Brown Rot-Type Fungal Decomposition of Sorghum Bagasse: Variable Success and Mechanistic Implications

Table 1

Ergosterol (E), protein (P), and ergosterol/protein ratios (E/P) for sorghum sections degraded by Gloeophyllum trabeum and Serpula lacrymans for 7, 14, and 21 days. Protein and ergosterol levels are standardized to cm³ of biomass.

	Gloeophyllum trabeum				Serpula lacrymans
	Mass loss%	E µg	P µg	E/P	Mass loss%	E µg cm^−3	P µg cm^−3	E/P
7 days	2.4 (1.8)	73.3 (44.5)	98.1 (30.8)	0.7	2.0 (1.0)	76.3 (60.8)	107.6 (26.4)	0.7
14 days	30.8 (5.1)	205.0 (59.1)	98.5 (31.1)	2.1	3.1 (1.2)	73.0 (54.2)	71.3 (12.7)	1.0
21 days	37.8 (3.7)	215.0 (33.9)	78.3 (16.5)	2.7	7.9 (3.6)	235.6 (71.0)	74.6 (7.1)	3.2
Sorghum Avg	23.7 (18.7)	164.4 (79.1)	94.5 (22.6)	1.9	4.4 (3.1)	128.3 (93.0)	112.5 (21.6)	1.6
Spruce Avg	N/A	99.8 (31.3)	14.6 (3.5)	6.7	N/A	188.8 (53.6)	5.0 (1.3)	38.6

Standard deviation of three biological replicates is shown in parentheses; standard deviation of three assays of an extract of 8 sorghum discs is shown in parentheses; values adapted from Presley and Schilling 2017.