Fungi have both positive and negative impacts on humans. Positively, fungi have been used for thousands of years to produce important foods and beverages like bread, cheese, wine and beer. They have also been used for medicine, food production, pollution control and more. Present uses of fungi include producing edible mushrooms, alcoholic beverages, dairy products, antibiotics, enzymes and organic acids on an industrial scale. Future applications are expected to include using fungi genetically engineered for new food production, improved metabolic product generation, microbial leaching, biological pest control and environmental protection.

1. Chapter 9
Fungi in Biotechnology. Past, Present and Future.
• Biotechnology – use of organisms for production of biomass or metabolites on
an industrial scale
• Biotechnology involves and interconnects fields of Biology, Economics, kinetics
and process management
• Fungi and Man
• in relation to man fungi may considered as Foe or as Friend
• Foe (Negative action of fungi )
A. Spoilage- cause spoilage of natural substrates and man made substrates
B. Pathogens- cause diseases to plants, humans and animals
C. Toxin production- poisoning by consumption of poisonous mushrooms
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2. • Friend (Positive action of fungi)
A. Mineralization – by degrading organic material
B. Mycorrhiza
C. Food and Fodder
D. Medicine
E. Science and Research
F. Biological control of pathogens
G. Pollution control
9.1. FUNGI IN BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE PAST
i) Early General Uses of Fungi
A. Food – since earliest times
B. Poison
- had been used for poisoning
- for causing artificial abortion (Claviceps purpurea)
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3. C. Medicine
- had been used in gynaecology and other areas
-had been used as medicinal plants
D) Mystical / religious ceremonies
- using of hallucinogenic fungi for these purposes
ii) Early biotechnological processes involving fungi
A) Cheese
- using of fungus to produce cheese
- started after man turned from gatherer and hunter to nomad and
then to farmer
- earliest document was 4000 years ago in Sumeric town of Ur
B) Bread
- using of fungi for bread making
- early document was found in Egypt ,4500 years ago
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4. C) Wine
- Greeks, Jews and Romans known for making wine in
ancient times
- documented in sculptures, painting and written documents
D) Beer
- history of making beer goes back very long time as
illustrated in the ancient Babylon
- Beer and Wine had been used as medicine in ancient Roman
empire
E) Cultivated edible mushrooms
- started more than thousand years ago in Far east
- in middle ages cultivation of mushrooms started
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5. 9.2. Fungi in biotechnology in the present
I) Food – as food fungi presently play an important role
A. Edible mushrooms- production increasing by rising in
demand with decreasing prices
-cultivated nowdays in highly mechanized, automatized and
computerized ways
-Cultivation requires cheap substrates, no arable land
- Edible mushrooms are good in vitamins, minerals and has
excellent flavour
B. Biomass – production of organic matter derived from fungus
-Can be used as food, fuel
- produced at compatible prices
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6. • II) Production of food and fodder
A) Alcoholic beverages
Production of alcoholic beverages (wine and beer) by fungus from
improved grapes
B) Milk products
Producing different types of product from milk by using fungus
III Metabolic Products
A. Alcohol
-Fungal product of major importance ( used in beverages, used in
medicine)
- B. Steroids- includes hormones, alkaloids and vitamins
productions from fungus
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7. C. Antibiotics
-Sir Alexandeer Fleming in 1928 discovered first antibiotic,
penicillin , from fungus
- fungi produce quarter of the total produced antibiotics
- New antibiotics are looked and found
D. Enzymes
- number of fungal enzymes are produced commercially
- used for variety of applications like
--biochemical analysis
--medical diagnosis
-- food processing
E. Organic acids, amino acids, nucleic acids
- production of these products are increasing
- among o.a. citric acid is leading
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8. 9.3. Fungi in Biotechnology in the future
-Many biotechnological uses of fungi are expected to continue at
increased rate
- new application will be added
A. Food
-Using new fungi for production of new food
B. Metabolic Products
- New, better and more metabolites will be produced by fungal
species
-Some fungus will be modified by genetic engineering
C. Genetic Engineering
- production of a better species of fungi
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9. D. Microbial leaching
- using of fungus for extraction of minerals
E. Biological Control
-using of fungus to control fungal diseases
F. Environment protection
- fungus used for degradation of complex compounds like lignin
G. Research
- In the future fungi will be involved in research
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