The relative ability of species of thermophilic fungi to degrade cellulose was measured using an agar-diffusion technique based on the clearing of acidswollen cellulose.
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Chaetomium thermophile var. coprophile Cooney and Emerson, C. thermophile var. dissitum Cooney and Emerson, Sporotrichum thermophile Apinis, Sporotrichum sp., Talaromyces emersonii Stolk, and Thermoascus aurantiacus Miehe sensu Apinis (1967) formed a zone of clearing with a clearly defined front. 2. Humicola grisea var. thermoidea Cooney and Emerson, H. insolens Cooney and Emerson, Malbranchea pulchella var. sul]urea (Miehe) Cooney and Emerson, Myriococcum albomyces Cooney and Emerson, Stilbella thermophila Fergus, and Torula thermophila Cooney and Emerson produced distinct clearing, but the zonal front was not sharp enough for precise measurement. 3. Dactylomyces crustaceus CBS, Humicola lanuginosa (Griffon and Maublanc) Bunce, H. stellata Bunee, Mucor michel Cooney and Emerson, M. pusillus Lindt, Talaromyces thermophilus Stolk, and Thermoascus aurantiacus Miehe sensu Cooney and Emerson (1964) did not clear acid-swollen cellulose.
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Cellulolytic rates of several of the thermophilie species, tested at 45~ were 2--3 times those of the mesophilic species Chaetomium globosum Kunze ex Fries and Trichoderma viride Persoon ex Fries, tested at 25~ Thermophilic fungi are abundant in self-heating piles of organic matter, including hay (RSsz, 1968 ; Chang and Hudson, 1967), wood chips (Tansey, in press), stored grains (Flannigan, 1969 ;Mulinge and Apinis, 1969), and mushroom composts (Fergus, 1964), and other agricultural composts (see Cooney and Emerson, 1964). Cellulose is a major component of these habitats, and decrease in cellulose content often occurs during self-heating (Chang, 1967; Stutzenbcrger et al., 1970). Metabolic activity of thermophilic microorganisms, especially fungi, probably contributes to both heat accumulation and cellulose loss (