white rot

noun

1. a decay of wood caused by lignase-producing fungi, especially Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

2. a fungal disease of onions and related plants caused by Sclerotinia cepivorum.

3. any of the several fungi causing white rot.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white rot¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Tree surgeons said the 120-year-old tree - which damaged six other cars and a motel in the fall - was suffering from white rot.

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The species Dr Schwarze lit upon are Physisporinus vitreus, a type of white rot, and Xylaria longipes, commonly known as Dead Moll’s Fingers.

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"These white rot fungi are major decomposers of wood and the only organism that achieves substantial degradation of lignin," explains mycologist David Hibbett of Clark University in Massachusetts, who led the research published in Science on June 29.

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How exactly white rot breaks down lignin remains unknown.

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Once the protective lignin is out of the way, the white rot fungi feast on the cellulose, which comprises more digestible plant sugars.

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