Page 13 - InnoRenew CoE International Conference 2023
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ngal colonisation on biobased cladding materials assessed with
conventional and high throughput methods
Karen Butina-Ogorelec1,2*, Ana Gubenšek1,2,3, Faksawat Poohphajai1,2,4,
Jakub Sandak1,2, Ender Hazir5, Anna Sandak1,2,6
1 InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6a, Izola, Slovenia; karen.butina@innorenew.eu, ana.gubensek@innorenew,eu, faksawat.poohphajai@innorenew.eu,
jakub.sandak@innorenew.eu, anna.sandak@innorenew.eu
2 Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, Titov trg 4, 6000 Koper, Slovenia, karen.butina@iam.upr.si, ana.gubensek@iam.upr.si,
faksawat.poohphajai@iam.upr.si, jakub.sandak@iam.upr.si
3 Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
4 Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, P.O.Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland;
faksawat.poohphajai@aalto.fi
5 Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa, 34473, Istanbul, Turkey; ender.hazir@iuc.edu.tr
6 Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia;
anna.sandak@famnit.upr.si
* Corresponding author
Wood degradation by biological and environmental factors remains a challenge despite its longstanding use in
construction. Fungi are associated with biotic degradation of wood and great efforts have been invested in their
prevention. However, this perspective has been challenged by Sailer et al., 2010, who reported an innovative
bioinspired approach where a yeast-like ascomycete, namely Aureobasidium pullulans, is intentionally applied
on linseed oil impregnated wood for its protection.
To further such approaches, it is important to determine which fungi can thrive on different wood-based materials
and what are the material properties supporting or inhibiting their growth. Implementation of novel techniques is
necessary to facilitate such efforts and enable high throughput, exhaustive assays.
Here we show that the treatment of wood and the exposure site influence fungal colonisation and the occurrence
of dominant species on the samples.
A set of 34 different cladding materials including natural wood, wood thermally, chemically, and surface treated,
impregnated wood, biobased composites, and hybrid materials was exposed to natural weathering. Surface
roughness and wettability measurements were performed to assess their physical properties. Periodical sampling
of surfaces was performed, followed by culturing. Fungal identification was performed by a combination of
morphological characteristics observed in pure cultures and analysis of PCR-amplified specific DNA regions. An
increase in microbial burden as well as an increase in samples with a dominant species were observed over time.
The most common dominant species was Aureobasidium melanogenum. Hyperspectral imaging was shown to
be a suitable high throughput method to visualize fungal presence on surfaces and enable quantification of the
infested area.
By integrating methodologies from microbiology and materials science a more comprehensive picture of
fungal colonization on cladding materials was obtained. We see this work as a starting point for further studies
unravelling the interaction between fungi and materials in greater depths.
Keywords: Aureobasidium, cladding materials, wood, hyperspectral imaging
13–14 SEPTEMBER 2023 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 13
conventional and high throughput methods
Karen Butina-Ogorelec1,2*, Ana Gubenšek1,2,3, Faksawat Poohphajai1,2,4,
Jakub Sandak1,2, Ender Hazir5, Anna Sandak1,2,6
1 InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6a, Izola, Slovenia; karen.butina@innorenew.eu, ana.gubensek@innorenew,eu, faksawat.poohphajai@innorenew.eu,
jakub.sandak@innorenew.eu, anna.sandak@innorenew.eu
2 Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, Titov trg 4, 6000 Koper, Slovenia, karen.butina@iam.upr.si, ana.gubensek@iam.upr.si,
faksawat.poohphajai@iam.upr.si, jakub.sandak@iam.upr.si
3 Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
4 Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, P.O.Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland;
faksawat.poohphajai@aalto.fi
5 Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa, 34473, Istanbul, Turkey; ender.hazir@iuc.edu.tr
6 Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia;
anna.sandak@famnit.upr.si
* Corresponding author
Wood degradation by biological and environmental factors remains a challenge despite its longstanding use in
construction. Fungi are associated with biotic degradation of wood and great efforts have been invested in their
prevention. However, this perspective has been challenged by Sailer et al., 2010, who reported an innovative
bioinspired approach where a yeast-like ascomycete, namely Aureobasidium pullulans, is intentionally applied
on linseed oil impregnated wood for its protection.
To further such approaches, it is important to determine which fungi can thrive on different wood-based materials
and what are the material properties supporting or inhibiting their growth. Implementation of novel techniques is
necessary to facilitate such efforts and enable high throughput, exhaustive assays.
Here we show that the treatment of wood and the exposure site influence fungal colonisation and the occurrence
of dominant species on the samples.
A set of 34 different cladding materials including natural wood, wood thermally, chemically, and surface treated,
impregnated wood, biobased composites, and hybrid materials was exposed to natural weathering. Surface
roughness and wettability measurements were performed to assess their physical properties. Periodical sampling
of surfaces was performed, followed by culturing. Fungal identification was performed by a combination of
morphological characteristics observed in pure cultures and analysis of PCR-amplified specific DNA regions. An
increase in microbial burden as well as an increase in samples with a dominant species were observed over time.
The most common dominant species was Aureobasidium melanogenum. Hyperspectral imaging was shown to
be a suitable high throughput method to visualize fungal presence on surfaces and enable quantification of the
infested area.
By integrating methodologies from microbiology and materials science a more comprehensive picture of
fungal colonization on cladding materials was obtained. We see this work as a starting point for further studies
unravelling the interaction between fungi and materials in greater depths.
Keywords: Aureobasidium, cladding materials, wood, hyperspectral imaging
13–14 SEPTEMBER 2023 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 13
