Ecological world

P rotection focuses on fundamentals upon prevention of wood damage by fungi, and protection and preservation of wood (e.g., Willeitner and Liese 1992; Eaton and Hale 1993; Palfreyman et al. 1996; Murphy and Dickinson 1997; Zujest 2003; Goodell et al. 2003; Muller 2005).  Protection in the broader sense comprises non-chemical methods like organizational measures and measures by design, use of naturally durable woods, application of antagonisms, or wood modifications that do not affect the environment. Preservation predominantly stands for chemical measures.   The conditions for the development of wood fungi and protection principles that can be deduced from them. The principle of the wood protection consists of changing at least one of the three life prerequisites of fungi in wood in such a way that the development of fungi is impossible or at least inhibited. Fungal attack can be prevented   (Willeitner and Schwab 1981; Erler 2002; Willeitner 2000, 2003; Goodell et al. 2

A specific feature of the sexual reproduction of Ascomycetes and Basid-iomycetes is that plasmogamy of haploid cells and karyogamy of two nuclei (n) to form a diploid nucleus (2n) are separated from each other temporally as well spatially by the dikaryophase (two-nuclei phase, dikaryon, n + n, ===) (Fig.1). A dikaryotic hypha is one with two nuclei that derive from two haploid hyphae, but in which the nuclei are not yet fused by karyogamy. Particularly in Basidiomycetes, the dikaryotic phase is considerably ex-tended. By conjugated division of the two nuclei (conjugated mitosis), by division of the dikaryotic hypha, and by means of a special nucleus migration connested with camp formation both daughter cells become again dikaryotic.  Ascomycetes  The life cycle of a typical ascomycete is shown in Fig.1 (also Muller and Loeffler 1992; Eaton and Hale 1993; Schwantes 1996; Jennings and Lysek 1999). Haploid (n) spores (A, ascospores or conidia from an anamorph) germi-nate