Lignocellulose decomposition and production of ligninolytic enzymes during interaction of white rot fungi with soil microorganisms

Four strains of white rot fungi, including two strains of Pleurotus sp., one Dichomitus squalens, and one Ganoderma applanatum, were grown on milled straw. After colonization of the straw by the fungi, sterile or nonsterile plugs of soil were added to the fungal substrates. The influence of the sterile soil and the indigenous soil microbiota on fungal growth, overall respiration, and production of ligninolytic exoenzymes was assessed. A method for extraction of laccase from soil samples was developed.