Biotechnology of Filamentous Fungi

Biotechnology of Filamentous Fungi: Technology and Products provides a comprehensive discussion of the molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry of filamentous fungi. It also deals with general principles of biochemical engineering such as process design and scaleup. The book's main emphasis, however, is on the commercial significance of filamentous fungi. The book highlights the unique aspects of filamentous fungi along with those aspects common to most microorganisms studied in industries that use biotechnology. Filamentous fungi can generate a wide range of industrial products including primary metabolites such as organic acids, secondary metabolites such as ß-lactam antibiotics, nonantibiotic drugs, and enzymes for use in food production. Whole organisms such as mushrooms can be used as well as organisms used as insecticides and herbicides. Filamentous fungi also qualify as potential hosts for the secretion of certain heterogeneous proteins such as mammalian proteins. However, not all things related to fungi are beneficial. Mycotoxins products by fungi can be lethal to humans; there is also a need to develop antifungal agents to destroy fungi that can kill animals and plants. These topics are important aspects of the biotechnology of filamentous fungi and are dealt with in this text.

Acknowledgments 1. Editorial IntroductionPart I. Principles of Technology 2. Isolation, Preservation, and Taxonomy 2.1 Taxonomy 2.2 Isolation 2.3 Preservation References Appendix: Literature References 3. Strain Improvement and Strain Stability 3.1 Requirements for Industrial Strain Improvement 3.2 Genetic Instability in Industrial Microorganisms 3.3 Sources of Genetic Material 3.4 Re-Isolation and Purification 3.5 Generation of Novel Genotypes 3.6 Expression 3.7 Screening 3.8 Yield Improvement by Process and Medium Development 3.9 Preservation 3.10 Conclusions References 4. Growth Kinetics and Fermentation Scaleup 4.1 Fungal Growth 4.2 Scaleup of Fermentation 4.3 Economics References 5. Regulation of Secondary Metabolism 5.1 Delayed Formation of Idiolites 5.2 Effectors of Idiolite Biosynthesis 5.3 Other Factors 5.4 Cessation of Biosynthesis 5.5 Improvement of Idiolite Production References 6 Transformation 6.1 Transformation Techniques and Properties of Transformants 6.2 Vector Integration 6.3 Autonomously Replicating Vectors 6.4 Selectable Markers for Use with Wild-Type Organisms 6.5 Selectable Markers for Use with Mutant Hosts 6.6 Gene Isolation References 7. Bioconversions 7.1 The Scope of Fungal Bioconversions 7.2 Fungi as Chemical Reagents 7.3 The Products of Fungal Bioconversions 7.4 The Future of Fungal Bioconversions 8. Screening for Antifungal Drugs 8.1 Antifungal Screens 8.2 Targets 8.3 Fungal Biology-Source of New Targets 8.4 Concluding Remarks ReferencesPart II. Products 9. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of the ß-Lactam Antibiotics 9.1 Historical Perspectives 9.2 Pathway for Synthesis of ß-Lactams 9.3 Enzymes of ß-Lactam Biosynthesis 9.4 Molecular Biology of Penicillin and Cephalosporin Producing Fungi 9.5 Application of Molecular Biology to ß-Lactam Production 9.6 Future Prospects References 10. Therapeutic Metabolites 10.1 Lovastatin 10.2 Cyclosporins 10.3 Ergot Alkaloids 10.4 Asperlicin 10.5 Future Products References 11. Organic Acids 11.1 Citric Acid 11.2 Itaconic Acid 11.3 Gluconic Acid 11.4 Fumaric Acid 11.5 Miscellaneous Organic Acids References 12. Insecticides and Herbicides 12.1 Fungi as Biological Control Agents 12.2 Mycoinsecticides 12.3 Mycoherbicides 12.4 Fungal Toxins as Mycopesticides 12.5 Commercialization 12.6 Genetic Manipulation References 13. Food Enzymes 13.1 Proteases 13.2 Amylases and Glucoamylases 13.3 Pectic Enzymes 13.4 Lactases 13.5 a-Galactosidases 13.6 Dextranases 13.7 Cellulases 13.8 Hemicellulases 13.9 Lipases 13.10 Oxidation-Reduction Enzymes 13.11 Other Enzymes 13.12 Application of Gene Technology References 14. Structure, Function, and Genetics of Cellulases 14.1 Production and Characterization of Fungal Cellulases 14.2 New Substrates for Cellulases 14.3 Cloning of Fungal Cellulolytic Enzyme Genes 14.4 Structure Determination of Trichoderma Cellulases 14.5 Functions of Fungal Cellulases 14.6 Expression of Cloned Cellulase Genes in Heterologous Host Systems 14.7 Genetic Engineering of the Cellulase Production Profiles of Trichoderma 14.8 Conclusions References 15. Edible Mushrooms 15.