Mycolytic Bacteria

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Mycolytic Bacteria

 

a group of non-sporebearing bacteria, mainly of the genus Pseudomonas and Myxobacteria, which are capable of lysing (dissolving) the mycelia of fungi. The enzymes of mycolytic bacteria destroy the membrane of the mycelium; the contents of the mycelium serve as food for the bacteria. Laboratory experiments have shown that mycolytic bacteria can lyse the myceiia of a number of phytopathogenic fungi (Sclerotinia, Fusarium) that cause diseases of seedlings and transplants of pine and cotton.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.