Gene Expression Systems in Fungi: Advancements and Applications

Biotechnology has emerged as one of the key environmentally safe technologies for the future which enables use of biomass to develop novel smart materials and to replace oil derived products. Fungi are the most efficient producers of the enzymes needed for this purpose and in addition they produce a plethora of secondary metabolites, among which novel antibiotics can be found. Industrial application and exploitation of the metabolic capacities of fungi requires highly productive and robust gene expression systems, which can be achieved by selection of appropriate species and strain improvement. In this book we aim to summarize homologous and heterologous gene expression systems of fungi for production of enzymes and secondary metabolites. A broad overview on requirements, challenges and successful applications shall serve as a basis for further development of fungi as biotechnological workhorses in research and industry.

Biotechnology has emerged as one of the key environmentally safe technologies for the future which enables use of biomass to develop novel smart materials and to replace oil derived products. Fungi are the most efficient producers of the enzymes needed for this purpose and in addition they produce a plethora of secondary metabolites, among which novel antibiotics can be found. Industrial application and exploitation of the metabolic capacities of fungi requires highly productive and robust gene expression systems, which can be achieved by selection of appropriate species and strain improvement. In this book we aim to summarize homologous and heterologous gene expression systems of fungi for production of enzymes and secondary metabolites. A broad overview on requirements, challenges and successful applications shall serve as a basis for further development of fungi as biotechnological workhorses in research and industry.

Gene expression by yeasts versus filamentous fungi – perspectives and challenges.- Ascomycetes as fungal workhorses for industry.- Industrial uses of Zygomycetes.- Biotechnological application of basidiomycetes.- Mining fungal genomes for improvement of gene expression.- Targets of strain improvement in fungi.- Sexual development for strain improvement of fungi.- Using chromatin modification in biotechnology.- Awakening silent clusters for expression secondary metabolites.- High throughput construction of genetically modified fungi.- Regulatory mechanisms in enzyme production by fungi.- Regulatory mechanisms in production of metabolites by fungi.- Production of enzymes and performance proteins in Trichoderma reesei.- Aspergilli – versatile producers of proteins and metabolites.- Fungal gene expression systems for antibiotics production.- Novel fungal gene expression systems for the future of biotechnology.- Designing the ideal production host – strategies and challenges in strain improvement.- Challenges and perspectives in expression of enzymes and performance proteins.- Exploiting natural selection – are novel fungal isolates the future of industrial biotechnology?.- Targeted genetic modification of organisms versus random mutagenesis – will societal acceptance influence industrial strategies?.