The applicability of biocalorimetry for monitoring fungal conversion of lignocellulosic agricultural by-products during solid-state fermentation (SSF) was substantiated through linking the non-invasive measurement of metabolic heat fluxes to conventional invasive determination of fungal activity (growth, substrate degradation, enzyme activity) parameters. For this, the fast-growing, cellulose-utilising ascomycete Stachybotrys chlorohalonata and the comparatively slow-growing litter-decay basidiomycete Stropharia rugosoannulata were investigated as model organisms during growth on solid wheat straw. Both biocalorimetric and non-calorimetric data may suggest R (ruderal)- and C (combative)-selected life history strategies in S. chlorohalonata and S. rugosoannulata, respectively. For both species, a strong linear correlation of the released metabolic heat with the corresponding fungal biomass was observed. Species-specific YQ/X values (metabolic heat released per fungal biomass unit) were obtained, which potentially enable use of biocalorimetric signals for the quantification of fungal biomass during single-species SSF processes. Moreover, YQ/X values may also indicate different fungal life history strategies and therefore be considered as useful parameters aiding fungal ecology research.
Keywords: Biocalorimetry; Fungi; Lignocellulose; Metabolic heat; Solid-state fermentation; Wheat straw.
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