STUDIES IN THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF CELLULOLYTIC MICROORGANISMS: I. CARBON BALANCES OF WOOD-ROTTING FUNGI IN SURFACE CULTURE

Abstract

A carbon balance study was made of the metabolic products of 40 species of wood-rotting fungi, grown in surface culture on a glass wool support in a glucose urea medium. Sixteen species were tested under both continuous and restricted aeration. The categories of product determined were: carbon in carbon dioxide evolved during incubation, carbon in mycelium, and carbon in the culture filtrate as total carbon, as residual glucose, as volatile acids, as volatile neutrals, and as carbon dioxide. The resulting carbon balances indicated that, under the conditions tested, carbon dioxide and mycelium were the only major end products of the majority of species examined.