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Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential
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Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 5900

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Venturella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Interests: fungal diversity; cultivation; Pleurotus; medicinal mushrooms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi have the ability to transform organic materials into a rich and diverse set of useful products and have provided distinct opportunities for tackling urgent challenges before human existence. Fungal biotechnology can advance the transition from our petroleum-based economy into a bio-based circular economy, and has the ability to sustainably produce resilient sources of food, feed, chemicals, fuels, textiles, and materials for construction, motorized and transportation industries, for furniture, and beyond. Many fungi are major players in the degradation and recycling of various wastes and complex biopolymers, derived either from natural sources or anthropogenic activities. They are usually saprotroph-excreting enzymes in their environment, degrading their substrate before using it as a source of nutrients for their growth and development. A large number of these mushrooms are white-rot fungi, a significant group of wood-decaying organisms whose highly potent enzymatic resource has been extensively exploited for the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into various value-added products. The understanding of such biotechnological processes has resulted in the mass production of edible mushrooms from various plant residues and agro-industrial wastes. Vegetable and fruit processing biowastes in the food industry normally consist of proteins, sugars, fibers, and lipids, along with vitamins and other bioactive agents and, therefore, they could be cheap and abundant sources of chemicals, biomaterials, and substrates for tailored biotechnological production. Indeed, the given origin, biodegradability, and nontoxicity of these biowastes and the use of microbial fermentation followed by specific recovery procedures allow for the creation of several value-added products of special interest (food, feed, biofuels, enzymes, organic acids, pharmaceutical compounds, dietary supplements, etc.). White-rot basidiomycetes synthesize a variety of cellulases and hemicellulases that catalyze the hydrolysis of the plant polysaccharides to sugars in order to ensure microorganisms with carbon and energy sources for sustainable growth. These hydrolytic enzymes are of fundamental importance for the efficient bioconversion of raw plant materials and for various biotechnological applications. It is estimated that a large number of wild and cultivated edible mushrooms contain functional “nutraceutical” or medicinal properties, and they are a very important source of some novel dietary fibers with various health benefits to humans. The “mushroom nutriceuticals” are extractable, for example, from fungal mycelium, sclerotia, spores powder, basidiomata, or ascomata, and represent an important component of the mushroom biotechnology industry. This Special Issue aims to collect scientific contributions from researchers working on biotechnological applications of fungi in a circular economy model.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Venturella
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • white-rot fungi
  • circular economy
  • biotechnology
  • bioconversion
  • edible mushrooms

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 4546 KiB  
Article
The Conservation and Study of Macromycetes in the Komarov Botanical Institute Basidiomycetes Culture Collection—Their Taxonomical Diversity and Biotechnological Prospects
by Nadezhda V. Psurtseva, Anna A. Kiyashko, Svetlana V. Senik, Natalya V. Shakhova and Nina V. Belova
J. Fungi 2023, 9(12), 1196; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121196 - 14 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1345
Abstract
Culture collections (CCs) play an important role in the ex situ conservation of biological material and maintaining species and strains, which can be used for scientific and practical purposes. The Komarov Botanical Institute Basidiomycetes Culture Collection (LE-BIN) preserves a large number of original [...] Read more.
Culture collections (CCs) play an important role in the ex situ conservation of biological material and maintaining species and strains, which can be used for scientific and practical purposes. The Komarov Botanical Institute Basidiomycetes Culture Collection (LE-BIN) preserves a large number of original dikaryon strains of various taxonomical and ecological groups of fungi from different geographical regions. Started in the late 1950s for the investigation of Basidiomycetes’ biological activity, today, in Russia, it has become a unique specialized macromycetes collection, preserving 3680 strains from 776 species of fungi. The Collection’s development is aimed at ex situ conservation of fungal diversity, with an emphasis on preserving rare and endangered species, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and strains useful for biotechnology and medicine. The main methods applied in the collection for maintaining and working with cultures are described, and the results are presented. Some problems for the isolation and cultivation of species are discussed. The taxonomical structure and variety of the strains in the collection fund are analyzed, and they show that the taxonomical diversity of fungi in the LE-BIN is commensurable with the largest CCs in the world. The achievements from the ex situ conservation of the diversity of macromycetes and the main results from the screening and investigation of the collection’s strains demonstrate that a number of strains can be prospective producers of enzymes (oxidoreductases and proteases), lipids, and biologically active compounds (terpenoids, phthalides, etc.) for biotechnology and medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential)
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11 pages, 2870 KiB  
Article
Solid-State Fermentation with White Rot Fungi (Pleurotus Species) Improves the Chemical Composition of Highland Barley Straw as a Ruminant Feed and Enhances In Vitro Rumen Digestibility
by Yuqiong Wang, Changlong Gou, Liming Chen, Yangci Liao, Hang Zhang, Lilong Luo, Jiahang Ji and Yu Qi
J. Fungi 2023, 9(12), 1156; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121156 - 30 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1054
Abstract
Lignin degradation is important for enhancing the digestibility and improving the nutritive quality of ruminant feeds. White rot fungi are well known for their bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass. The objective of this paper was to evaluate whether Lentinus sajor-caju, Pleurotus ostreatus, [...] Read more.
