John W Palfreyman

Abertay University | UAD

No abstract (Perspective article)

The composition of forest litter and understorey layer, and fungal biomass (in terms of ergosterol) were measured in eight subplots over a winter–spring period (January to April). The sampling site was positioned in a range of woodland habitats (variously dominated by beech, Fagus sylvatica ; birch, Betula pendula × pubescens , and oak Quercus petr...

The micro and meso-invertebrate abundance was measured, together with forest litter composition, in eight plots of differing vegetation (dominated by beech and birch) over a winter-spring period. The litter moisture content was a mean of 76% during the sampling period and the beech sites were the driest. The results were analysed using a suite of s...

The community dynamics of two- and three-fungal species interactions derived for a tessellated agar model system are described. The microcosm allows for the varied prescription of: (1) the number of fungal species interacting; (2) the spatial configuration (patchiness) of the distribution of individuals; (3) the magnitude of scale of spatial occupa...

Molecular and morphological parameters of Serpula lacrymans isolates from various sites in the built environment in Europe and Australia were compared to similar parameters of ‘wild’ isolates from India, the Sumava Mountains (Czech Republic) and Mount Shasta (USA). The Indian, Czech Republic and all of the building isolates bar one showed identity...

Consequences of initial spatial organisation of model fungal communities upon their spatio-temporal development were investigated. Dynamics of prescribed two- and three-species ‘communities’ developing on tessellated agar tile model systems were analysed in terms of literal maps, principal component analyses, or as the proportion of species extant...

Interrelations of fungal mycelium with other soil biota are of paramount importance in forestry and soil ecology. Here we present the results of statistical analysis of a comprehensive data set collected in the first (and the only) British fungus sanctuary over a period of four months. The variables studied included a number of soil properties, bac...

Stepwise regression modelling and canonical correspondence analysis were used to analyse data on soil properties and the abundance of soil mesofauna collected from a woodland typical of the Borders of Scotland. The pattern of relationships revealed by stepwise regression models was different for each month, and the models compiled on the overall da...

Since 1994 data on fungal fruiting have been gathered in the Dawyck Botanic Garden outside Edinburgh, including that for eight plots within a 7.5 ha wood, which has been left unmanaged in order to investigate relationships amongst fungal succession, habitat characteristics and local weather patterns. The climatic data are provided by a small meteor...

A previous qualitative study [Nurse Education Today 20 (2000) 499] investigated perceptions of nurse teachers, student nurses and preceptors of the theory-practice gap said to exist within nursing. One theme was views of how the theory-practice gap could be closed. A subsequent quantitative study is reported here, in which this theme was translated...

The abundance of heterotrophic flagellates, ciliates and naked amoebae was measured in 8 sites covered with different vegetation (beech, birch, beech-birch, birch-oak-beech, grass) from January to April 2001. The results were analysed by a suite of mathematical techniques, together with data on bacteria, fungi, nematodes, microarthropods, and the c...

New Trichoderma isolates were prepared from soils collected in the areas of the world where the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans is indigenous. Agarscreening tests were carried out to identify the antagonistic effects of isolates and determine if their mode of action was geared towards production of volatiles. Overall, Trichoderma isolates from Nor...

The dry-rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans, is a major cause of timber failure in the built environment in many parts of the world, most notably northern Europe, parts of eastern Europe and Asia, and Australia. This basidiomycete fungus may cause spectacular decay of damp building timbers, resulting in what is ironically known as 'Dry Rot'. Often referr...

The Heron Wood Reserve in Peeblesshire, Scotland is a 7.5-hectare wood, left untended to facilitate investigation into a natural Scottish Forest Ecosystem. Data on fungal fruiting have been collected since 1994, and since November 2000 physico-chemical and biotic experiments on soil and forest litter have also been conducted with the aim to constru...

The potential of immunological probes, viz. antisera, as specific detection systems for the basidiomycete organisms Lentinus lepideus (a major cause of distribution pole failure) and Coriolus versicolor have been investigated. Using immunodot-blot techniques semiquantitative detection systems have been developed for the former organism and immunocy...

Relationships between Serpula lacrymans and S. himantioides isolates of ‘wild’ Himalayan woodland and building (European and Australian) origin were examined using RAPD-PCR and ITS rDNA sequence comparison. GelCompar analysis of the genetic fingerprints of eighteen isolates using four RAPD-primer combinations clearly distinguished S. lacrymans and...

