Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that include both unicellular and multicellular species. They have a worldwide distribution and a wide range of applications in diverse sectors, from environmental, food and medicine to biotechnological innovations. Fungal biochemical genetics involves the study of the relationships between genome, proteome and metabolome, and the underlying molecular processes in both native and bioengineered fungi. This book provides a valuable resource on the challenges and potential of fungal biotechnology and related bioengineering and functional diversity for various industrial applications in the food, environmental, bioenergy and biorefining, and the biopharma sectors. In comparison to previous and related publications in the area of applied myco-biotech-engineering, this book bridges a knowledge gap in the areas related to prospects and investment as well as intellectual and technical issues. This book also provides information on recent commercial and economic interests in the area by juxtaposing the developments achieved in recent worldwide research and its many challenges.

Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that include both unicellular and multicellular species. They have a worldwide distribution and a wide range of applications in diverse sectors, from environmental, food and medicine to biotechnological innovations. Fungal biochemical genetics involves the study of the relationships between genome, proteome and metabolome, and the underlying molecular processes in both native and bioengineered fungi. This book provides a valuable resource on the challenges and potential of fungal biotechnology and related bioengineering and functional diversity for various industrial applications in the food, environmental, bioenergy and biorefining, and the biopharma sectors. In comparison to previous and related publications in the area of applied myco-biotech-engineering, this book bridges a knowledge gap in the areas related to prospects and investment as well as intellectual and technical issues. This book also provides information on recent commercial and economic interests in the area by juxtaposing the developments achieved in recent worldwide research and its many challenges.

Petroleum polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous environmental pollutants, and PAH exposure causes public health risks and raises environmental concerns. While it has been demonstrated that PAHs could be degraded by many bacterial isolates, little is known about PAH degradation by yeast, especially for high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs. In this study, the performance of isolated yeast strains to degrade HMW-PAHs was investigated in liquid culture, slurry reactor and different biological wastewater treatment systems. The meta- genomics techniques such as fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), 16S r RNA gene clone libraries and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified 16S and 26S rRNA genes were used to study microbial structure dynamics. Variations of some functional genes (nahAc & C230) responsible for the degradation of aromatic compounds were also followed. The book is important for both students and researchers wishing to increase their understanding in the field of petroleum biodegradation and environmental meta-genome biotechnology.