Pub Date : 2022-07-12DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00142-x
Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Sven Pfeiffer, Christian Schmidts, Seung-Il Seo
{"title":"Correction: A review on architecture with fungal biomaterials: the desired and the feasible.","authors":"Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Sven Pfeiffer, Christian Schmidts, Seung-Il Seo","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00142-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-022-00142-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9277968/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40614275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-25DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00144-9
R E Ford, G D Foster, A M Bailey
Since the initial detection, in 2007, of fungal ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), this group of natural products has undergone rapid expansion, with four separate classes now recognised: amatoxins/phallotoxins, borosins, dikaritins, and epichloëcyclins. Largely due to their historically anthropocentric employment in medicine and agriculture, novel fungal proteins and peptides are seldom investigated in relation to the fungus itself. Therefore, although the benefits these compounds confer to humans are often realised, their evolutionary advantage to the fungus, the reason for their continued production, is often obscure or ignored. This review sets out to summarise current knowledge on how these small peptide-derived products influence their producing species and surrounding biotic environment.
{"title":"Exploring fungal RiPPs from the perspective of chemical ecology.","authors":"R E Ford, G D Foster, A M Bailey","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00144-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-022-00144-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since the initial detection, in 2007, of fungal ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), this group of natural products has undergone rapid expansion, with four separate classes now recognised: amatoxins/phallotoxins, borosins, dikaritins, and epichloëcyclins. Largely due to their historically anthropocentric employment in medicine and agriculture, novel fungal proteins and peptides are seldom investigated in relation to the fungus itself. Therefore, although the benefits these compounds confer to humans are often realised, their evolutionary advantage to the fungus, the reason for their continued production, is often obscure or ignored. This review sets out to summarise current knowledge on how these small peptide-derived products influence their producing species and surrounding biotic environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9233826/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40398499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-25DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00140-z
Elizabeth Skellam
Fungal specialized metabolites play an important role in the environment and have impacted human health and survival significantly. These specialized metabolites are often the end product of a series of sequential and collaborating biosynthetic enzymes that reside within different subcellular compartments. A wide variety of methods have been developed to understand fungal specialized metabolite biosynthesis in terms of the chemical conversions and the biosynthetic enzymes required, however there are far fewer studies elucidating the compartmentalization of the same enzymes. This review illustrates the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites where the localization of all, or some, of the biosynthetic enzymes have been determined and describes the methods used to identify the sub-cellular localization.
{"title":"Subcellular localization of fungal specialized metabolites.","authors":"Elizabeth Skellam","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00140-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-022-00140-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fungal specialized metabolites play an important role in the environment and have impacted human health and survival significantly. These specialized metabolites are often the end product of a series of sequential and collaborating biosynthetic enzymes that reside within different subcellular compartments. A wide variety of methods have been developed to understand fungal specialized metabolite biosynthesis in terms of the chemical conversions and the biosynthetic enzymes required, however there are far fewer studies elucidating the compartmentalization of the same enzymes. This review illustrates the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites where the localization of all, or some, of the biosynthetic enzymes have been determined and describes the methods used to identify the sub-cellular localization.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":"9 1","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9134587/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142086387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-23DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00141-y
Manfred J Reppke, Rebecca Gerstner, Elisabeth Windeisen-Holzhauser, Klaus Richter, J Philipp Benz
Background: The mechanical drying of wood chips is an innovative method that improves the heating value of sawmill by-products in an energy-efficient continuous process. The liquid that comes out of the wood chips as press water (PW), however, contains a variety of undissolved as well as dissolved organic substances. The disposal of the PW as wastewater would generate additional costs due to its high organic load, offsetting the benefits in energy costs associated with the enhanced heating value of the wood chips. Our research explored if the organic load in PW could be utilized as a substrate by cellulolytic filamentous fungi. Hence, using the industrially relevant Ascomycete Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 as well as several Basidiomycete wood-rotting fungi, we examined the potential of press water obtained from Douglas-fir wood chips to be used in the growth and enzyme production media.
