Fungi in Extreme Environments: Ecological Role and Biotechnological Significance

Fungi in Extreme Environments: Ecological Role and Biotechnological Significance

Author: Sonia M. Tiquia-Arashiro

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-07-22

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 3030190307

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Over the last decades, scientists have been intrigued by the fascinating organisms that inhabit extreme environments. These organisms, known as extremophiles, thrive in habitats which for other terrestrial life-forms are intolerably hostile or even lethal. Based on such technological advances, the study of extremophiles has provided, over the last few years, ground-breaking discoveries that challenge the paradigms of modern biology. In the new bioeconomy, fungi in general, play a very important role in addressing major global challenges, being instrumental for improved resource efficiency, making renewable substitutes for products from fossil resources, upgrading waste streams to valuable food and feed ingredients, counteracting life-style diseases and antibiotic resistance through strengthening the gut biota, making crop plants more robust to survive climate change conditions, and functioning as host organisms for production of new biological drugs. This range of new uses of fungi all stand on the shoulders of the efforts of mycologists over generations. The book is organized in five parts: (I) Biodiversity, Ecology, Genetics and Physiology of Extremophilic Fungi, (II) Biosynthesis of Novel Biomolecules and Extremozymes (III) Bioenergy and Biofuel synthesis, and (IV) Wastewater and biosolids treatment, and (V) Bioremediation.


Fungi in Coastal and Oceanic Marine Ecosystems

Fungi in Coastal and Oceanic Marine Ecosystems

Author: Seshagiri Raghukumar

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-04

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 3319543040

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This book offers an ecosystem-oriented overview of the diversity, ecological role, and biotechnological applications of marine fungi as well as an in-depth introduction to the marine environment, fungal classification, and ecological principles. It also presents the latest research findings on coastal marine and oceanic ecosystems, such as mangrove, seagrass, salt marsh, algal, coral reef and benthic ecosystems. Focusing on the diversity of fungi as well as their role as symbionts, parasites and saprotrophs, the book also discusses the physiology and biotechnological applications of fungi and highlights topics of future interest. Intended for students and researchers in marine biology and microbiology, it includes detailed descriptions, illustrations, figures, tables, and exhaustive literature citations. A detailed chapter on methods used to study marine fungi, their classification and ecological principles is of particular interest to newcomers in the field.


The Fungal Kingdom

The Fungal Kingdom

Author: Joseph Heitman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-07-10

Total Pages: 1161

ISBN-13: 1555819583

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Fungi research and knowledge grew rapidly following recent advances in genetics and genomics. This book synthesizes new knowledge with existing information to stimulate new scientific questions and propel fungal scientists on to the next stages of research. This book is a comprehensive guide on fungi, environmental sensing, genetics, genomics, interactions with microbes, plants, insects, and humans, technological applications, and natural product development.


Microbiomes of Extreme Environments

Microbiomes of Extreme Environments

Author: Ajar Nath Yadav

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2021-03-21

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1000734919

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The extreme microbiomes are those microorganisms thriving under extreme conditions where no other living being will have any chance to survive. The extreme habitats are those presenting high temperatures (thermophiles), low temperature (psychrophiles), hypersaline environments (halophiles), low and high pH (Acidophiles/alkaliphiles), high pressure (Piezophiles) are distributed worldwide. The extreme habitats have proved to offer a unique reservoir of genetic diversity and biological source of extremophiles. The extremophilic microbial diversity and their biotechnological potential use in agricultural and industrial applications will be a milestone for future needs. Extremophiles and their cell components, therefore, are expected to play an important role in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, paper and textile industries as well as environmental biotechnology.


Fungi

Fungi

Author: Kevin Kavanagh

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-08-04

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 111997769X

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Fungi: Biology and Applications, Second Edition provides a comprehensive treatment of fungi, covering biochemistry, genetics and the medical and economic significance of these organisms at introductory level. With no prior knowledge of the subject assumed, the opening chapters offer a broad overview of the basics of fungal biology, in particular the physiology and genetics of fungi and also a new chapter on the application of genomics to fungi. Later chapters move on to include more detailed coverage of topics such as antibiotic and chemical commodities from fungi, new chapters on biotechnological use of fungal enzymes and fungal proteomics, and fungal diseases of humans, antifungal agents for use in human therapy and fungal pathogens of plants.


