The role of oxidation in wood degradation by brown-rot fungi

Brown-rot fungi are suggested to degrade cellulose by oxidation with hydrogen radicalsformed eg. in the conversion of hydrogen peroxide in the Fenton type reactions. The stuctural changes in the holocellulose in wood induced by Fenton's reaction on wood components are very similar to those caused by brown-rot fungi. In this work the effect of the Fenton reaction on wood components was studied. The brown-rot fungi produce extracellular hydrogen peroxide while growing on sawdust medium and on crystalline cellulose. Hydrogen peroxide is apparently formed by the action of an oxidase enzyme. In this work the role of enzymatic oxidation in cellulose degradation by the brown-rot fungus, Poria placenta was studied