Current Insights in Fungal Importance—A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Besides plants and animals, the Fungi kingdom describes several species characterized by various forms and applications. They can be found in all habitats and play an essential role in the excellent functioning of the ecosystem, for example, as decomposers of plant material for the cycling of carbon and nutrients or as symbionts of plants. Furthermore, fungi have been used in many sectors for centuries, from producing food, beverages, and medications. Recently, they have gained significant recognition for protecting the environment, agriculture, and several industrial applications. The current article intends to review the beneficial roles of fungi used for a vast range of applications, such as the production of several enzymes and pigments, applications regarding food and pharmaceutical industries, the environment, and research domains, as well as the negative impacts of fungi (secondary metabolites production, etiological agents of diseases in plants, animals, and humans, as well as deteriogenic agents).

Harnessing genetic engineering to drive economic bioproduct production in algae

“…The fungal kingdom, encompassing yeasts to filamentous fungi, excels in producing bio-based products like enzymes, acids, and pharmaceuticals ( Meyer et al, 2016 ; Sanchez and Demain, 2017 ; Corbu et al, 2023 ). Species like Aspergillus , Trichoderma reesei , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are key in recombinant protein and industrial enzyme production ( El-Gendi et al, 2021 ; Lübeck and Lübeck, 2022 ).…”

Thermodynamically and Environmentally Efficient Offshore Gas-to-Wire From Co2-Rich Natural Gas With Carbon Capture

“…Filamentous fungi are heterotrophic and can metabolize a huge variety of organic materials and convert them to a range of enzymes (lipases, amylases, cellulases, xylanases, mannanases, proteases, among others). Therefore, filamentous fungi are widely used to produce enzymes and catalyze the hydrolysis of different molecules (Corbu et al, 2023).…”

Occurrence of mycotoxins in swine feed from South Korea

“…These mycotoxins that occur naturally in agricultural products are aflatoxin (Afla) produced by A. flavus ; ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by A. ochraceus and P. verrucosum ; deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), fumonisin (FUM), and T-2 toxin produced by Fusarium spp. [ 4 ]. Afla and OTA, as well as FUM, have been shown to cause immunosuppression, decreased feed intake, and feed refusal, a decreased feed conversion rate, and growth rates.…”