Basidiomycota is the second largest phylum of the fungal kingdom and contains a very diverse array of fungi: from groups with conspicuous macroscopic fruiting bodies (mushrooms, brackets, coralloids, hydnoids, corticioids, jelly fungi, gasteroids, etc.) to microscopic entities such as rusts and smuts, thriving in immense range of niches from terrestrial to marine habitats, with a variety of ecological functions from saprotrophs to parasites, and with diverse kingdom-wide symbiotic associations with plants, lichens, and insects. Basidiomycete fungi play a pivotal role in global edible mushroom production and thanks to their wealth of metabolites, biosynthetic pathways and survival mechanisms, they have important applications in biotechnology and industry.
Despite their great biological diversity and huge potentials in improving human life, modern interpretation of several basidiomycete groups is still challenging or they have remained under-documented or poorly studied in many areas around the world. Only a few species have been studied in respect of exploitation in biotechnology and the bulk of species have remained untapped. Moreover, the linkage between biosystematics and biotechnology research is still not satisfactory, which would hinder the sustainable utilization of basidiomycete fungi. This Research Topic aims to bring together studies from various aspects of this amazing group of fungi and to help strengthening the link between applied and basic researches on basidiomycetes.
This Research Topic covers various aspects of basidiomycete fungi, from systematics and biodiversity to applied mycology and biotechnology. Research articles and reviews are invited covering the following themes:
• Diversity and phylogenetic systematics of all groups of basidiomycetes (macrobasidiomycetes, rusts and smuts, heterobasidiomycetes, basidiolichens, mycorrhizae, asexually reproducing basidiomycetes, etc.)
• Basidiomycetes in understudied regions or extreme environments.
• Basidiomycete fungi in biotechnological applications, such as bioremediation and pollutant removal.
• Basidiomycete fungi in antimicrobial research as well as medicinal basidiomycetes.
• Edible and poisonous basidiomycetes. As well as bioactive compounds and nutritional value of basidiomycetes.
• Symbiotic basidiomycetes in plants, insects, animals, and humans.
• Advances in basidiomycetes genomics and bioinformatics.
Basidiomycota is the second largest phylum of the fungal kingdom and contains a very diverse array of fungi: from groups with conspicuous macroscopic fruiting bodies (mushrooms, brackets, coralloids, hydnoids, corticioids, jelly fungi, gasteroids, etc.) to microscopic entities such as rusts and smuts, thriving in immense range of niches from terrestrial to marine habitats, with a variety of ecological functions from saprotrophs to parasites, and with diverse kingdom-wide symbiotic associations with plants, lichens, and insects. Basidiomycete fungi play a pivotal role in global edible mushroom production and thanks to their wealth of metabolites, biosynthetic pathways and survival mechanisms, they have important applications in biotechnology and industry.
Despite their great biological diversity and huge potentials in improving human life, modern interpretation of several basidiomycete groups is still challenging or they have remained under-documented or poorly studied in many areas around the world. Only a few species have been studied in respect of exploitation in biotechnology and the bulk of species have remained untapped. Moreover, the linkage between biosystematics and biotechnology research is still not satisfactory, which would hinder the sustainable utilization of basidiomycete fungi. This Research Topic aims to bring together studies from various aspects of this amazing group of fungi and to help strengthening the link between applied and basic researches on basidiomycetes.
This Research Topic covers various aspects of basidiomycete fungi, from systematics and biodiversity to applied mycology and biotechnology. Research articles and reviews are invited covering the following themes:
• Diversity and phylogenetic systematics of all groups of basidiomycetes (macrobasidiomycetes, rusts and smuts, heterobasidiomycetes, basidiolichens, mycorrhizae, asexually reproducing basidiomycetes, etc.)
• Basidiomycetes in understudied regions or extreme environments.
• Basidiomycete fungi in biotechnological applications, such as bioremediation and pollutant removal.
• Basidiomycete fungi in antimicrobial research as well as medicinal basidiomycetes.
• Edible and poisonous basidiomycetes. As well as bioactive compounds and nutritional value of basidiomycetes.
• Symbiotic basidiomycetes in plants, insects, animals, and humans.
• Advances in basidiomycetes genomics and bioinformatics.