title: Effect of phenol on the mycelial growth and fructification in some of basidiomycetous fungi.
abstract: Cometabolic growth studies with phenol were undertaken to screen 32 strains of white and brown rot fungi. All the cultures studied grew well up to 4 mM of phenol on Czapekdox agar except Agaricus bisporus (white button mushroom) and Pleurotus cystidiosus. Most of them could grow even up to 6 mM of phenol. Phenol induced a brown pigmentation of the culture medium. P. flabellatus and P. pulmonarius metabolized 67 and 64 mg/l phenol in 10 days. Studies have indicated that phenol (0.1 to 1.0 mM) incorporated in malt-extract agar has no inhibitory effect on fruitbody formation. Preliminary studies indicate that soaking of wheat straw with phenol solution up to 1600 mg/l give better mycelial growth and fructification of P. cornucopiae, P. ostreatus Z-15 and Calocybe indica than water soaked. Soaking of wheat straw in phenol inhibited the growth of common competitor weed fungi like Stachybotrys sp. and Coprinus sp.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Mushroom Research and Training, Solan, India.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Upadhyay
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hofrichter
mesh_terms: D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D019800:Phenol; D010636:Phenols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011124:Polyporaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols; D019800:Phenol