White rots break down lignin and cellulose and commonly cause rotted wood to feel moist, soft, spongy, or stringy and appear white or yellow.[8]
White-rot fungi break down the lignin in wood, leaving the lighter-colored cellulose behind; some of them break down both lignin and cellulose.[3] Because white-rot fungi are able to produce enzymes, such as laccase, needed to break down lignin and other complex organic molecules, they have been investigated for use in mycoremediation applications.[9]
There are many different enzymes that are involved in the decay of wood by white-rot fungi, some of which directly oxidize lignin.[10] The relative abundance of phenylpropane alkyl side chains of lignin characteristically decreases when decayed by white-rot fungi.[6] It has been reported that the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) preferentially decays lignin instead of polysaccharides.[11] This is different from some other white-rot fungi e.g. Phanerochaete chrysosporium, which shows no selectivity to lignocellulose.[11]
Honey mushroom (Armillaria spp.) is a white-rot fungus notorious for attacking living trees. Pleurotus ostreatus and other oyster mushrooms are commonly cultivated white-rot fungi,[9] but P. ostreatus is not parasitic and will not grow on a living tree, unless it is already dying from other causes.[12] Other white-rot fungi include the turkey tail, artist's conch, and tinder fungus.[5]
White-rot fungi are grown all over the world as a source of food - for example the Shiitake mushroom, which in 2003 comprised approximately 25% of total mushroom production.[13]