Results: The addition of PW supernatant to liquid cultures of T. reesei RUT-C30 resulted in a significant enhancement of the endoglucanase and endoxylanase activities with a substantially shortened lag-phase. A partial replacement of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, as well as a complete replacement of Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+ by supplementing PW of the liquid media was achieved without negative effects on enzyme production. Concentrations of PW above 50% showed no adverse effects regarding the achievable endoglucanase activity but affected the endoxylanase activity to some extent. Exploring the enhancing potential of several individual PW components after chemical analysis revealed that the observed lag-phase reduction of T. reesei RUT-C30 was not caused by the dissolved sugars and ions, nor the wood particles in the PW sediment, suggesting that other, so far non-identified, compounds are responsible. However, also the growth rate of several basidiomycetes was significantly enhanced by the supplementation of raw PW to the agar medium. Moreover, their cultivation in liquid cultures reduced the turbidity of the PW substantially.
Conclusions: PW was identified as a suitable media supplement for lignocellulolytic fungi, including the cellulase and xylanase producer T. reesei RUT-C30 and several wood-degrading basidiomycetes. The possibility to replace several minerals, trace elements and an equal volume of fresh water in liquid media with PW and the ability of fungal mycelia to filter out the suspended solids is a promising way to combine biological wastewater treatment with value-adding biotechnological applications.
背景:木片机械干燥是一种创新方法,可在节能的连续过程中提高锯木厂副产品的热值。然而,从木片中流出的压榨水(PW)含有各种未溶解和已溶解的有机物质。将压榨水作为废水处理会因有机物含量高而产生额外成本,抵消了因木片热值提高而带来的能源成本效益。我们的研究探讨了废水中的有机负荷能否被纤维素丝状真菌用作底物。因此,我们利用与工业相关的子囊菌Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30以及几种基生木腐真菌,研究了从花旗松木屑中获得的压榨水用于生长和酶生产培养基的潜力:结果:将压榨水上清液加入雷氏木霉 RUT-C30 的液体培养物中,可显著提高内切葡聚糖酶和内切木糖酶的活性,并大大缩短滞后期。通过补充液体培养基中的 PW 来部分替代 Ca2+、Mg2+、K+,以及完全替代 Fe2+、Mn2+、Zn2+,不会对酶的生产产生负面影响。PW浓度超过50%对可达到的内切葡聚糖酶活性没有不利影响,但在一定程度上影响了内切木聚糖酶活性。经过化学分析后,对废水中几种单独成分的增强潜力进行了探索,结果表明,观察到的 T. reesei RUT-C30 滞后期减少现象不是由溶解的糖和离子造成的,也不是由废水沉淀物中的木质颗粒造成的,而是由其他迄今尚未确定的化合物造成的。不过,在琼脂培养基中添加未加工的废水也能显著提高几种基枝菌的生长速度。此外,它们在液体培养物中的培养大大降低了废水的浑浊度:结论:研究发现,废水是木质纤维素分解真菌(包括纤维素酶和木聚糖酶生产者 T. reesei RUT-C30 和几种木材降解基枝菌)的合适培养基补充物。用 PW 替代液体培养基中的几种矿物质、微量元素和等量淡水的可能性,以及真菌菌丝体过滤悬浮固体的能力,是将生物废水处理与增值生物技术应用相结合的一种很有前景的方法。
{"title":"Press water from the mechanical drying of Douglas-fir wood chips has multiple beneficial effects on lignocellulolytic fungi.","authors":"Manfred J Reppke, Rebecca Gerstner, Elisabeth Windeisen-Holzhauser, Klaus Richter, J Philipp Benz","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00141-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40694-022-00141-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The mechanical drying of wood chips is an innovative method that improves the heating value of sawmill by-products in an energy-efficient continuous process. The liquid that comes out of the wood chips as press water (PW), however, contains a variety of undissolved as well as dissolved organic substances. The disposal of the PW as wastewater would generate additional costs due to its high organic load, offsetting the benefits in energy costs associated with the enhanced heating value of the wood chips. Our research explored if the organic load in PW could be utilized as a substrate by cellulolytic filamentous fungi. Hence, using the industrially relevant Ascomycete Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 as well as several Basidiomycete wood-rotting fungi, we examined the potential of press water obtained from Douglas-fir wood chips to be used in the growth and enzyme production media.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The addition of PW supernatant to liquid cultures of T. reesei RUT-C30 resulted in a significant enhancement of the endoglucanase and endoxylanase activities with a substantially shortened lag-phase. A partial replacement of Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, as well as a complete replacement of Fe<sup>2+</sup>, Mn<sup>2+</sup>, Zn<sup>2+</sup> by supplementing PW of the liquid media was achieved without negative effects on enzyme production. Concentrations of PW above 50% showed no adverse effects regarding the achievable endoglucanase activity but affected the endoxylanase activity to some extent. Exploring the enhancing potential of several individual PW components after chemical analysis revealed that the observed lag-phase reduction of T. reesei RUT-C30 was not caused by the dissolved sugars and ions, nor the wood particles in the PW sediment, suggesting that other, so far non-identified, compounds are responsible. However, also the growth rate of several basidiomycetes was significantly enhanced by the supplementation of raw PW to the agar medium. Moreover, their cultivation in liquid cultures reduced the turbidity of the PW substantially.