Main description:

This book explores the developments in important aspects of fungi related to the environment, industrial mycology, microbiology, biotechnology, and agriculture. It discusses at length both basic and applied aspects of fungi and provides up-to-date laboratory-based data. Of the estimated three million species of fungi on Earth, according to Hawksworth and coworkers, more than 100,000 have been described to date. Many fungi produce toxins, organic acids, antibiotics and other secondary metabolites, and are sources of useful biocatalysts such as cellulases, xylanases, proteases and pectinases, to mention a few. They can also cause diseases in animals as well as plants and many are able to break down complex organic molecules such as lignin and pollutants like xenobiotics, petroleum and polycyclic aromatic compounds. Current research on mushrooms focuses on their hypoglycemic, anti-cancer, anti-pathogenic and immunity-enhancing activities. This ready-reference resource on various aspects of fungi is intended for graduate and post-graduate students as well as researchers in life sciences, microbiology, botany, environmental sciences and biotechnology.

Contents:

1. Significant contributions of Prof. Shyam Bahadur Saksena to Indian mycology R. S. Mehrotra, M.R. Siddiqui and Ashok Aggarwal 2. Biology and significance of Saksenea vasiformis Itisha Singh and R.K.S.Kushwaha 3. History of Mycology in India: Some Glimpses C. Manoharachary 4.Various aspects of ammonia fungi Akira Suzuki 5. Marine Filamentous Fungi: Diversity, Distribution and Bioprospecting K.R. Sridhar, 6. Keratinophilic Fungi and Their Biotechnological Potentials ShilpaVerekar and Sunil Kumar Deshmukh 7. Fungal World of Cave Ecosystem Seema Rawat, Rachna Rautela and B.N. Johri 8. Biology of Anaerobic Gut Fungi D.N. Kamra and Birbal Singh ; 9.. Fusarium oxysporum: Genomics, diversity and plant host interaction Anjul Rana, ManvikaSahgal and Bhavdish N Johri 10. Yeast genome sequencing: basic biology to biotechnology Krishna Kant Sharma 11. Fungal differentiation: A model phenomenon to screen antifungal drugs E. K. Pathan, S. G. Tupe and M.V. Deshpande 12. Candida albicans Biofilm as a Clinical Challenge ; Ashwini Jadhav and Sankunny Mohan Karuppayil 13. Characteristics and multifarious potential applications of HAP phytase of the unconventional yeast Pichia anomala Swati Joshi and T. Satyanarayana 14. Fungal Inulinolytic Enzymes: A current appraisal Hemant Kumar Rawat, Hemant Soni and Naveen Kango 15. Fungal Tannase: Recent advances and industrial applications Sunny Dhiman,Anu Kumar, Gunjan Mukherjee, Papiya Mukherjee, Sunil Kumar Deshmukh   16. Mycoremediation: an alternative treatment option for heavy metal bearing waste water TuhinaVerma, Annapurna Maurya, Satyendra Kumar Garg 17. Treatment of landfill leachate using fungi: An efficient and cost-effective strategy Pooja Ghosh and Indu Shekhar Thakur 18. Studies on Mycorrhizae in Pinus gerardiana, a threatened pine of the NW Himalayas Sunil Kumar, VaneetJishtu, J.S. Thakur and TN Lakhanpal 19. Role of phosphate solubilizing fungi in sustainable agriculture Gurdeep Kaur and M. Sudhakara Reddy 20. Role of Fungicides in Crop Health Management: Prospects and Challenges T.S. Thind 21. Bioherbicides: Strategies, Challenges and Prospects K. R. Aneja, S. A. Khan and A. Aneja 22. Characterization of Lamellate Mushrooms - An Appraisal N. S. Atri, Munruchi Kaur and Samidha Sharma 23. Occurrence and distribution of mushrooms in semi - ever green Sal (Shorearobusta) forest Chhattisgarh, Central - India. Kamlesh Shukla, R.V. Shukla 24. Fungal Pigments Gunjan Mukherjee, Tulika Mishra, Sunil Kumar Deshmukh 25. Ex-situ Conservation of Fungi Sanjay K. Singh 26. Camouflaged mycotoxins in some field crops and forages SkarmaNonzom and Geeta Sumbali