Fungal biomolecules: sources, applications, and recent developments

Fungi have an integral role to play in the development of the biotechnology and biomedical sectors. The fields of chemical engineering, Agri-food, Biochemical, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical device development allemploy fungal products, with fungal biomolecules currently used in a wide range of applications, ranging from drug development to food technology and agricultural biotechnology. Understanding the biology of different fungi in diverse ecosystems, as well as their biotropic interactions with other microorganisms, animals and plants, is essential to underpin effective and innovative technological developments. Fungal Biomolecules is a keystone reference, integrating branches of fungal product research into a comprehensive volume of interdisciplinary research. As such, it:reflects state-of-the-art research and current emerging issues in fungal biology and biotechnology reviews the methods and experimental work used to investigate different aspects of fungal biomolecules provides examples of the diverse applications of fungal biomolecules in the areas of food, health and the environmentis edited by an experienced team, with contributions from international specialists This book is an invaluable resource for industry-based researchers, academic institutions and professionalsworking in the area of fungal biology and associated biomolecules for their applications in food technology, microbial and biochemical process, biotechnology, natural products, drug development and agriculture.

Title page; Copyright page; Contributors; Foreword; Preface; Section 1: Fungi as cell factories; Chapter 1: Fungal biofilms: An overview; 1.1 Biofilm: Definition and basic concepts; 1.2 Fungi and fungal biofilms; References; Chapter 2: Fungal biomolecules for the food industry; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Enzymes; 2.3 Citric acid and other organics; 2.4 Exopolysaccharides; 2.5 Flavours and aromas; 2.6 Engineering of biomolecules; 2.7 Concluding remarks; Acknowledgements; References; Chapter 3: Fungal biocatalysts in the textile industry: Whole-cell systems in real textile wastewater treatment.

3.1 Introduction3.2 Fungal degradation in axenic conditions; 3.3 Real textile wastewaters; 3.4 Scale-up to large-volume reactors; 3.5 Immobilization of fungal biomass; 3.6 Fungal treatment integration in existing WWTPs; 3.7 Conclusion; References; Chapter 4: Discovery of fungal enzymes and pathways; 4.1 Applications of fungal enzymes; 4.2 Importance of elucidating fungal biosynthetic pathways; 4.3 Modern bioprospecting; 4.4 Outlook; References; Chapter 5: Fungal laccase in the textile industry; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Fungal laccases.

5.3 Potential applications of fungal laccases in the textile in…