Grand Challenges in Fungal Biotechnology

Grand Challenges in Fungal Biotechnology
Author: Helena Nevalainen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 534
Release: 2020-01-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030295419

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the major applications and potential of fungal biotechnology. The respective chapters report on the latest advances and opportunities in each topic area, proposing new and sustainable solutions to some of the major challenges faced by modern society. Aimed at researchers and biotechnologists in academia and industry, it represents essential reading for anyone interested in fungal biotechnology, as well as those working within the broader area of microbial biotechnology. Written in an accessible language, the book also offers a valuable reference resource for decision-makers in government and at non-governmental organizations who are involved in the development of cleaner technologies and the global bioeconomy. The 21st century is characterized by a number of critical challenges in terms of human health, developing a sustainable bioeconomy, facilitating agricultural production, and establishing practices that support a cleaner environment. While there are chemical solutions to some of these challenges, developing bio-based approaches is becoming increasingly important. Filamentous fungi, ‘the forgotten kingdom,’ are a group of unique organisms whose full potential has yet to be revealed. Some key properties, such as their exceptional capacity to secrete proteins into the external environment, have already been successfully harnessed for the production of industrial enzymes and cellulosic biofuels. Many further aspects discussed here –such as feeding the hungry with fungal protein, and the potential applications of the various small molecules produced by fungi –warrant further exploration. In turn, the book covers the use of fungal cell factories to produce foreign molecules, e.g. for therapeutics. Strategies including molecular approaches to strain improvement, and recent advances in high-throughput technologies, which are key to finding better products and producers, are also addressed. Lastly, the book discusses the advent of synthetic biology, which is destined to greatly expand the scope of fungal biotechnology. The chapter “Fungal Biotechnology in Space: Why and How?” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License at link.springer.com.

Advances in Fungal Biotechnology for Industry, Agriculture, and Medicine

Advances in Fungal Biotechnology for Industry, Agriculture, and Medicine
Author: Jan S. Tkacz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1441988599

In the past half century, filamentous fungi have grown in commercial importance not only in the food industry but also as sources of pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of infectious and metabolic diseases and of specialty proteins and enzymes used to process foods, fortify detergents, and perform biotransformations. The commercial impact of molds is also measured on a negative scale since some of these organisms are significant as pathogens of crop plants, agents of food spoilage, and sources of toxic and carcinogenic compounds. Recent advances in the molecular genetics of filamentous fungi are finding increased application in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and enzyme industries, and this trend promises to continue as the genomics of fungi is explored and new techniques to speed genetic manipulation become available. This volume focuses on the filamentous fungi and highlights the advances of the past decade, both in methodology and in the understanding of genomic organization and regulation of gene and pathway expression.

Biotechnology of Fungal Genes

Biotechnology of Fungal Genes
Author: V. K. Gupta
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2012-03-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1578087872

This volume focuses on filamentous fungi and highlights the advances of the past decade, both in methodology and in the understanding of genomic organization and regulation of gene and pathway expression. The approaches and techniques of molecular biology enable us to ask and answer fundamental questions about many aspects of fungal biology, and open the way to the directed manipulation of fungal genetics. Moreover, this book describes the development and advancement of fungal genes and the ways in which these are being exploited in species of economic importance either in biotechnology or in biochemistry.

Biotechnology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi

Biotechnology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi
Author: Andriy A. Sibirny
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2017-06-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 331958829X

This book provides a comprehensive overview on biotechnological applications of unicellular and multicellular fungi in a variety of industrial branches. Targeted genetic and metabolic engineering of fungi allows production of native and transgenic enzymes and proteins in industrial scales. Those most prominently find application in biorefineries for the production of value-added chemicals and biofuels, in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in biomedicine. Each chapter is dedicated to applications and potential beneficial use of particular strains of yeasts and filamentous fungi and their produced biomolecules. The book targets researchers from both academia and industry and graduate students working in microbial biotechnology.

Genes and Genomics

Genes and Genomics
Author: Dilip K Arora
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2005-10-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080461328

This latest volume addresses the contemporary issues related to recombination in filamentous fungi, EST data mining, fungal intervening sequences, gene silencing, DNA damage response in filamentous fungi, cfp genes of Neurospora, developmental gene sequences, site-specific recombination, heterologous gene expression, hybridization and microarray technology to enumerate biomass. This volume also analyse the current knowledge in the area of hydrophobins and genetic regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis. Over fifty world renowned scientist from both industry and academics provided in-depth information in the field of fungal genes and genomics.

Fungal Genetics

Fungal Genetics
Author: Cees Bos
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2020-11-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1000105717

This is a concise guide to the combined use of classical and molecular methods for the genetic analysis and breeding of fungi. It presents basic concepts and experimental designs, and demonstrates the power of fungal genetics for applied research in biotechnology and phytopathology. Case studies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Neurospora crassa, Podospora anserina, Phytophthora infestans and others are included.

