Detoxification of ferulic acid by ectomycorrhizal fungi.

The ectomycorrhizal fungi Laccaria amethystina and Lactarius deterrimus grown in liquid culture were used to study the fate of added ferulic acid. Laccaria amethystina degraded ferulic acid to the major metabolite vanillic acid. The intermediate vanillin was not detected. Lactarius deterrimus showed a completely different detoxification pattern. Two dimers and one trimer of ferulic acid could be identified as polymerization products of this fungus. A bioassay of the possible biological activities of ferulic acid and vanillic acid on these fungi revealed that vanillic acid was less toxic than ferulic acid for Laccaria amethystina but that both phenolic acids were toxic for Lactarius deterrimus. The results are discussed with respect to ectomycorrhizal fungal growth in the organic layer of forest soils and between living root cells of ectomycorrhizas.