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.

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

Biological and chemical diversity go hand in hand: Basidiomycota as source of new pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.

The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity and variability of bacterial communities associated with the marine sponge Halichondria panicea with respect to tissue compartmentalization as well as seasonal and small-scale geographic variation. Diversity of microorganisms in sponges was investigated recently, but work on the variability and succession of associated bacterial communities is rare. Despite some information on Pacific and Mediterranean sponges, it is still uncertain whether bacteria and sponges are specifically associated. In this study, H. panicea specimens were sampled throughout the year at different stations around the island of Helgoland (North Sea) and investigated using molecular tools. The bacterial community associated with H. panicea was diverse, consisting of one denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) band occurring in most 'tissue' samples and additional variable bands. Variability was observed between different sponge fractions (i.e. the aquiferous system and the 'tissue'), sampling locations, and sampling dates. A PCR-DGGE specific for the Roseobacter group of marine Alphaproteobacteria displayed low diversity and a marked similarity between all samples. Phylogenetic analysis also pointed to specific Alphaproteobacteria of the Roseobacter group, which was predominant in most sponge 'tissue' samples. We conclude that H. panicea harbour a specific Roseobacter population with varying bacterial co-populations occurring seasonally or on a small-scale geographically, sometimes even dominating the bacterial community.

Bacterial diversity in the breadcrumb sponge Halichondria panicea (Pallas)

The proximate composition, vitamin C, I±-tocopherol, dietary fibers, minerals, fatty acid and amino acid profiles of three tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii (Rhodophyta), Caulerpa lentillifera (Chlorophyta) and Sargassum polycystum (Phaeophyta) were studied. The seaweeds were high in ash (37.15â€“46.19%) and dietary fibers (25.05â€“39.67%) and low in lipid content (0.29â€“1.11%) on dry weight (DW) basis. These seaweeds contained 12.01â€“15.53% macro-minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg) and 7.53â€“71.53 mg.100 gâˆ’1 trace minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Se and I). The crude protein content of E. cottonii (9.76% DW) and C. lentillifera (10.41% DW) were higher than that of S. polycystum (5.4% DW), and protein chemical scores are between 20 and 67%. The PUFA content of E. cottonii was 51.55%, C. lentillifera 16.76% and S. polycystum 20.34%. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), accounted for 24.98% of all fatty acids in E. cottonii.
These seaweeds have significant vitamin C (âˆ¼35 mg.100 gâˆ’1) and I±-tocopherol (5.85â€“11.29 mg.100 gâˆ’1) contents.

Nutrient content of tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii, Caulerpa lentillifera and Sargassum polycystum. J Appl Phycol

Strobilurins from fungi are the inspiration for the creation of the β-methoxyacrylate class of agricultural fungicides However, molecular details of the biosynthesis of strobilurins have remained cryptic Here we report the sequence of genomes of two fungi that produce strobilurins and show that each contains a biosynthetic gene cluster, which encodes a highly reducing polyketide synthase with very unusual C-terminal hydrolase and methyltransferase domains Expression of stpks1 in Aspergillus oryzae leads to the production of prestrobilurin A when the fermentation is supplemented with a benzoyl coenzyme A (CoA) analogue This enables the discovery of a previously unobserved route to benzoyl CoA Reconstruction of the gene cluster in A oryzae leads to the formation of prestrobilurin A, and addition of the gene str9 encoding an FAD-dependent oxygenase leads to the key oxidative rearrangement responsible for the creation of the β-methoxyacrylate toxophore Finally, two methyltransferases are required to complete the synthesis

/pdf/strobilurin-biosynthesis-in-basidiomycete-fungi-4ctdf3xp8x.pdf

Strobilurin biosynthesis in Basidiomycete fungi

The 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase (KAS) III proteins are one of the most abundant enzymes in nature, as they are involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids and natural products. KAS III enzymes catalyse a carbon-carbon bond formation reaction that involves the α-carbon of a thioester and the carbonyl carbon of another thioester. In addition to the typical KAS III enzymes involved in fatty acid and polyketide biosynthesis, there are proteins homologous to KAS III enzymes that catalyse reactions that are different from that of the traditional KAS III enzymes. Those include enzymes that are responsible for a head-to-head condensation reaction, the formation of acetoacetyl-CoA in mevalonate biosynthesis, tailoring processes via C-O bond formation or esterification, as well as amide formation. This review article highlights the diverse reactions catalysed by this class of enzymes and their role in natural product biosynthesis.