A full-scale model, containing numerous moisture sensors, was constructed to simulate the infection of the vulnerable floor-wall junction in a historic building by the dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans, and subsequent treatment by a chemical-free method. During the infection of the materials, growth of S. lacrymans became luxuriant throughout. Subs...

During this investigation into the relationship between the domestic dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans, and some non-woody building materials, it was found that S. lacrymans removed calcium, silicon and iron from sandstone, and calcium, sulphur and iron from traditional plaster. The sequestered elements were located on its hyphae, especially in the...

A microcosm system is described which permits assessment of the progressive growth of filamentous fungi through soil. We report on its application to measure the effects of Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium upon the sorptivity and water repellence of a mineral soil, measured using a miniature infiltration device. Both fungal speci...

A questionnaire survey of building practitioners in Scotland was carried out with the aim of determining their experiences and views on the causes and treatment of dry rot. The practitioners' perceptions of the importance of key factors associated with the initiation, development and survival of the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans were determined...

A stochastic cellular automaton for modelling the dynamics of a two-species fungal microcosm is presented. The state of each cell in the automaton depends on the state of a predefined neighbourhood via a set of conditional probabilities derived from experiments conducted on pairwise combinations of species. The model is tested by detailed compariso...

Novel microcosms were used to test separately the effects of aeration and humidity on the decay capacity, linear spread and survival of the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans. The application of a pumped air supply resulted in cessation of fungal activity in the microcosms at all but the lowest air flow rate. At this lowest rate marked growth tropism...

Thirty isolates of Trichoderma were screened for their ability to inhibit and ultimately kill ten isolates of Serpula lacrymans and one of Serpula hirmantioides in standard interaction tests. Interactions carried out on malt extract agar and a medium containing pine sapwood sawdust showed that twenty-six of the Trichoderma isolates were antagonisti...

We report the first successful culturing and confirmation of identity (via sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, SDS–PAGE) of Serpula lacrymans (the dry rot fungus) derived from basidiomes and mycelia growing in the ‘wild’. The fungus was found growing on well decayed coniferous wood within the Narkanda region of the Western H...

The dry-rot fungus Serpula lacrymans has a maximum growth temperature of 28°C which is an unusual feature in comparison to other Serpula species. This has led to the investigation of S. lacrymans sensitivity to higher temperature regimes with respect to increased thermotolerance and the production of heat-shock proteins (hsps). The strategy employe...

Extracellular phenoloxidase enzymes have been implicated in the offensive/defensive strategies employed by fungi during interactions. To determine whether these enzymes are involved during Basidiomycete confrontations, a number of pairings between two brown-rot Basidiomycetes (Serpula lacrymans and Coniophora puteana) and several Deuteromycetes (Tr...

The growth rates, decay capacity and acid production of Serpula lacrymans (Schumacher ex Fr.) Gray and Coniophora puteana (Schumacher ex Fr.) Karat. were monitored under experimental conditions by cultivating these organisms on a range of media supplemented with varying concentrations of calcium and other divalent metal ions. Both C.puteana and S....

There have been a number of advances in the understanding of the physiology of the dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans, in the last decade. Specifically, studies on the natural origins of the fungus, morphogenesis, toxicant tolerance, environmental sensitivity, nitrogen metabolism, utilization of non-woody materials and biological control have all co...

The optimum (22 and 25 °C respectively), supraoptimal (sublethal) and the minimum lethal temperature regimes for Serpula lacrymans and S. himantioides were established. Exposure of S. lacrymans and S. himantioides to supraoptimal temperature regimes induced a transient tolerance to subsequent, normally lethal heat treatments (40° for 2 and 3 h resp...

Using a standard medium (malt extract agar) and a minimal essential medium designed to mimic the carbon: nitrogen ratio in wood, a number of Trichoderma isolates were screened for their ability to kill Serpula lacrymans. From the results one Trichoderma species, T. harzianum 25, proved to be the most efficient at killing S. lacrymans. In addition,...

A range of isolates of Serpula lacrymans show identical molecular profiles by Western Blotting or lectin staining. One isolate, BF-050, showed differences in silver stained protein profiles from old mycelium but profiles from young mycelium of BF-050 were identical to the type strain of S. lacrymans FPRL 12C. Both S. lacrymans and the related organ...

Antigenic proteins from isolates of Serpula lacrymans isolated from locations around the world and from other wood decaying basidiomycetes were compared after Western blotting using an antiserum produced against S. lacrymans strain FPRL 12C. All isolates of S. lacrymans gave identical antigen profiles. A further isolate, originally identified as S....