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PW was identified as a suitable media supplement for lignocellulolytic fungi, including the cellulase and xylanase producer T. reesei RUT-C30 and several wood-degrading basidiomycetes. The possibility to replace several minerals, trace elements and an equal volume of fresh water in liquid media with PW and the ability of fungal mycelia to filter out the suspended solids is a promising way to combine biological wastewater treatment with value-adding biotechnological applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9128199/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47288405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-29DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00139-6
Kenji Watanabe, Michio Sato, Hiroyuki Osada
The Diels-Alder (DA) reaction refers to a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction that falls under the category of pericyclic reactions. It is a reaction that allows regio- and stereo-selective construction of two carbon-carbon bonds simultaneously in a concerted manner to generate a six-membered ring structure through a six-electron cyclic transition state. The DA reaction is one of the most widely applied reactions in organic synthesis, yet its role in biological systems has been debated intensely over the last four decades. A survey of secondary metabolites produced by microorganisms suggests strongly that many of the compounds possess features that are likely formed through DA reactions, and most of them are considered to be catalyzed by enzymes that are commonly referred to as Diels-Alderases (DAases). In recent years, especially over the past 10 years or so, we have seen an accumulation of a substantial body of work that substantiates the argument that DAases indeed exist and play a critical role in the biosynthesis of complex metabolites. This review will cover the DAases involved in the biosynthesis of decalin moieties, which are found in many of the medicinally important natural products, especially those produced by fungi. In particular, we will focus on a subset of secondary metabolites referred to as pyrrolidine-2-one-bearing decalin compounds and discuss the decalin ring stereochemistry and the biological activities of those compounds. We will also look into the genes and enzymes that drive the biosynthetic construction of those complex natural products, and highlight the recent progress made on the structural and mechanistic understanding of DAases, especially regarding how those enzymes exert stereochemical control over the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions they catalyze.
Diels-Alder(DA)反应是指一种[4 + 2]环化反应,属于过环反应的范畴。它是一种通过六电子环状过渡态,同时以协同方式构建两个碳-碳键,从而生成六元环结构的反应,具有区域和立体选择性。DA 反应是有机合成中应用最广泛的反应之一,但在过去的四十年中,它在生物系统中的作用一直备受争议。对微生物产生的次级代谢产物的调查强烈表明,许多化合物都具有可能是通过 DA 反应形成的特征,其中大多数被认为是由通常称为 Diels-Alderases (DAases)的酶催化的。近年来,特别是在过去 10 年左右的时间里,我们看到大量研究成果证实了 DAases 确实存在,并且在复杂代谢物的生物合成过程中发挥着关键作用。本综述将介绍参与蜕皮激素生物合成的 DA 酶,它们存在于许多具有重要药用价值的天然产品中,尤其是由真菌生产的产品。我们将特别关注次生代谢物的一个子集,即含有吡咯烷-2-酮的蜕皮素化合物,并讨论这些化合物的蜕皮素环立体化学和生物活性。我们还将研究驱动这些复杂天然产物生物合成构建的基因和酶,并重点介绍对萘烷酶的结构和机理认识的最新进展,特别是这些酶如何对其催化的[4 + 2]环化反应进行立体化学控制。
{"title":"Recent advances in the chemo-biological characterization of decalin natural products and unraveling of the workings of Diels-Alderases.","authors":"Kenji Watanabe, Michio Sato, Hiroyuki Osada","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00139-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40694-022-00139-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Diels-Alder (DA) reaction refers to a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction that falls under the category of pericyclic reactions. It is a reaction that allows regio- and stereo-selective construction of two carbon-carbon bonds simultaneously in a concerted manner to generate a six-membered ring structure through a six-electron cyclic transition state. The DA reaction is one of the most widely applied reactions in organic synthesis, yet its role in biological systems has been debated intensely over the last four decades. A survey of secondary metabolites produced by microorganisms suggests strongly that many of the compounds possess features that are likely formed through DA reactions, and most of them are considered to be catalyzed by enzymes that are commonly referred to as Diels-Alderases (DAases). In recent years, especially over the past 10 years or so, we have seen an accumulation of a substantial body of work that substantiates the argument that DAases indeed exist and play a critical role in the biosynthesis of complex metabolites. This review will cover the DAases involved in the biosynthesis of decalin moieties, which are found in many of the medicinally important natural products, especially those produced by fungi. In particular, we will focus on a subset of secondary metabolites referred to as pyrrolidine-2-one-bearing decalin compounds and discuss the decalin ring stereochemistry and the biological activities of those compounds. We will also look into the genes and enzymes that drive the biosynthetic construction of those complex natural products, and highlight the recent progress made on the structural and mechanistic understanding of DAases, especially regarding how those enzymes exert stereochemical control over the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions they catalyze.