Fungal Biotechnology For Biofuel Production

Due to the huge quantity and diverse nature of their metabolic pathways, fungi have great potential to be used for the production of different biofuels such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesel. This book presents recent advances, as well as challenges and promises, of fungal applications in biofuel production, subsequently discussing plant pathogenic fungi for bioethanol and biodiesel production, including their mechanisms of action. Additionally, this book reviews biofuel production using plant endophytic fungi, wood-rotting fungi, fungal biocontrol agents, and gut fungi, and it investigates highly efficient fungi for biofuel production and process design in fungal-based biofuel production systems. Finally, life cycle assessment of fungal-based biofuel production systems are discussed in this volume.

Mycology: Current and Future Developments is a book series that brings together the latest contributions to research on the biology, genetics, and industrial use of fungi. Each book chapter is written by academic / professional experts from around the world. The book series is of interest to mycologists and allied researchers seeking to gain new knowledge perspectives about fungi. This volume of the book series focuses chiefly on advances biofuel production. Topics covered in this volume include an overview of biofuel production, the use of lignocelluloses in fungal biofuel production, fungal metabolic engineering, biomass pretreatment for biofuel refineries, and more. The volume also contains chapters about research on other fungi such as S. Cerevisiae. The reviews presented in this volume serve as a useful reference for researchers and readers interested in learning about new developments in biofuel production at a time when the need for alternative energy sources is ever increasing.

This book covers the applications of fungi used in biorefinery technology. As a great many different varieties of fungal species are available, the text focuses on the various applications of fungi for production of useful products including organic acids (lactic, citric, fumaric); hydrolytic enzymes (amylase, cellulases, xylanases, ligninases, lipases, pectinases, proteases); advanced biofuels (ethanol, single cell oils); polyols (xylitol); single cell protein (animal feed); secondary metabolites; and much more.

Fungi are distinct eukaryotic organisms renowned for their remarkable biodiversity and extensive habitat range. Many fungal species have long been exploited for food and medicines. This volume considers other important applications of fungal biotechnology especially in an environmental context, showcasing the essential contributions of these amazingly versatile organisms. It explores how fungi offer sustainable solutions to tackle various environmental concerns. Written by eminent experts in their fields, this work presents a broad array of current advances and future prospects in fungal environmental biotechnology and discusses their limitations and potential. The book is organized in five parts, each addressing a theme of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): strengthen food security (Zero Hunger), wastewater treatment (Clean Water & Sanitation), pollution reduction (Life on Land), biofuel production (Affordable & Clean Energy) and biosynthesis of novel biomolecules (Responsible Consumption & Production).

Cellulase is a key enzyme of industrial interest and plays a crucial role in the hydrolysis of cellulose, a prime component of plant cell walls. Cellulase covers a broad area in the global market of industrially important enzymes and it is considered as the third largest industrial enzyme globally. Additionally, cellulase contributes about 20% of the total enzyme market globally because of its massive demand in various industries such as in biofuel production, pulp, paper, textile, food, and beverages, as well as in detergent industries. Among these, the demand of cellulase may become frequently selected in the commercial production of biofuels in the future and thus will further increase demand of cellulase in the biofuel industry. Because biofuel production is still not realized in a cost-effective, practical implementation due to its high cost (the higher cost of biofuels is due to higher production costs of enzymes), there is a need to introduce these types of approaches, which will help to lower the cost of enzyme production for developing overall economic biofuel production.

Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that include both unicellular and multicellular species. They have a worldwide distribution and a wide range of applications in diverse sectors, from environmental, food and medicine to biotechnological innovations. Fungal biochemical genetics involves the study of the relationships between genome, proteome and metabolome, and the underlying molecular processes in both native and bioengineered fungi. This book provides a valuable resource on the challenges and potential of fungal biotechnology and related bioengineering and functional diversity for various industrial applications in the food, environmental, bioenergy and biorefining, and the biopharma sectors. In comparison to previous and related publications in the area of applied myco-biotech-engineering, this book bridges a knowledge gap in the areas related to prospects and investment as well as intellectual and technical issues. This book also provides information on recent commercial and economic interests in the area by juxtaposing the developments achieved in recent worldwide research and its many challenges.

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.

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.

Several efforts have been made in developing strategies to supply the enzyme market, as well as in reducing its costs. It includes the selection of an appropriate enzyme source and the optimization of enzyme properties and secretion. Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes (CAZymes) are industrially relevant biocatalysts that are capable of degrading plant cell wall biomass. The most important secreted enzymes related to plant cell wall decomposition are cellulases, hemicellulases, and auxiliary enzymes. These enzymes have been applied in the hydrolysis of plant biomass for the production of second-generation (2G) ethanol and several other high added value products. One of the bottlenecks for 2G ethanol production is the cost of enzymes applied on plant biomass hydrolysis. The improvement of proteins production by fungi applying system biology and genetic engineering is an interesting and promising strategy to reduce the enzymes cost and make the 2G ethanol production viable. Fungi play an important role in plant biomass degradation and biotechnology by producing and secreting high yields of enzymes. In spite of the fact that filamentous fungi present several advantages compared to other microorganisms due to the high level of proteins production, heterologous protein production is far from optimal levels and still needs to be improved. Currently, heterologous production of certain proteins is generally considerably lower than the levels obtained to homologous production. Many strategies have been studied in order to improve heterologous production of proteins by filamentous fungi, including the deletion of genes that encode for proteases, the deletion of lectin-like ER-Golgi cargo receptors and the co-expression of specific chaperones. It has been shown that the main bottleneck in the production of heterologous proteins is not caused by the low expression of the target gene. An experimental evidence suggests that most target proteins produced in filamentous fungi are lost or stuck in the secretory pathway due to errors in processing, modification or misfolding that result in their elimination by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control. Misfolded proteins alter homeostasis and proper ER functioning resulting in a state known as ER stress. ER stress activates a conserved signaling pathway called unfolded protein response (UPR) and ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD), which upregulates genes responsible for restoring protein folding homeostasis in the cell and degrades misfolded protein in the cytosol by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The genetic manipulation of individual genes and changes in the genome seems not to be the best alternative to overcome the main bottlenecks in heterologous protein secretion. However, the understanding of complex interactions of important proteins and genes, as well as how they are regulated is more promising.

This book presents various biotechnological applications of the fungal systems in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, textile industry, bioremediation, biofuel, and the production of biomolecules. It discusses the important role of fungal secondary metabolites in human welfare and nutrition. It explores fungi as the vital sources of novel substances with antidiabetic, antibiotic as well as prebiotic properties. The book further describes the natural and unique ability of fungi to biodegrade macro- and microplastics by using them as a source of carbon and energy. Notably, it presents the properties and applications of bioactive fungal polysaccharides and discusses the latest developments in utilizing these biopolymers in human nutrition. In addition, the book examines the production of biodegradable and sustainable natural colorants from fungal sources. This book is a valuable source for mycologists, biotechnologists, and microbiologists for understanding the important role of fungi in biotechnology.