Fungi in Biogeochemical Cycles

Fungi in Biogeochemical Cycles

Author: Geoffrey Michael Gadd

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-05-04

Total Pages: 504

ISBN-13: 9780521845793

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This book promotes further understanding of the contribution that fungi make to the biogeochemical cycling of elements, the chemical and biological mechanisms involved, and their environmental and biotechnological significance.


Extremophilic Fungi

Extremophilic Fungi

Author: Sanjay Sahay

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-04-22

Total Pages: 727

ISBN-13: 9811649073

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This contributory volume is a comprehensive account of recent research on extremophilic fungi. It brings to the readers, latest information on all categories of extremophilic fungi, their isolation, culture, and potential applications. The book aims at providing the audience in-depth and updated theoretical concepts, also application on the field. It will serve as a supplementary reading material in addition to basic mycology textbooks. The book fills the gap in literature and will be useful to the postgraduate students and researchers in the field of mycology, agriculture, biotechnology and Microbiology.


Extremophiles as Astrobiological Models

Extremophiles as Astrobiological Models

Author: Joseph Seckbach

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-01-13

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1119591686

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The data in this book are new or updated, and will serve also as Origin of Life and evolutionary studies. Endospores of bacteria have a long history of use as model organisms in astrobiology, including survival in extreme environments and interplanetary transfer of life. Numerous other bacteria as well as archaea, lichens, fungi, algae and tiny animals (tardigrades, or water bears) are now being investigated for their tolerance to extreme conditions in simulated or real space environments. Experimental results from exposure studies on the International Space Station and space probes for up to 1.5 years are presented and discussed. Suggestions for extaterrestrial energy sources are also indicated. Audience Researchers and graduate students in microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and astrobiology, as well as anyone interested in the search for extraterrestrial life and its technical preparations.


Women in Microbial Physiology and Metabolism: 2023

Women in Microbial Physiology and Metabolism: 2023

Author: Jie Xiao

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2024-06-24

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 2832550746

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After the well-received 2022 collection, Frontiers in Microbiology is proud to host this Research Topic celebrating women’s work and achievements in the field of Microbial Physiology and Metabolism. Alongside International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month 2023, we will collectively embrace equity in the microbiology community. There is continued gender disparity within core STEM subjects. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, just 33% of the world's researchers are women. While the number of women attending university is growing, they still represent the minority of doctoral students and researchers. Women remain under-represented in the highest level of academia, holding just 26% of full professorships. This is even more skewed in industry with just 3% of STEM industry CEOs being women. As highlighted by UNESCO, science and gender equality are essential to ensure sustainable development.


Recent Trends in Mycological Research

Recent Trends in Mycological Research

Author: Ajar Nath Yadav

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 3030606597

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Fungi range from being microscopic, single-celled yeasts to multicellular and heterotrophic in nature. Fungal communities have been found in vast ranges of environmental conditions. They can be associated with plants epiphytically, endophytically, or rhizospherically. Extreme environments represent unique ecosystems that harbor novel biodiversity of fungal communities. Interest in the exploration of fungal diversity has been spurred by the fact that fungi perform numerous functions integral in sustaining the biosphere, ranging from nutrient cycling to environmental detoxification, which involves processes like augmentation, supplementation, and recycling of plant nutrients - a particularly important process in sustainable agriculture. Fungal communities from natural and extreme habitats help promote plant growth, enhance crop yield, and enhance soil fertility via direct or indirect plant growth promoting (PGP) mechanisms of solubilization of phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, production of ammonia, hydrogen cyanides, phytohormones, Fe-chelating compounds, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, and bioactive secondary metabolites. These PGP fungi could be used as biofertilizers, bioinoculants, and biocontrol agents in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in eco-friendly manners for sustainable agriculture and environments. Along with agricultural applications, medically important fungi play a significant role for human health. Fungal communities are useful for sustainable environments as they are used for bioremediation which is the use of microorganisms' metabolism to degrade waste contaminants (sewage, domestic, and industrial effluents) into non-toxic or less toxic materials by natural biological processes. Fungi could be used as mycoremediation for the future of environmental sustainability. Fungi and fungal products have the biochemical and ecological capability to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, semi-metals, and noble metals either by chemical modification or by manipulating chemical bioavailability. The two volumes of Recent Trends in Mycological Research aim to provide an understanding of fungal communities from diverse environmental habitats and their potential applications in agriculture, medical, environments and industry. The books are useful to scientists, researchers, and students involved in microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, molecular biology, environmental biology and related subjects.