3-Ketoacyl-ACP synthase (KAS) III homologues and their roles in natural product biosynthesis

Marine microorganism is one of biologically active potential resources of secondary metabolites. Its potency areso promising that the knowledge of how its secondary metabolite occured need to be studied and collected. Thoseknowledges will enable further study is improving secondary metabolite production in the laboratory. In nature,secondary metabolites synthesis occur when there are effect of both biotic and abiotic factors such as sea waterand microbe symbiosis with other living materials. When this is explained in metabolic pathways, secondarymetabolite synthesis affected by available nutrient and regulated by autoinducer molecules through quorum sensingmechanism

https://natur.ejournal.unri.ac.id/index.php/JN/article/download/93/87

Urgensi dan Mekanisme Biosintesis Metabolit Sekunder Mikroba Laut

The strobilurins are important antifungal metabolites isolated from a number of basidiomycetes and have been valuable leads for the development of commercially important fungicides Isotopic labelling studies with early and advanced intermediates confirm for the first time that they are produced via a linear tetraketide, primed with the rare benzoate starter unit, itself derived from phenylalanine via cinnamate Isolation of a novel biphenyl metabolite, pseudostrobilurin B, provides evidence for the involvement of an epoxide in the key rearrangement to form the β-methoxyacrylate moiety essential for biological activity Formation of two bolineol related metabolites, strobilurins Y and Z, also probably involves epoxide intermediates Time course studies indicate a likely biosynthetic pathway from strobilurin A, with the simplest non-subsubstituted benzoate ring, to strobilurin G with a complex dioxepin terpenoid-derived substituent Precursor-directed biosynthetic studies allow production of a number of novel ring-halogenated analogues as well as a new pyridyl strobilurin These studies also provide evidence for a non-linear biosynthetic relationship between strobilurin A and strobilurin B

/pdf/investigations-into-the-biosynthesis-of-the-antifungal-259an0j5rq.pdf

Investigations into the biosynthesis of the antifungal strobilurins

Caulerpa lentillifera is an edible and functional seaweed due to its high nutritional compositions and its biological activities.  In this study, C . lentillifera was evaluated for its proximate compositions (moisture, ash, protein, lipid and fiber contents) and its biological activities (antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, and toxicity). Moisture content, crude lipid, crude protein, and crude fiber were determined using oven method, soxhlet extraction, semi-micro Kjeldhal, and hydrolysis, respectively.  Fresh C . lentillifera of Natuna Island, Indonesia, showed its higher level content of ash, crude lipid, and crude fiber compared to that of fresh C . lentillifera of Penghu, Taiwan.  For its biological activity assays, the extracts were prepared from fresh and dry C . lentillifera (FC and DC).  Both of the extracts showed the broad spectrum of weak antimicrobial using well-diffusion agar tests and antioxidant activities using a modified linoleic acid emulsion system.  The toxicity for both extracts was determined using brine shrimp lethality test.  DC extract showed its very low toxicity level and there was no toxicity for FC.  Hemolytic activity was determined using red blood assay.  Both extracts showed their low hemolytic activities (about 5-13%) for the concentration of 100 and 150 μg/mL, but the activity increased sharply (about 96%) on the concentration of 200 μg/mL.  It was concluded that C . lentillifera has a potency as a functional food due to containing secondary metabolites with various biological activities.

/pdf/proximate-compositions-and-biological-activities-of-caulerpa-376n9rjoam.pdf

Risa Nofiani

Papers

Strobilurin biosynthesis in Basidiomycete fungi

3-Ketoacyl-ACP synthase (KAS) III homologues and their roles in natural product biosynthesis

Urgensi dan Mekanisme Biosintesis Metabolit Sekunder Mikroba Laut

Investigations into the biosynthesis of the antifungal strobilurins

Proximate Compositions and Biological Activities of Caulerpa lentillifera