Resistance of hardwood vessels to degradation by white rot Basidiomycetes

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Abstract
White stringy rot, an unusual type of selective fungal decay, can be found in wood of some dicotyledonous angiosperms. Stages of advanced decay consist of a mass of vessel elements with only remnants of other cells adhering to the vessel walls. Degradation by various white rot Basidiomycetes causes loss of fibers, fiber tracheids, and parenchyma cells but not vessels. In wood of Acacia koa var. koa with a white pocket rot caused by Phellinus kawakamii, fibers and parenchyma cells were preferentially delignified. After extensive lignin removal the cellulose remaining in the secondary wall was degraded. Large vessel elements remained relatively intact after other cells were completely degraded. The resistance of vessels to degradation appears to be due to their high lignin:carbohydrate ratio, lignin monomer composition, and cell wall morphology.