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9055775/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43106122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-01DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00137-8
Vera Meyer
The Special Issue "Connecting materials science with fungal biology" celebrates recent breakthroughs in the fabrication of fungal-based materials, all of which have been made possible by the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration of fungal biologists and biotechnologists with artists, designers, materials scientists, and architects. It features conceptual considerations and latest developments of these joint research efforts and the paradigm shift that is involved. The aim of this collection of twelve papers is to highlight the infinite possibilities for the development of innovative fungal-based materials which can be realized through integrating the knowledge and methods from different disciplines.
{"title":"Connecting materials sciences with fungal biology: a sea of possibilities.","authors":"Vera Meyer","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00137-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40694-022-00137-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Special Issue \"Connecting materials science with fungal biology\" celebrates recent breakthroughs in the fabrication of fungal-based materials, all of which have been made possible by the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration of fungal biologists and biotechnologists with artists, designers, materials scientists, and architects. It features conceptual considerations and latest developments of these joint research efforts and the paradigm shift that is involved. The aim of this collection of twelve papers is to highlight the infinite possibilities for the development of innovative fungal-based materials which can be realized through integrating the knowledge and methods from different disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":"9 1","pages":"5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8889637/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"65744062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-24DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00133-y
Carsten Pohl, Bertram Schmidt, Tamara Nunez Guitar, Sophie Klemm, Hans-Jörg Gusovius, Stefan Platzk, Harald Kruggel-Emden, Andre Klunker, Christina Völlmecke, Claudia Fleck, Vera Meyer
Background: Filamentous fungi of the phylum Basidiomycota are considered as an attractive source for the biotechnological production of composite materials. The ability of many basidiomycetes to accept residual lignocellulosic plant biomass from agriculture and forestry such as straw, shives and sawdust as substrates and to bind and glue together these otherwise loose but reinforcing substrate particles into their mycelial network, makes them ideal candidates to produce biological composites to replace petroleum-based synthetic plastics and foams in the near future.
Results: Here, we describe for the first time the application potential of the tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius for lab-scale production of mycelium composites. We used fine, medium and coarse particle fractions of hemp shives and rapeseed straw to produce a set of diverse composite materials and show that the mechanical materials properties are dependent on the nature and particle size of the substrates. Compression tests and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize composite material properties and to model their compression behaviour by numerical simulations. Their properties were compared amongst each other and with the benchmark expanded polystyrene (EPS), a petroleum-based foam used for thermal isolation in the construction industry. Our analyses uncovered that EPS shows an elastic modulus of 2.37 ± 0.17 MPa which is 4-times higher compared to the F. fomentarius composite materials whereas the compressive strength of 0.09 ± 0.003 MPa is in the range of the fungal composite material. However, when comparing the ability to take up compressive forces at higher strain values, the fungal composites performed better than EPS. Hemp-shive based composites were able to resist a compressive force of 0.2 MPa at 50% compression, rapeseed composites 0.3 MPa but EPS only 0.15 MPa.
