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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Fungal Biol.
Sec. Fungal Pathogenesis
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ffunb.2025.1548128
Temperature-related growth limits and wood decay capacity of the warmth-loving fungus Biscogniauxia nummularia in vitro
Provisionally accepted
Jan Tropf 1,2,3*
Steffen Bien 2
Johanna Bußkamp 2
Holger Sennhenn-Reulen 4 Johanna Becker 5
Jörg Grüner 5
Gitta Jutta Langer 2 Ewald Johannes Langer 3- 1 Forestry Research and Competence Centre (FFK Gotha), ThüringenForst, Gotha, Germany
- 2 Department of Forest Protection, Northwest German Forest Research Institute (NW‐FVA), Göttingen, Germany
- 3 Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biology, Department of Ecology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
- 4 Department of Forest Growth, Northwest German Forest Research Institute (NW‐FVA), Göttingen, Germany
- 5 Department of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute of Baden Württemberg (FVA BW), Freiburg, Germany
Temperature-related growth characteristics and wood decay capacities of Biscogniauxia nummularia strains were analysed in vitro, revealing variability between strains. To model the growth characteristics fitted dose-response curves were generated using the four-parameter Brain-Cousens hormesis model. The different strains showed distinct optimum growth temperatures, with some achieving maximum growth at 25°C, while others peaked at 28°C, depending on the tested culture media. Strains tested also exhibited variation in their temperature ranges for measurable growth, with some tolerating a broader range than others. The results of the study lead to the consideration that temperature tolerance as well as the optimal growth temperature might be influenced by the strains' geographic origin, with those from southern Germany possibly adapted to higher temperatures. In terms of wood decay, mass loss caused by the various strains differed clearly in many cases, suggesting potential strain-dependent differences in pathogenicity. Additionally, genetic analysis of the beta-tubulin DNA region of B. nummularia specimens examined revealed considerable variations between the strains.
Keywords: Biscogniauxia nummularia, Temperature-related growth, wood decay, Germany, Fagus sylvatica, Vitality loss of beech
Received: 19 Dec 2024; Accepted: 18 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tropf, Bien, Bußkamp, Sennhenn-Reulen, Becker, Grüner, Langer and Langer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jan Tropf, Forestry Research and Competence Centre (FFK Gotha), ThüringenForst, Gotha, Germany
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