Fungi, cellulose degradation

Xu, G., and Goodell, B. (2001). Mechanisms of wood degradation by brown-rot fungi Chelator-mediated cellulose degradation and binding of iron by cellulose. J. Biotech. 87, 43-57. 

Soft rot is a type of decay caused by ascomycetes and Fungi Imperfecti. The term soft rot was proposed by Savory (54) for a form of fungal decay where characteristic chains of cavities with conical ends were produced within wood cell walls. He recommended that the term soft rot should be used for decay caused by cellulose-degrading microfungi to distinguish it from the brown and white rots caused by the wood-destroying basidiomycetes. ... 

The final areas in which PHB biodegradation is of interest are the specialized cellulose-degrading locations of animals, such as the rumen of cattle and sheep and the colons of goats. PHB is degraded in these environments and, as one would expect, the rate is intermediate between slow hydrolysis in vivo and the more rapid attack of bacteria and fungi in soil or sewage. 

Basidiomycetous wood-decay fungi produce cellulose-degrading enzymes of two principal types. Endocellulases hydrolytically split the long cellulose chain randomly, thereby producing many short cellulose chain fragments of varying... 

Under natural conditions, cotton products are widely used in contact with the soil (fabrics for tents) receiving damage both from the inside and the outside. The main role here is played by cellulose degrading bacteria and fungi. 

---