Modification is a way to avoid or delay fungal degradation of wood. Exactly how and why different types of modifications function remains unclear, albeit it is established that a reduction in moisture content is involved (Thybring, 2013; Thybring et al., 2018). Acetylation and furfurylation are two different types of wood modifications. Recently it was found that brown rot fungi may deacetylate acetylated Radiata pine wood when enough moisture is available, and then proceed to degrade the cell walls (Beck et al. 2018). However, furfurylated Radiata pine wood appears initially to be somewhat degraded under the same conditions, but then degradation stops. In the present study we explored this difference with the aim of identifying degradation patterns and cell wall chemistries that covaried with these two dissimilar trends. Furfurylated wood contains furan polymers, a subset of which are fluorescent conjugated furan chains visible using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy CLSM (Thygesen et al., 2010).
Keywords: wood modification, furfurylation, degradation
Authors
Lisbeth G. Thygesen
University of Copenhagen, Frederksberg C, Denmark
Greeley Beck
Nina E. Nagy
Gry Alfredsen
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