DEVELOPMENT OF PHANEROCHAETE-VELUTINA MYCELIAL CORD SYSTEMS - EFFECT OF ENCOUNTER OF MULTIPLE COLONIZED WOOD RESOURCES

The effect of decay and presence of fungi, in combinations of wood res ources, on the foraging behaviour of the saprotrophic cord-forming fun gus Phanerochaete velutina was examined. P. velutina was affected by b oth resource decay state and the presence of other wood decay species within the resource, and preferentially colonised resources offering a n easy prospect of successful colonisation and high nutrient availabil ity. Partially decayed resources which had been autoclaved were prefer entially colonised, probably due to the availability of nutrients rele ased by the death of the precolonising fungus and lack of competition/ combat. The presence of a viable and long-established precolonising sp ecies within the resource made it 'unattractive'. Some precolonising f ungi (e.g. Xylaria polymorpha) were better able to resist an attack by P. velutina than others (e.g. Bjerkandera adusta). (C) 1998 Federatio n of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.