MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Searching for Chemical Agents Suppressing Substrate Microbiota in White-Rot Fungi Large-Scale Cultivation

Summary

This research addresses a practical challenge in growing edible mushrooms and using fungi to clean polluted materials: unwanted bacteria and molds prevent beneficial white-rot fungi from growing. Scientists tested various cheap chemicals to find which ones kill unwanted microbes while letting white-rot fungi thrive. They discovered that hydrogen peroxide at 1.5-3% concentration works best, effectively eliminating competing microorganisms without harming the desired fungi, making large-scale mushroom farming and pollution cleanup more feasible and economical.

Background

White-rot fungi possess exceptional abilities to degrade lignocellulose and organic pollutants, making them valuable for both bioremediation and sustainable food production. However, large-scale cultivation in natural, unsterile substrates is hindered by competing microorganisms that inhibit fungal growth. Finding selective chemical agents that suppress unwanted microbiota while preserving white-rot fungi growth is essential for industrial applications.

Objective

To identify and evaluate chemical agents that selectively suppress the growth of bacteria and microfungi while not inhibiting white-rot fungi, enabling large-scale cultivation of white-rot fungi in natural substrates for bioremediation and mushroom production purposes.

Results

White-rot fungi grew only with Bacillus mycoides; other bacteria and Candida spp. inhibited their growth. Among chemicals tested, charcoal, dolomite, gypsum, and phosphogypsum promoted microbial growth. Hydrogen peroxide (1.5-3.0%) effectively suppressed microfungi and showed bactericidal effects on some bacteria without suppressing white-rot fungi. Potassium permanganate selectively inhibited bacteria and Candida but not other microfungi.

Conclusion

Hydrogen peroxide at 1.5-3.0% concentration demonstrates optimal selectivity for substrate disinfection prior to white-rot fungi inoculation, offering a practical, economical solution for large-scale bioremediation and mushroom cultivation without requiring additional neutralization steps or special equipment.
  • Published in:Microorganisms,
  • Study Type:Experimental Laboratory Study,
  • Source: PMC11206069, PMID: 38930624, DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061242
Scroll to Top