Utilization of Soft-rot Cavity Orientation for the Determination of Microfibril Angle. Part I

These studies utilize the decay cavities formed by the soft-rot fungus, Phialocephala dimorphospora, to determine the orientation of the cellulose fibrils in the cell wall.In this study, the microfibril angle was determined utilizing three methods: X-ray diffraction (T method), iodine staining, and orientation of the soft-rot cavities.The results demonstrate good agreement between the three techniques and verify that the decay cavities are formed in a direction parallel to the cellulose microfibrils and therefore can be used to determine the orientation of the cellulose microfibrils.One advantage of the soft-rot method over the X-ray method is the ability to measure angles of any size, including those of juvenile wood.