Serpula (fungus) cover the surface they are growing on (known as the substrate). The hymenophore, or spore-forming surface, generally has a wrinkled appearance. The species grow on, and digest, mainly coniferous wood, causing a process known as brown rot. One species, dry rot ("S. lacrymans"), is a highly destructive agent of houses. Damp structural timber is an ideal substrate for the germination of "Serpula" spores. The fungal hyphae penetrate the wood and release enzymes that break down structural polysaccharides such as cellulose. There may be no external indications that the fungus is present until the rot is far advanced and fruit bodies
Atromentin 4-HPP to observe the formation of atromentin. This was followed by characterization of the enzyme GreA in "Suillus grevillei", six (InvA1-6, of which InvA1, 2 and 5 were functional) in "Paxillus involutus", and NPS3 from "Serpula lacrymans". In addition, there is another adjacent and conserved gene encoding for an alcohol dehydrogenase/oxidoreductase whose function is unclear. In most cases the clustered biosynthetic genes are found orthologous in basidiomycetes. A common promoter motif was found shared between the atromentin synthetase and aminotransferase of 23 different atromentin-producing basidiomycetes that was in almost all cases absent from the alcohol dehydrogenase, indicating co-regulation of the