I. Biodiversity, Ecology, Genetics and Physiology of Extremophilic Fungi
Chapter 1.
Biodiversity and ecology of extremophilic fungi in natural CO2 springs
Irena Maček
Chapter 2.
Eukaryotic life in extreme environments: acidophilic fungi
Angeles Aguilera and Elena González-Toril
Chapter 3.
Ecology of thermophilic fungi
Tássio Brito de Oliveira1 and Andre Rodrigues
Chapter 4.
New perspectives on the distribution and roles of thermophilic fungi
Miriam I. Hutchinson, Amy J. Powell, José Herrera and Donald O. Natvig
Chapter 5.
Ecology and biotechnology of thermophilic/thermotolerant fungi on crops under global warming
Robert Russell M. Paterson and Nelson Lima
Chapter 6.
Soil microfungi of Israeli deserts: adaptations to environmental stress
Isabella Grishkan
Chapter 7.
Extremotolerant fungi from lichens and rocks
Claudio Gennaro Ametrano, Lucia Muggia and Martin Grube
Chapter 8.
Antarctic basidiomycetous yeast
Masaharu Tsuji, Sakae Kudoh, and Tamotsu Hoshino
Chapter 9.
Adaptation mechanisms and applications of psychrophilic fungi
Muhammad Rafiq, Noor Hassan, Maliha Rehman, and Fariha Hasan
Chapter 10.
Melanin and resistance to ionizing radiation in fungi
Mackenzie E. Malo and Ekaterina Dadachova
Chapter 11.
Fungi in biofilms of highly acidic soils
Martina Hujslová and Milan Gryndler
Chapter 12.
Global Proteomics of Extremophile Fungi: Mission Accomplished?
Donatella Tesei, Katja Sterflinger and Gorji Marzban
II. Biotechnological Applications of Extremophilic Fungi
Chapter 13.
Yeast thriving in cold terrestrial habitats: Biodiversity and industrial/biotechnological applications
Marcelo Baeza, Oriana Flores, Jennifer Alcaíno, and Víctor Cifuentes
Chapter 14.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnological application of thermophilic fungi
Shyam Prasad Gurram
Chapter 15.
Biotechnological applications of halophilic fungi; past, present and future
Imran Ali, Samira Khaliq, Sumbal Sajid, and Ali Akbar
Chapter 16.
Biotechnological applications of xylanases from thermophilic fungi Sporotrichum thermophile
Ayesha Sadaf, Syeda Warisul Fatima and Sunil K. Khare
III. Biosynthesis of Novel Biomolecules and Extremozymes
Chapter 17.
Diversity and biotechnological applications of deep-sea fungi
Muhammad Zain Ul Arifeen, Ya-Rong Xue, and Chang-Hong Liu
Chapter 18
Bioactive compounds from marine extremophilic fungi
Lesley-Ann Giddings and David Newman
Chapter 19
Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles by Halotolerant Fungi
Sonia Tiquia-Arashiro
Chapter 20
Cellulases from thermophilic fungi: Recent Insights and Biotechnological Potential
Duo-Chuan Li and Anastassios C. Papageorgiou
Chapter 21.
β-Galactosidases from an acidophilic fungus, Teratosphaeria acidotherma AIU BGA-1
Kimiyasu Isobe and Miwa Yamada
Chapter 22.
Fungi from extreme environments: A potential source of laccases group of extremozymes
Om Prakash, Kapil Mahabare, Krishna Kumar Yadav, and Rohit Sharma
IV. Bioenergy and Biofuel synthesis
Chapter 23.
Lignocellulose Degrading Thermophilic Fungi and Their Prospects in Natural Rubber Extraction from Plants
Shomaila Sikandar, Imran Afzal, Naeem Ali, and Katrina Cornish
Chapter 24.
Thermophilic fungi and their enzymes for biorefineries
Abha Sharma, Anamika Sharma, Surender Singh, Ramesh Chander Kuhad and Lata Nain
V. Bioremediation and Biosolids Treatment
Chapter 25.
Acidomyces acidophilus: Ecology, biochemical properties, and application to bioremediation
Wai Kit Chan, Dirk Wildeboer, Hemda Garelick and Diane Purchase
Chapter 26.
Bioremediation abilities of Antarctic fungi
María Martha Martorell, Lucas Adolfo Mauro Ruberto, Lucía Inés Figueroa de Castellanos, and Walter Patricio Mac Cormack
Chapter 27
Haloalkaliphilic fungi and their roles in the treatment of saline-alkali soil
Yi Wei and Shi-Hong Zhang
Chapter 28
Potential role of extremophilic fungus for extra-heavy crude oil bioconversion and the sustainable development of the petroleum industry
Leopoldo Naranjo-Briceño, Beatriz Pernia, Trigal Perdomo, Meralys González, Ysvic Inojosa, Ángela De Sisto, Hector Urbina, Vladimir León
Chapter 29
Thermophilic Fungi: Their Role in Composting and Industrial Processes
Sonia Tiquia-Arashiro
Sonia Tiquia-Arashiro is an Environmental Microbiologist and a Professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Her research focuses on microbial ecology, physiology and diversity, especially regarding the nitrogen cycle and biodegradation of environmental pollutants and the biotechnological applications of microorganisms. She served as Director the Master of Science in Environmental Science Program from 2011 to 2017 and currently serves as Chair of Microbiology at UM-Dearborn. She is the regional editor of the journal Environmental Technology and leads a large research laboratory with many undergraduate scholars.
Martin Grube is a professor at the Institute of Biologie, Graz, Austria. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Graz in 1995 for his work on taxonomy of tropical lichens and lichen-inhabiting fungi. He pioneered molecular phylogenetics of lichens and also studied of algal selectivity in lichens symbioses. Later he focused on the diversity and roles of bacterial communities in lichen symbioses. His research interests also include diversity studies of rock-inhabiting extremotolerant fungi, biological soil crusts, plant-associated microbiomes, and slime molds.
Over the last decades, scientists have been intrigued by the fascinating organisms that inhabit extreme environments. These organisms, known as extremophiles, thrive in habitats which for other terrestrial life-forms are intolerably hostile or even lethal. Based on such technological advances, the study of extremophiles has provided, over the last few years, ground-breaking discoveries that challenge the paradigms of modern biology. In the new bioeconomy, fungi in general, play a very important role in addressing major global challenges, being instrumental for improved resource efficiency, making renewable substitutes for products from fossil resources, upgrading waste streams to valuable food and feed ingredients, counteracting life-style diseases and antibiotic resistance through strengthening the gut biota, making crop plants more robust to survive climate change conditions, and functioning as host organisms for production of new biological drugs. This range of new uses of fungi all stand on the shoulders of the efforts of mycologists over generations.
The book is organized in five parts: (I) Biodiversity, Ecology, Genetics and Physiology of Extremophilic Fungi, (II) Biosynthesis of Novel Biomolecules and Extremozymes (III) Bioenergy and Biofuel synthesis, and (IV) Wastewater and biosolids treatment, and (V) Bioremediation.