2. Materials and methods
2.1. Microorganism and hot water extraction
A. xylinus 23769 strain was purchased from American Type Cul-ture Collection (ATTC), Manassas, VA, USA. Red Maple (Acer rubrum)strands (10 × 0.9 ± 0.05 cm) were extracted in tap water in a high-pressure reactor. The extraction was performed in an M/K Digesterconsisting of two high-pressure cookers. A liquid to wood ratioof 4 was used. The vessel was heated to 160◦C from room tem-perature in 50 min, and then held at a constant temperature for25 min (Parades, 2009). The obtained hot water extracts were usedas growth media for BC.