A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of the Growth and Attack on Wood by Three White-Rot Fungi and Their Cellulase-less Mutants

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Abstract
The growth patterns of wild-type (WT) fungi and their cellulase-less mutants, and the micro-morphological changes in wood emanating from attack by these different organisms, were investigated by the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Although differences exist between WT fungi and mutants, the similarities are striking. Probably the main difference between WT fungi and mutants is that the WT organisms can cause thinning of the wood cell walls whereas the mutants cannot. WT Sporotrichum pulverulentum causes bore holes in the wood fiber cell walls while its cellulase-less mutant, Cel 44, does not.