Molecular Methods for the Characterization and Identification of the Dry Rot Fungus Serpula lacrymans

Summary Novel methods developed for characterization and identification of wood-inhabiting fungi target molecules of the organisms such as proteins and nucleic acids and use mycelial interaction, mating, antibodies, electrophoretic protein patterns, oligonucleotide primers and DNA sequencing. The article reviews the respective work on the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans in the Hamburg institute and also covers the international literature.