species 

 of lignicolous marine Ascomycetes and Deuteromycetes has been 

 demonstrated (1, 2). Cell-free filtrates from species comprising 

 the major or a significant part of the mycota isolated from sub- 

 merged wood, incubated on such cellulosic materials as carboxy- 

 methlycellulose, powered cellulose, and balsa wood, have pro- 

 duced as much as 3.0 mg reducing sugar per milliliter. Further 

 investigations (3, 4) have indicated the ability of many of these 

 fungi to initiate significant degradation of wood and Abaca cor- 

 dage. 



Current studies in this laboratory include analyses of the 

 dynamics of biological activity and investigations of the physiol- 

 ogy of individual taxa, correlated with the rate of infestation 

 and degradation of lignocellulose substrates submerged under 

 natural conditions. 



METHODS AND MATERIALS 



In studies of infestation of Manila in uniclonal fungal cultures. 



*Contribution No. 369 from The Marine Laboratory, Uni\-ersity of Miami. These 

 studies were supported by the Microbiology Branch, Office of Naval Research 

 Project No. 103-305. 



**Deceased May 31, 1961. 



315 