Conclusion: The data obtained in this study suggest that F. fomentarius constitutes a promising cell factory for the future production of fungal composite materials with similar mechanical behaviour as synthetic foams such as EPS. Future work will focus on designing materials characteristics through optimizing substrate properties, cultivation conditions and by modulating growth and cell wall composition of F. fomentarius, i.e. factors that contribute on the meso- and microscale level to the composite behaviour.
{"title":"Establishment of the basidiomycete Fomes fomentarius for the production of composite materials.","authors":"Carsten Pohl, Bertram Schmidt, Tamara Nunez Guitar, Sophie Klemm, Hans-Jörg Gusovius, Stefan Platzk, Harald Kruggel-Emden, Andre Klunker, Christina Völlmecke, Claudia Fleck, Vera Meyer","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00133-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-022-00133-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Filamentous fungi of the phylum Basidiomycota are considered as an attractive source for the biotechnological production of composite materials. The ability of many basidiomycetes to accept residual lignocellulosic plant biomass from agriculture and forestry such as straw, shives and sawdust as substrates and to bind and glue together these otherwise loose but reinforcing substrate particles into their mycelial network, makes them ideal candidates to produce biological composites to replace petroleum-based synthetic plastics and foams in the near future.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Here, we describe for the first time the application potential of the tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius for lab-scale production of mycelium composites. We used fine, medium and coarse particle fractions of hemp shives and rapeseed straw to produce a set of diverse composite materials and show that the mechanical materials properties are dependent on the nature and particle size of the substrates. Compression tests and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize composite material properties and to model their compression behaviour by numerical simulations. Their properties were compared amongst each other and with the benchmark expanded polystyrene (EPS), a petroleum-based foam used for thermal isolation in the construction industry. Our analyses uncovered that EPS shows an elastic modulus of 2.37 ± 0.17 MPa which is 4-times higher compared to the F. fomentarius composite materials whereas the compressive strength of 0.09 ± 0.003 MPa is in the range of the fungal composite material. However, when comparing the ability to take up compressive forces at higher strain values, the fungal composites performed better than EPS. Hemp-shive based composites were able to resist a compressive force of 0.2 MPa at 50% compression, rapeseed composites 0.3 MPa but EPS only 0.15 MPa.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The data obtained in this study suggest that F. fomentarius constitutes a promising cell factory for the future production of fungal composite materials with similar mechanical behaviour as synthetic foams such as EPS. Future work will focus on designing materials characteristics through optimizing substrate properties, cultivation conditions and by modulating growth and cell wall composition of F. fomentarius, i.e. factors that contribute on the meso- and microscale level to the composite behaviour.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8876124/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39958914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-24DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00134-x
Jeroen G van den Brandhof, Han A B Wösten
Sustainable fungal materials have a high potential to replace non-sustainable materials such as those used for packaging or as an alternative for leather and textile. The properties of fungal materials depend on the type of fungus and substrate, the growth conditions and post-treatment of the material. So far, fungal materials are mainly made with species from the phylum Basidiomycota, selected for the mechanical and physical properties they provide. However, for mycelium materials to be implemented in society on a large scale, selection of fungal species should also be based on a risk assessment of the potential to be pathogenic, form mycotoxins, attract insects, or become an invasive species. Moreover, production processes should be standardized to ensure reproducibility and safety of the product.