Scanning laser densitometry was performed on immuno- and dot blots developed on nitrocellulose by treatment of the nitrocellulose with xylene. This method permits the development of simple methods for recording results of immunoblots and of producing semi-quantitative assays from dot blots.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) immediate early (IE) transcription is known to be stimulated by a structural component of the virion which interacts, either directly or indirectly, with specific regulatory sequences located far upstream from IE messenger RNA 5′-termini. The aim of the work described in this paper is the mapping and identification of the...

A herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) mutant, ts1204, which has a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutation located within genome map coordinates 0.318 to 0.324, close to but outside the coding sequences of the glycoprotein gB gene, has been characterised. Although this mutant adsorbed to the cell surface at the nonpermissive temperature (NPT), it failed...

We have characterized a temperature-sensitive mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), 17tsVP1207, that induces a thermolabile ribonucleotide reductase activity. This mutant was derived from the multiple mutant tsG. Fine-structure mapping studies showed that the defect in 17tsVP1207 lies within an 800 bp sequence between genome map coordinate...

Evidence is presented showing that the 92,000-dalton glycoprotein (g92K) induced by herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 has properties distinct from those assigned to any other HSV glycoprotein. First, the carbohydrate composition and extent of sulfation differ from those of glycoproteins D and E. Second, two clonally unrelated monoclonal antibodies,...

The number of discrete species of glycoprotein induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1, strain 17 syn+) and their processing has been examined by a combination of immunoprecipitation with monoclonal antibodies and analysis of immune precipitates by two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis. Seventeen different monoclonal antibodies directed ag...

BHK cells infected with strain 17 syn+ (HSV-1) or HG52 (HSC-2) incorporated inorganic sulphate into polypeptides which co-migrated on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with virus-induced glycoproteins. The major sulphated glycoprotein was glycoprotein E. In addition, less-intense sulphated bands co-migrated with glycoprotein D and HSV-1 glycoprotein A/B/C. S...

The extraction and purification of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) from human fibrillary cerebellar astrocytoma is described. Using an immunoperoxidase method, antisera raised to the protein showed specific staining of astrocytes in normal spinal cord and in tumours of astrocytic origin. A double antibody radioimmunoassay for GFAP in tissue...

Myelin basic protein-like immunoactivity was measured in the serum of patients after cerebrovascular accident (CVA) using a double antibody radioimmunoassay for myelin basic protein with a detection limit of 3 ng/ml serum. For up to 6 days after ictus, serum myelin basic protein levels in patients with severe CVA and patients who died as a result o...

The development of a double antibody radioimmunoassay for myelin basic protein in tissue extract, cerebrospinal fluid and unextracted serum is described. Detection limits for the assays were: for tissue extract 3.1 ng, for cerebrospinal fluid 30 ng/ml and for serum 13.6 ng/ml.Specificity for myelin basic protein is suggested by lack of cross reacti...

Serum levels of myelin basic protein (M.B.P.), a nervous-system-specific protein, were measured in 157 patients after head injury and related both to the type of brain damage and to the clinical outcome assessed three months after injury. Mean concentrations of M.B.P. in patients with severe intracerebral damage, with or without associated extracer...

The effects of cholera on adrenal weight in hypophysectomized rats were investigated, in an attempt to demonstrate an ACTH-like, adrenal trophic effect of the toxin. The results suggested that the toxin probably exerts is ACTH-like action on the adrenal via adenylate cyclase. Cholera toxin was also shown to have a thermolytic action, similar to tha...

The effects of cholera toxin on isolated rat adrenocortical cells have been investigated. Both steroid and cyclic AMP output from adrenal cells were increased by the toxin in a dose dependent fashion. The concentration of toxin for half maximal stimulation for both of these responses was about 40 ng/ml. Maximal steroidogenesis and cyclic AMP output...

The kinetics of the corticosteroidogenic response to adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) have been investigated using collagenase dispersed adrenocortical cells. Following the addition of ACTH at a concentration that was maximal for steroidogenesis, there was a time-lag of about 3 min before increased steroidogenesis became apparent. This lag was extended...

1. The Problem of Dry Rot The 'dry rot' problem is familiar to most people in the UK, and parts of mainland Europe. Estimates of the scale of the associated damage range from £100M per annum to over £400M in the UK alone. Though most of this damage is in relatively small, modern constructions, the dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrymans, is no respecter...