Japan (STA) Program: Probing Selective Lignin Degradation in Wood Using Two-Dimensional Spectrophotometry and Immunological Probes

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This award will provide supplementary support for a long-term research stay by Dr. Barry Goodell of the University of Maine to conduct collaborative research with Drs. Koichi Yamamoto and Hitoshi Karasawa of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. They will study the biochemistry and molecular biology of enzymatic wood degradation. The mechanisms by which fungi penetrate and degrade wood cell walls are still incompletely understood. Dr. Goodell's laboratory has been investigating the action of degradative enzymes and metabolites using immunological probes and transmission electron microscopy. Dr. Yamamoto and Dr. Karasawa have been using the techniques of UV microspectrophotometry and scanning electron microscope-based X-ray analysis to localize and quantify lignin in the wood cell. It is hoped that collaboration will enable these researchers to establish links between enzyme/metabolite function and selective delignification.