Applied Mycology »

Dr. Mahendra Rai is Professor and Head of the Department of Biotechnology at Amravati University in Maharashtra, India.

Paul Bridge is currently Head of Science Facilities at the British Antarctic Survey, in Cambridge, UK, and a visiting Professor at the University of Kent.

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.

Contributors vii

Preface x

Part I Overview

1 Mycology: a Neglected Megascience David L. Hawksworth 1

Part II Environment, Agriculture and Forestry

2 Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Symbiosis under Stress Conditions: Ecological Implications of Drought, Flooding and Salinity Ilena V. Garcia Rodolfo E. Mendoza 17

3 An Overview of Ochratoxin Research János Varga Sándor Kocsubé Zsanett Péteri Robert A. Samson 38

4 Improvement of Controlled Mycorrhizal Usage in Forest Nurseries Robin Duponnois D. Diouf A. Galiana Y. Prin 56

5 Fungi in the Tree Canopy: an Appraisal K.R. Sridhar 73

6 Ecology of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Leaf Litter Decomposition Takashi Osono Dai Hirose 92

Part III Food, Food Products and Medicine

7 Brewing Yeast in Action: Beer Fermentation Pieter J. Verbelen Freddy R. Delvaux 110

8 Genomic Adaptation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Inhibitors for Lignocellulosic Biomass Conversion to Ethanol Zonglin Lewis Liu Mingzhou Song 136

9 Spoilage Yeasts and Other Fungi: their Roles in Modern Enology Manuel Malfeito-Ferreira Virgilio Loureiro 156

10 Medicinal Potential of Ganoderma lucidum Daniel Sliva 173

11 Current Advances in Dematiaceous Mycotic Infections Sanjay G. Revankar 197

Part IV Biotechnology and Emerging Science

12 Biotechnological Aspects of Trichoderma spp. A.M. Rincón T. Benítez A.C. Codón M.A. Moreno-Mateos 216

13 Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a Molecular Tool for the Study of Fungal Pathogens Carol M. McClelland Brian L. Wickes 239

14 Myconanotechnology: a New and Emerging Science Mahendra Rai Alka Yadav Paul Bridge Aniket Gade 258

15 Current Advances in Fungal Chitinases Duochuan Li Anna Li 268

16 Extracellular Proteases of Mycoparasitic and Nematophagous Fungi László Kredics Sándor Kocsubé Zsuzsanna Antal Lóránt Hatvani László Manczinger Csaba Vágvölgyi 290

Index 308