INFIVE   05416
INSTITUTO DE FISIOLOGIA VEGETAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Celtis tala and Scutia buxifolia leaf litter decomposition by selected fungi in relation to their physical and chemical properties and the lignocellulolytic enzyme activity
Autor/es:
SAPARRAT, M. C. N.; ROCCA, M.; AULICINO, M.; ARAMBARRI, A. M.; BALATTI, P. A.
Revista:
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
Referencias:
Año: 2008 vol. 44 p. 400 - 407
ISSN:
1164-5563
Resumen:
This study analyzes the relationships between the physical and chemical properties ofCeltis tala and Scutia buxifolia leaf litter and their degradation by selected fungi. The litterwas analyzed for physical, chemical and enzyme properties such as pH, reducing sugars,aromatic compounds, chromophores, polymerization/polydispersity index and thelignocellulolytic enzyme activity of their water soluble fraction (WSF) after incubatingthem with fungi for 30 days. C. tala and S. buxifolia leaves were chemically different, withC-to-N ratios of 27 and 17, respectively. Fungi degraded C. tala leaves to a greater extentthan those of S. buxifolia, which was directly related to the pH of the WSF. In this regard,properties other than microbial growth affecting substrate N concentration, such as lignincontent or lignin-to-N ratio and the availability of nutrients for regulating the expressionand activity of depolymerizing enzymes, governed the decomposition. Whereas degradationof S. buxifolia leaves by a group of selected fungi was related to cellobiohydrolaseand b-1,4-endoglucanase activities, that of C. tala was related to the b-glucosidase activity.However, the fungi studied showed negligible ligninolytic potential. Still, physical andchemical properties such as pH and reducing sugars or chromophores as well as cellulose-degrading fungal enzymes were reliable indices of decomposition of the C. tala andS. buxifolia leaf litter.