A review of selected methods for the detection of degradative fungi

The primary decomposers of wood in non-aquatic environments are the brown and white rot fungi. These are basidiomycetous fungi which possess the appropriate enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems to allow them to degrade the wood lignocellulose. Many current methods for the detection of these organisms within the wood are unreliable or necessitate extensive destructive sampling. Our laboratory has focused on serological and molecular assays for the detection of degradative fungi. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to specific fungal metabolites have been used with TEM immunolabelling and ELISA for the detection of decay agents. More recently we have developed a polymerase chain reaction assay which can allow us to reliably detect basidiomycete DNA in small wood samples. When used to examine fungi in wood, these primers are specific for basidiomycetes and do not react with non-degradative wood-inhabiting ascomycetes. Fungal colonization of wood can be detected early in the degradation process. Restriction digests can be used to confirm the identity of the amplified DNA. These assays are of potential utility for the detection and identification of wood degrading fungi.