Isolation of Cellulose-decomposing Fungi from the Soil

Abstract

ATTENTION has been directed to the paramount importance of studying the substrate relationships of soil-inhabiting fungi1. The incorporation of organic matter into the soil provides a series of habitats which become colonized by the microfauna and microflora present in the soil. On plant remains, a succession of fungi can be traced from the early colonizers, the ‘sugar fungi’, to those species able to grow on the residual debris2. This residual debris contains a large percentage of cellulose3, together with lignin, hemicelluloses and other polysaccharides. The techniques most commonly used for isolating soil fungi frequently miss the species responsible for breaking down these important residual constituents, which are more slowly utilized than simple sugars, and in which, therefore, the active fungal colonizers may be growing for a comparatively long time. The ‘sugar fungi’ grow veiy rapidly on new material and then fade away when their very accessible fraction of the substrate has been utilized. Such fast-growing, heavily sporing species normally dominate the scene in routine investigations of soil fungi, unless methods selective for particular groups of fungi are used.