Biotechnology of Filamentous Fungi

Biotechnology of Filamentous Fungi
Author: David B. Finkelstein
Publisher: Newnes
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1483292215

Biotechnology of Filamentous Fungi: Technology and Products provides a comprehensive discussion of the molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry of filamentous fungi. It also deals with general principles of biochemical engineering such as process design and scaleup. The book's main emphasis, however, is on the commercial significance of filamentous fungi. The book highlights the unique aspects of filamentous fungi along with those aspects common to most microorganisms studied in industries that use biotechnology. Filamentous fungi can generate a wide range of industrial products including primary metabolites such as organic acids, secondary metabolites such as ß-lactam antibiotics, nonantibiotic drugs, and enzymes for use in food production. Whole organisms such as mushrooms can be used as well as organisms used as insecticides and herbicides. Filamentous fungi also qualify as potential hosts for the secretion of certain heterogeneous proteins such as mammalian proteins. However, not all things related to fungi are beneficial. Mycotoxins products by fungi can be lethal to humans; there is also a need to develop antifungal agents to destroy fungi that can kill animals and plants. These topics are important aspects of the biotechnology of filamentous fungi and are dealt with in this text.

Applied Mycology

Applied Mycology
Author: Mahendra Rai
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2009
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1845935349

The fungal kingdom consists of a wide variety of organisms with a diverse range of forms and functions. Fungi have been utilized for thousands of years and their importance in agriculture, medicine, food production and the environmental sciences is well known. New advances in genomic and metabolomic technologies have allowed further developments in the use of fungi in industry and medicine, increasing the need for a compilation of new applications, developments and technologies across the mycological field. Applied Mycology brings together a range of contributions, highlighting the diverse nature of current research. Chapters include discussions of fungal associations in the environment, agriculture and forestry, long established and novel applications of fungi in fermentation, the use of fungi in the pharmaceutical industry, the growing recognition of fungal infections, current interests in the use fungal enzymes in biotechnology and the new and emerging field of myconanotechnology. Demonstrating the broad coverage and importance of mycological research, this book will be of interest to researchers and students in all biological sciences.

Oxford Textbook of Medical Mycology

Oxford Textbook of Medical Mycology
Author: Christopher C. Kibbler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2017-12-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0198755384

The Oxford Textbook of Medical Mycology is a comprehensive reference text which brings together the science and medicine of human fungal disease. Written by a leading group of international authors to bring a global expertise, it is divided into sections that deal with the principles of mycology, the organisms, a systems based approach to management, fungal disease in specific patient groups, diagnosis, and treatment. The detailed clinical chapters take account of recent international guidelines on the management of fungal disease. With chapters covering recent developments in taxonomy, fungal genetics and other 'omics', epidemiology, pathogenesis, and immunology, this textbook is well suited to aid both scientists and clinicians. The extensive illustrations, tables, and in-depth coverage of topics, including discussion of the non-infective aspects of allergic and toxin mediated fungal disease, are designed to aid the understanding of mechanisms and pathology, and extend the usual approach to fungal disease. This textbook is essential reading for microbiologists, research scientists, infectious diseases clinicians, respiratory physicians, and those managing immunocompromised patients. Part of the Oxford Textbook in Infectious Disease and Microbiology series, it is also a useful companion text for students and trainees looking to supplement mycology courses and microbiology training.

Genetics and Biotechnology

Genetics and Biotechnology
Author: Ulrich Kück
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662103648

Mycology, the study of fungi, originated as a subdiscipline of botany and was a descriptive discipline, largely neglected as an experimental science until the early years of this century. A seminal paper by Blakeslee in 1904 provided evidence for self incompatibility, termed "heterothallism", and stimulated interest in studies related to the control of sexual reproduction in fungi by mating-type specificities. Soon to follow was the demonstration that sexually reproducing fungi exhibit Mendelian inheritance and that it was possible to conduct formal genetic analysis with fungi. The names Burgeff, Kniep and Lindegren are all associated with this early period of fungal genetics research. These studies and the discovery of penicillin by Fleming, who shared a Nobel Prize in 1945, provided further impetus for experimental research with fungi. Thus began a period of interest in mutation induction and analysis of mutants for bio chemical traits. Such fundamental research, conducted largely with Neurospora crassa, led to the one gene: one enzyme hypothesis and to a second Nobel Prize for fungal research awarded to Beadle and Tatum in 1958. Fundamental research in biochemical genetics was extended to other fungi, especially to Saccharomyces cere visiae, and by the mid-1960s fungal systems were much favored for studies in eukaryotic molecular biology and were soon able to compete with bacterial systems in the molecular arena.