A study of the fungal ecology of <I>Picea sitchensis </I>stumps on mineral soils on first rotation sites in Scotland was carried out to determine fungal colonization, succession and the mechanisms of fungal interaction. Fungal and bacterial colonization of stump and buttress roots of stumps 0, 7, 28 days, 12, 16 and 48/53 months old was assessed. <I>Melanotus proteus </I>was found in all 12 month old stumps; <I>Sistotrema brinkmanni</I> was recorded most frequently in 16 and 48/53 month old stumps. A series of <I>in vitro </I>experiments was carried out to identify interactions occurring between pairs of <I>P. sitchensis </I>fungi on Norkrans agar, <I>P. sitchensis </I>sawdust, root blocks and billets, to determine possible modes of interaction occurring <I>in vivo. </I>Fungi exhibiting antagonism toward <I>Heterobasidion annosum in vitro </I>were noted to determine possible <I>in vivo </I>applications as curative/preventative biological controls against <I>H. annosum. </I>Sitka spruce stumps were highly receptive to <I>H. annosum </I>basidiospore infection up to 24 hours after felling and showed a significant level of receptivity 7 days after felling. <I>M. proteus </I>infection was lower in live stumps, compared to dead or moribund stumps, and was reduced or inhibited in stumps inoculated with <I>Resinicium bicolor </I>sawdust inoculum. <I>In vitro </I>experiments indicated that 5% urea prevented <I>M. proteus </I>basidiospore germination and hyphal growth. Treating stumps or billets with a 20% urea solution, however, had no significant effect on <I>M. proteus </I>colonization. Antifungal metabolites were detectable in 85% of the 25 fungal species tested representing members of the Basidiomycotina, Deuteromycotina and Ascomycotina, when bioassayed with <I>Cladosporium cucumerinum. </I>The production of antifungal metabolites in Sitka spruce stumps by <I>H. annosum, R. bicolor, Stereum sanguinolentum, M. proteus </I>and <I>Hypholoma fasciculare </I>was demonstrated.

The marine surface-associated bacterium Pseudoaltermonas tunicata, produces a range of compounds that inhibit fouling organisms, including invertebrate larvae, bacteria, algal spores and fungi. In addition to these antifouling compounds P. tunicata cells produce both a yellow and a purple pigment. The aim of this study was to further characterise the antifouling activities, their regulation and relationship with pigmentation, and the ecological significance of P. tunicata and related organisms. It was discovered that the anti-algal compound was extracellular, heat sensitive, polar and between 3 and 10 kDa in size. The anti-fungal compound was found to be the yellow pigment and active against a wide range of fungal and yeast isolates. Chemical analysis suggests that this compound consists of a carbon ring bound to a fatty-acid side chain. Genetic analysis supports the chemical data for the active compound as a mutant in a gene encoding for a long-chain fatty-acid CoA ligase was deficient for anti-fungal activity. To address the regulation of antifouling compounds and their relationship to pigmentation transposon mutagenesis of P. tunicata was performed. Mutants lacking the yellow pigment displayed a reduced ability to inhibit fouling organisms. Further analysis of these mutants identified genes involved with the synthesis and regulation of synthesis of pigment and antifouling compounds. One of these mutants was disrupted in a gene (wmpR) with similarity to the transcriptional regulators ToxR from Vibrio cholerae and CadC from Escherichia coli. Analysis of global protein expression using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that WmpR is essential for the expression of at least fifteen proteins important for the synthesis of fouling inhibitors. The ecological significance of antifouling bacteria was addressed by assessing the antifouling capabilities of a collection of bacteria isolated from different marine surfaces. Overall, isolates from living surfaces displayed more antifouling traits then strains isolated from non-living surfaces. Five dark-pigmented strains originating from the alga Ulva lactuca were further studied. Phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis revealed that they were all members of the genus Pseudoalteromonas and were closely related to P. tunicata. Two strains represented a novel species within the genus and were taxonomically defined as P. ulvae sp. nov.