{"title":"Risk assessment of fungal materials.","authors":"Jeroen G van den Brandhof, Han A B Wösten","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00134-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40694-022-00134-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sustainable fungal materials have a high potential to replace non-sustainable materials such as those used for packaging or as an alternative for leather and textile. The properties of fungal materials depend on the type of fungus and substrate, the growth conditions and post-treatment of the material. So far, fungal materials are mainly made with species from the phylum Basidiomycota, selected for the mechanical and physical properties they provide. However, for mycelium materials to be implemented in society on a large scale, selection of fungal species should also be based on a risk assessment of the potential to be pathogenic, form mycotoxins, attract insects, or become an invasive species. Moreover, production processes should be standardized to ensure reproducibility and safety of the product.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8876125/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39655176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-17DOI: 10.1186/s40694-022-00132-z
Katherine Williams, Kate M J de Mattos-Shipley, Christine L Willis, Andrew M Bailey
Maleidrides are a family of structurally related fungal natural products, many of which possess diverse, potent bioactivities. Previous identification of several maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters, and subsequent experimental work, has determined the 'core' set of genes required to construct the characteristic medium-sized alicyclic ring with maleic anhydride moieties. Through genome mining, this work has used these core genes to discover ten entirely novel putative maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters, amongst both publicly available genomes, and encoded within the genome of the previously un-sequenced epiheveadride producer Wicklowia aquatica CBS 125634. We have undertaken phylogenetic analyses and comparative bioinformatics on all known and putative maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters to gain further insights regarding these unique biosynthetic pathways.
顺丁烯二酸酐是一系列结构相关的真菌天然产物,其中许多具有多种强效生物活性。之前对几个马来酸酐生物合成基因簇的鉴定以及随后的实验工作确定了构建具有马来酸酐分子特征的中型脂环所需的 "核心 "基因。通过基因组挖掘,这项工作利用这些核心基因在公开的基因组中发现了十个全新的马来酸酐生物合成基因簇,并在以前未测序的表海葵生产者 Wicklowia aquatica CBS 125634 的基因组中进行了编码。我们对所有已知和推测的马来酰胺ride 生物合成基因簇进行了系统进化分析和比较生物信息学研究,以进一步了解这些独特的生物合成途径。
{"title":"In silico analyses of maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters.","authors":"Katherine Williams, Kate M J de Mattos-Shipley, Christine L Willis, Andrew M Bailey","doi":"10.1186/s40694-022-00132-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40694-022-00132-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maleidrides are a family of structurally related fungal natural products, many of which possess diverse, potent bioactivities. Previous identification of several maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters, and subsequent experimental work, has determined the 'core' set of genes required to construct the characteristic medium-sized alicyclic ring with maleic anhydride moieties. Through genome mining, this work has used these core genes to discover ten entirely novel putative maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters, amongst both publicly available genomes, and encoded within the genome of the previously un-sequenced epiheveadride producer Wicklowia aquatica CBS 125634. We have undertaken phylogenetic analyses and comparative bioinformatics on all known and putative maleidride biosynthetic gene clusters to gain further insights regarding these unique biosynthetic pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":"9 1","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8851701/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10841697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-10DOI: 10.1186/s40694-021-00130-7
Sunanda Sharma, Vera Meyer
Background: Biological pigmentation is one of the most intriguing traits of many fungi. It holds significance to scientists, as a sign of biochemical metabolism and organism-environment interaction, and to artists, as the source of natural colors that capture the beauty of the microbial world. Furthermore, the functional roles and aesthetic appeal of biological pigmentation may be a path to inspiring human empathy for microorganisms, which is key to understanding and preserving microbial biodiversity. A project focused on cross-species empathy was initiated and conducted as part of an artist-in-residence program in 2021. The aim of this residency is to bridge the current divide between science and art through interdisciplinary practice focused on fungi.
Results: The residency resulted in multiple products that are designed for artistic and scientific audiences with the central theme of biological pigmentation in fungi and other microorganisms. The first product is a video artwork that focuses on Aspergillus niger as a model organism that produces melanin pigment in a biosynthetic process similar to that of humans. The growth and morphology of this commonplace organism are displayed through video, photo, animation, and time-lapse footage, inviting the viewer to examine the likenesses and overlaps between humans and fungi. The second product is The Living Color Database, an online compendium of biological colors for scientists, artists, and designers. It links organisms across the tree of life, focusing on fungi, bacteria, and archaea, and the colors they express through biological pigmentation. Each pigment is represented in terms of its chemistry, its related biosynthesis, and its color expressions according to different indices: HEX, RGB, and Pantone. It is available at color.bio.
