Polyporales

Species of the Ganoderma lucidum complex are used in many types of health products. However, the taxonomy of this complex has long been chaotic, thus limiting its uses. In the present study, 32 collections of the complex from Asia, Europe and North America were analyzed from both morphological and molecular phylogenetic perspectives. The combined dataset, including an outgroup, comprised 33 ITS, 24 tef1α, 24 rpb1 and 21 rpb2 sequences, of which 19 ITS, 20 tef1α, 20 rpb1 and 17 rpb2 sequences were newly generated. A total of 13 species of the complex were recovered in the multilocus phylogeny. These 13 species were not strongly supported as a single monophyletic lineage, and were further grouped into three lineages that cannot be defined by their geographic distributions. Clade A comprised Ganoderma curtisii, Ganoderma flexipes, Ganoderma lingzhi, Ganoderma multipileum, Ganoderma resinaceum, Ganoderma sessile, Ganoderma sichuanense and Ganoderma tropicum, Clade B comprised G. lucidum...

Grape seeds were used by Trametes hirsuta as a substrate for laccase production giving 23 kU l(-1), which was 10-fold the value attained in the cultures with no lignocellulosic waste addition. The dyes, Indigo Carmine and Bromophenol Blue, were easily decolourised (100% in 24 h) by the extracellular liquid obtained in such cultures, whereas Methyl Orange (65% in 24 h) and Phenol Red (36% in 24 h) were more resistant to degradation. This shows the specificity of laccase towards different dye structures.

Trametes hirsuta and a purified laccase from this organism were able to degrade triarylmethane, indigoid, azo, and anthraquinonic dyes. Initial decolorization velocities depended on the substituents on the phenolic rings of the dyes. Immobilization of theT. hirsuta laccase on alumina enhanced the thermal stabilities of the enzyme and its tolerance against some enzyme inhibitors, such as halides, copper chelators, and dyeing additives. The laccase lost 50% of its activity at 50 mM NaCl while the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the immobilized enzyme was 85 mM. Treatment of dyes with the immobilized laccase reduced their toxicities (based on the oxygen consumption rate of Pseudomonas putida) by up to 80% (anthraquinonic dyes). Textile effluents decolorized with T. hirsuta or the laccase were used for dyeing. Metabolites and/or enzyme protein strongly interacted with the dyeing process indicated by lower staining levels (K/S) values than obtained with a blank using water. Howeve...

Wastewaters generated from the production of ethanol from sugar cane molasses may have detrimental effects on the environment due to their high chemical oxygen demand and dark brown color. The color is mainly associated with the presence of melanoidins, which are highly recalcitrant to biodegradation. We report here the induction of laccases by molasses wastewaters and molasses melanoidins in the basidiomycetous fungus Trametes sp. I-62. The time course of effluent decolorization and laccase activity in the culture supernatant of ...

White rot fungi (WRF) are applicable to biodegradation of recalcitrant pollutants. However, excessive biomass growth typical for WRF cultivation can hinder their large scale applications. Therefore, immobilization of Irpex lacteus to liquid-core alginate beads restricting excessive mycelium growth and simultaneously keeping high degradation rate of pollutants was tested. Effective diffusivities of dyes to the beads varied from (2.98 ± 0.69) × 10(-10) to (10.27 ± 2.60) × 10(-10) m(2)/s. Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), Reactive Orange 16 (RO16), and Naphthol Blue Black (NBB) were used as model dyes. The immobilized fungus decolorized model dyes when applied both in microwell plates and in fluidized bed reactors. Using the microwell plates, the apparent reaction rate constants ranged from (2.06 ± 0.11) × 10(-2) to (11.06 ± 0.27) × 10(-2) 1/h, depending on the dye used and its initial concentration. High initial concentrations negatively affected the dye decolorization rate. No fungal ...

The roots of the tropical tree Lonchocarpus oaxacensis afforded the 3-hydroxyflavanones jayacanol and mundulinol, as well as two flavanones, mundulin and minimiflorin. Flavonoids bearing 6,7-(dimethylpyran) and 8-(gammagamma-dimethyl allyl) substituents are characteristic for species grouped in the Minimiflori subsection. Therefore this subsection seems to be chemically and morphologically homogeneous. The antifungal activity of the four isolated compounds was tested against the wood rotting fungus Postia placenta, but only jayacanol was active.