The amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

• Main Authors: Kevin D. Hyde, Jianchu Xu, Sylvie Rapior, Rajesh Jeewon, Saisamorn Lumyong, Allen Grace T. Niego, Pranami D. Abeywickrama, Janith V.S. Aluthmuhandiram, Rashika S. Brahamanage, Siraprapa Brooks, Amornrat Chaiyasen, K. W.Thilini Chethana, Putarak Chomnunti, Clara Chepkirui, Boontiya Chuankid, Nimali I. de Silva, Mingkwan Doilom, Craig Faulds, Eleni Gentekaki, Venkat Gopalan, Pattana Kakumyan, Dulanjalee Harishchandra, Hridya Hemachandran, Sinang Hongsanan, Anuruddha Karunarathna, Samantha C. Karunarathna, Sehroon Khan, Jaturong Kumla, Ruvishika S. Jayawardena, Jian Kui Liu, Ningguo Liu, Thatsanee Luangharn, Allan Patrick G. Macabeo, Diana S. Marasinghe, Dan Meeks, Peter E. Mortimer, Peter Mueller, Sadia Nadir, Karaba N. Nataraja, Sureeporn Nontachaiyapoom, Meghan O’Brien, Watsana Penkhrue, Chayanard Phukhamsakda, Uma Shaanker Ramanan, Achala R. Rathnayaka, Resurreccion B. Sadaba, Birthe Sandargo, Binu C. Samarakoon, Danushka S. Tennakoon, Ramamoorthy Siva, Wasan Sriprom, T. S. Suryanarayanan, Kanaporn Sujarit, Nakarin Suwannarach, Thitipone Suwunwong, Benjarong Thongbai, Naritsada Thongklang, Deping Wei, S. Nuwanthika Wijesinghe, Jake Winiski, Jiye Yan, Erandi Yasanthika, Marc Stadler
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Agricultural and Biological Sciences; Environmental Science
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85068848752&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/65328
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© 2019, The Author(s). Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Moreover, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology. We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers. We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.