Chapter 3: Wood Decay

Abstract

A significant portion of global carbon is sequestered in forest systems. Specialized fungi have evolved to efficiently deconstruct woody plant cell walls. These important decay processes generate litter, soil bound humic substances, or carbon dioxide and water. This chapter reviews the enzymology and molecular genetics of wood decay fungi, most of which are members of the Agaricomycotina subphylum. This chapter emphasizes recent advances derived from a growing number of genome resources but otherwise directs interested readers to previously published reviews for additional information. Along these lines, background on wood cell wall polymer chemistry and the oxidative systems involved in their depolymerization have been extensively reviewed (Eriksson, Blanchette, et al., 1990; Cullen & Kersten, 2004).

Citation

Cullen, Dan. 2014. Chapter 3: Wood Decay. The Ecological Genomics of Fungi, First Edition. Edited by Francis Martin. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Section 2, saprotrophic fungi, Chapter 3, 2014; pp. 43-62.