Bacteria Are Omnipresent on Phanerochaete chrysosporium Burdsall.

Bacteria have been isolated from 10 different strains of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a white rot fungus which degrades lignocellulosic materials. The investigations showed that one or more bacterial species were always associated with the fungus. Various attempts to eliminate the bacteria on the fungus were unsuccessful. Three different bacterial species were isolated and identified. One of these was Agrobacterium radiobacter, while another may represent a new taxon close to the genus Burkholderia. A third strain remains unidentified but is most probably a member of rRNA superfamily IV or the Woese (alpha) group. Besides P. chrysosporium, 23 other white rot fungi and 9 brown rot fungi were also investigated. None of these was associated with bacteria. The physiological significance of the association between the fungus and the bacteria remains to be elucidated.