Conclusions: As fungal biotechnology continues to mature into new application areas, it is as important as ever that there is human empathy for these organisms to promote the preservation and appreciation of fungal biodiversity. The products presented here provide paths for artists, scientists, and designers to understand microorganisms through the lens of color, promoting interspecies empathy through research, teaching, and practice.
背景:生物色素沉着是许多真菌最有趣的特征之一。对科学家来说,它是生化代谢和生物与环境相互作用的标志,对艺术家来说,它是捕捉微生物世界之美的自然色彩的来源。此外,生物色素的功能作用和美学吸引力可能是激发人类对微生物的同理心的途径,这是理解和保护微生物多样性的关键。2021年,作为驻场艺术家项目的一部分,一个专注于跨物种同理心的项目启动并实施。本次驻留的目的是通过专注于真菌的跨学科实践来弥合目前科学与艺术之间的鸿沟。结果:驻留产生了多种产品,为艺术和科学观众设计,中心主题是真菌和其他微生物的生物色素沉着。第一个产品是一个视频艺术作品,重点介绍黑曲霉作为一种模式生物,在类似于人类的生物合成过程中产生黑色素。通过视频、照片、动画和延时镜头展示了这种常见生物的生长和形态,邀请观众检查人类和真菌之间的相似性和重叠。第二个产品是The Living Color Database,这是一个面向科学家、艺术家和设计师的生物颜色在线纲要。它将生命之树上的生物联系起来,重点关注真菌、细菌和古细菌,以及它们通过生物色素沉着表达的颜色。每一种色素都是根据其化学性质、相关的生物合成以及不同的指数(HEX、RGB和Pantone)来表示颜色的。结论:随着真菌生物技术在新的应用领域的不断成熟,人类对这些生物的同情对于促进真菌生物多样性的保护和欣赏同样重要。这里展示的产品为艺术家、科学家和设计师提供了通过颜色来理解微生物的途径,通过研究、教学和实践促进物种间的同理心。
{"title":"The colors of life: an interdisciplinary artist-in-residence project to research fungal pigments as a gateway to empathy and understanding of microbial life.","authors":"Sunanda Sharma, Vera Meyer","doi":"10.1186/s40694-021-00130-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40694-021-00130-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Biological pigmentation is one of the most intriguing traits of many fungi. It holds significance to scientists, as a sign of biochemical metabolism and organism-environment interaction, and to artists, as the source of natural colors that capture the beauty of the microbial world. Furthermore, the functional roles and aesthetic appeal of biological pigmentation may be a path to inspiring human empathy for microorganisms, which is key to understanding and preserving microbial biodiversity. A project focused on cross-species empathy was initiated and conducted as part of an artist-in-residence program in 2021. The aim of this residency is to bridge the current divide between science and art through interdisciplinary practice focused on fungi.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The residency resulted in multiple products that are designed for artistic and scientific audiences with the central theme of biological pigmentation in fungi and other microorganisms. The first product is a video artwork that focuses on Aspergillus niger as a model organism that produces melanin pigment in a biosynthetic process similar to that of humans. The growth and morphology of this commonplace organism are displayed through video, photo, animation, and time-lapse footage, inviting the viewer to examine the likenesses and overlaps between humans and fungi. The second product is The Living Color Database, an online compendium of biological colors for scientists, artists, and designers. It links organisms across the tree of life, focusing on fungi, bacteria, and archaea, and the colors they express through biological pigmentation. Each pigment is represented in terms of its chemistry, its related biosynthesis, and its color expressions according to different indices: HEX, RGB, and Pantone. It is available at color.bio.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>As fungal biotechnology continues to mature into new application areas, it is as important as ever that there is human empathy for these organisms to promote the preservation and appreciation of fungal biodiversity. The products presented here provide paths for artists, scientists, and designers to understand microorganisms through the lens of color, promoting interspecies empathy through research, teaching, and practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":52292,"journal":{"name":"Fungal Biology and Biotechnology","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8744264/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39897733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}