Abstract
The ability of Scleroderma sinnamariense Mont. to utilise some organic and inorganic nitrogen (N)
sources for growth was examined in axenic liquid cultures. Pisolithus tinctorius Pers. was included for
comparison. Both fungi species produced measurable biomass on all the N sources used in this
experiment. The growth of S. sinnamariense on ammonium-N was better than that observed on glycine
and bovine serum albumin (BSA), comparable to that on glutamic acid and nitrate, but inferior to that
observed on arginine, alanine and peptone. P. tinctorius showed optimal growth on ammonium-N,
which was comparable to alanine and glutamic acid but greater than that observed on glycine, arginine,
BSA, nitrate and peptone. This Scleroderma isolate thus has the potential to utilise nitrogen from
organic substrates and this may be important for the nitrogen nutrition of its ectomycorrhizal host
plants in tropical forests.
Key words: Scleroderma sinnamariense, organic nitrogen utilisation, ectomycorrhiza.