Lignin degradation is important for enhancing the digestibility and improving the nutritive quality of ruminant feeds. White rot fungi are well known for their bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass. The objective of this paper was to evaluate whether Lentinus sajor-caju, Pleurotus ostreatus, Phyllotopsis rhodophylla, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus eryngii, and Pleurotus citrinopileatus treatments altered the chemical compositions of highland barley straw constituents and enhanced their nutritional value as a ruminant feed. All white rot fungi significantly increased the relative crude protein (CP), ethyl ether extract (EE), starch, soluble protein (SP), and non-protein nitrogen (NPN) contents but decreased the ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and acid detergent insoluble protein (ADFIP) contents. In addition, L. sajor-caju treatment increased (p < 0.001) the levels of PA, PB2, PB3, CA, CB1, CB2, and CNSC, but reduced (p < 0.001) the PC and CC in the solid-state fermentation of highland barley straw. Maximum ligninlysis (50.19%) was optimally produced in the presence of 1.53% glucose and 2.29% urea at 22.72 ℃. The in vitro dry matter digestibility and total volatile fatty acid concentrations of fermented highland barley straw, as well as the fermentability, were optimized and improved with L. sajor-caju, which degraded the lignocellulose and improved the nutritional value of highland barley straw as a ruminant feed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential)
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13 pages, 1225 KiB  
Article
Technological and Organoleptic Parameters of Craft Beer Fortified with Powder of the Culinary–Medicinal Mushroom Pleurotus eryngii
by Fortunato Cirlincione, Antonino Pirrone, Ignazio Maria Gugino, Aldo Todaro, Vincenzo Naselli, Nicola Francesca, Antonio Alfonzo, Giulia Mirabile, Valeria Ferraro, Gaetano Balenzano and Maria Letizia Gargano
J. Fungi 2023, 9(10), 1000; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9101000 - 9 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1346
Abstract
Beer is one of the oldest and most popular alcoholic beverages and is currently consumed worldwide. The various components used in the brewing process have a physiological impact on the consumer and current research aims to improve its technological and functional properties through [...] Read more.
Beer is one of the oldest and most popular alcoholic beverages and is currently consumed worldwide. The various components used in the brewing process have a physiological impact on the consumer and current research aims to improve its technological and functional properties through the addition of natural compounds (plants or mushrooms). In this work, the addition of two different amounts (5 and 10 g/L) of Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii in powder form added at different production stages (PRE and POST alcoholic fermentation) showed the improvement in yeast viability during the alcoholic fermentation, increased the alcoholic content, and improved the sensorial profile. Regarding the organoleptic profile in the experimental samples, cocoa/chocolate and mushroom aromas were found and the samples PRE10 and POST5 received the best ratings with respect to all evaluated parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential)
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15 pages, 6860 KiB  
Article
First Record of the Edible Mushroom Lepista sordida in Western Algerian Forest: Nutritional Value and Physicochemical Parameters of Mycelial Culture
by Yousra Alim, Warda Sidhoum and Soulef Dib
J. Fungi 2023, 9(8), 858; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9080858 - 17 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1510
Abstract
The exploration of the western forests of Algeria led to the remarkable discovery of the first occurrence of Lepista sordida, an edible wild mushroom of significant culinary importance for the local community, traditionally consumed in its natural state. This discovery was made [...] Read more.
The exploration of the western forests of Algeria led to the remarkable discovery of the first occurrence of Lepista sordida, an edible wild mushroom of significant culinary importance for the local community, traditionally consumed in its natural state. This discovery was made possible through the use of various methods, including macroscopic observations (revealing a violet color) as well as microscopic observations conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealing a cylindrical shape with distinct contours. Additionally, molecular analyses were conducted. Genomic DNA was extracted from the mycelium, followed by DNA amplification using specific primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1 and ITS2). After PCR reactions and sequencing of the obtained amplicons, the nucleotide sequences of the mycelium were submitted to the GenBank database of NCBI with the assigned accession number: MZ928450.1. These sequences were subsequently used to construct the phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, an in-depth study of physicochemical parameters was undertaken to determine the optimal conditions for cultivating the mycelium of this edible wild mushroom, including pH, temperature, relative humidity, and light. Different temperatures were examined: 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C. The effect of pH on mycelium growth was studied using a PDA agar medium with buffered values of 4, 5, 5.6, 6, 7, and 8. Similarly, six levels of relative humidity were tested: 14, 50, 74, 80, 95, and 100%. A study on the impact of light on mycelium growth was conducted by exposing Petri dishes inoculated with PDA to a light intensity of 500 lux for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 24 h. The results clearly demonstrated that variations in these different physicochemical parameters significantly influenced mycelium growth. For the Lepista sordida strain, growth was favored at pH levels of 4, 5, 6, and 6, with no growth observed at pH 7 and 8. The optimal temperature range for mycelium growth of Lepista sordida was 20–25 °C, while no growth was observed at 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C. Relative humidity levels of 74, 80, and 95% showed no significant differences. Optimization of mycelium growth and primordia production in Lepista sordida were successfully achieved. Optimal conditions for the primordia phase were identified as 25 °C, with humidity ranging from 90 to 95%. A nutritional analysis of fresh sporophores was conducted using established analytical methods. Notably, the nutritional composition of Lepista sordida sporophores exhibited high significance for the following parameters: moisture content (67.23 ± 1.90%), ash content (9.35 ± 0.66%), fat content (3.25 ± 0.24%), protein content (17.22 ± 0.38%), and carbohydrate content (63.83 ± 1.23%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromycetes: Diversity and Biotechnological Potential)
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