Fungal degradation moisture content

Experiments for fimgal degradation of pine flour were carried out by following an established procedure for fungal degradation of pulp (5). Pondarosa pine sapwood flour (30 mesh) was extracted with acetone/water (v/v, 9/1) and dried under vacuum. The moisture content was determined as 9.8 %. A mixture of wood flour (9.07 g oven-dried) and de-ionized water (10 mL) was autoclaved in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask at 121 °C for 1 h. The autoclaved wood flour was inoculated with the P. cinnabarinus spore suspension (5 mL), and the moisture content of the wood flour adjusted to 80% with sterilized water. The culture was then incubated at 30 °C for pre-determined times. Twelve replicates were carried out for each cultivation time. 

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