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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Rapid Testing of Resistance of Timber to Biodegradation by Marine Wood-Boring Crustaceans

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Published on: January 29, 2022

Serpula lacrymans, Wood and Buildings.

S C Watkinson¹, D C Eastwood

¹Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. sarah.watkinson@plants.ox.ac.uk

Advances in Applied Microbiology

|February 7, 2012

Summary

Serpula lacrymans causes destructive dry rot timber decay through rapid mycelial spread and cellulose degradation. Inhibiting nutrient translocation can halt its growth in established outbreaks.

Area of Science:

Mycology
Plant Pathology
Biochemistry

Background:

Serpula lacrymans is the primary agent of dry rot timber decay in buildings.
Its destructiveness stems from rapid mycelial colonization and aggressive wood cellulose degradation.
The fungus belongs to the Boletales clade of Basidiomycete fungi.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the evolution and enzymic repertoire of Serpula lacrymans using genomic methods.
To understand the fungus's distinctive mode of brown rot wood decay.
To model the mycelium as a resource-supply network using novel imaging techniques for nutrient translocation.

Main Methods:

Genomic analysis to study fungal evolution and enzymic capabilities.
Novel imaging techniques to visualize nutrient translocation within the mycelium.

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Modeling of mycelial networks as resource-supply systems.

Main Results:

Genomic studies revealed the evolutionary history and enzyme systems of Serpula lacrymans.
The fungus exhibits a distinctive brown rot wood decay mechanism.
Mycelial nutrient translocation was modeled as a highly responsive resource-supply network.

Conclusions:

Dry rot caused by Serpula lacrymans can be prevented by maintaining dry timber conditions.
In established dry rot outbreaks, mycelial spread can be inhibited by targeting nutrient translocation.
Understanding nutrient transport offers new strategies for controlling this destructive timber decay fungus.