Ability of Perenniporia meridionalis to degrade selected European-grown hardwoods

The natural durability of wood against basidiomycetes is an important reference value for the use of wood species as construction timber. However, only three test fungi must be used for durability testing according to European standards, although a much larger number of wood-destroying basidiomycetes are known. Here, we used a modified test protocol of the EN 113-2 standard to examine the abilities of two strains of Perenniporia meridionalis, one of them freshly isolated and the other being in culture for 23 years, to degrade wood of beech (Fagus sylavatica), English oak (Quercus robur) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) by measuring the mass loss after 16 weeks of incubation at 22 °C, 26 °C and 30 °C, and 70 % relative humidity. The obligatory test fungus Trametes versicolor was used as a reference. We found that the degradation abilities of all fungal isolates increased with higher temperatures. Furthermore, the freshly isolated strain of P. meridionalis caused higher mass loss than the long-term cultured strain. For beech and black locust wood the highest mass loss was caused by Trametes versicolor, while for English oak it was the fresh isolate of Perenniporia meridionalis. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that Perenniporia meridionalis is a potent wood decaying fungus, which exhibited a higher degradation ability for English oak than the obligatory used white rot test fungus Trametes versicolor, and thus could become a useful indicator in the future when evaluating durability of this type of wood.