Schizophyllum commune as a Ubiquitous Plant Parasite

Abstract

Schizophyllum commune is a sap-rot basidiomycete and cosmopolitan species. The fungus is also recognized as a plant pathogen that causes wood rot on living trees, and many plant species including fruit and ornamental trees have been recorded as hosts. In this paper, previous studies on the plant parasitism of S. commune and related information to date were reviewed, in addition to the unique characters of the fungus. Though the fungus is only a poor wood decomposer in vitro, it preferably invades living tissues of plants including bark and sapwood, being exceptional as a wood-rot basidiomycete. Basidiospores are abundantly ejected in the air, and pruning wounds, freeze injuries and sunscald lesions are major infection courts for them. Wood-rot disease by the fungus is promoted by drought, freezing temperatures and other weather conditions unfavorable for plants; the fungus is adapted to such adverse environmental conditions. It is expected that, depending on plant species and localities, ongoing global warming enhances plant damage, which may predispose plants to fungal infection. Schizophyllum rot possibly helps other wood-rot pathogens to infect and establish. More attention should be paid to the wood-rot disease complex in which S. commune is involved. In conclusion, various aspects on the biology of S. commune still remain to be studied in relation to the mechanism of its pathogenesis.Discipline: Plant disease Additional key words: broad host range, latent infection, sap rot, white rot, wood-rot disease Present address:

Evolution of novel wood decay mechanisms in Agaricales revealed by the genome sequences of Fistulina hepatica and Cylindrobasidium torrendii

“…Fruitbodies of S. commune frequently appear with fruitbodies of other basidiomycetes on wood (Essig 1922, personal observations) and the species can act as destructive mycoparasite on other fungi (over 50 species) of different phyla (Tzean and Estey 1978). Alternatively, some of these species may act as plant parasites that rely selectively on living tissues of the plant stem such as the sap or the bark of living trees (Takemoto et al, 2010). Our results suggest that wood degradation strategies in Agaricomycotina as traditionally viewed should be revisited, as the potential exists that such strategies could be more diverse than previously thought and highlight the need for more functional studies of wood degradation strategies (Ohm et al, 2014).…”

Health condition of Tilia cordata Mill. trees growing in the urban environment

“…Schizophyllum commune is a cosmopolitan species that is very common on small-leaved lime stems in many countries (Butin, 1995;Sinclair and Lyon, 2005;Snieškienė and Juronis, 2007;Takemoto et al, 2010). It hinders the healing of wounds in stems and branches due to pruning and other mechanical injuries.…”

Wood‐rotting basidiomycetes are a minor component of fungal communities associated with Acacia hybrid trees grown for sawlogs in South Vietnam

“…S. commune is often considered a saprot basidiomycete (Schmidt, 2006;Takemoto, Nakamura, Imamura, & Shimane, 2010) but is also described as a saprobe (Nicolotti, Martinis, & Tamietti, 1998;Padhiar, Albert, Nagadesi, & Arya, 2010), associated with sapwood rot or heart rot in more than 70 species of landscape trees including acacia, eucalypt, ash and tamarind (Hickman, Perry, & Davis, 2011). were among the most frequently isolated basidiomycete fungi from discoloured wood of living Acacia hybrid stems.…”