Airlift bioreactor-based strategies for prolonged semi-continuous cultivation of edible Agaricomycetes.

Submerged cultivation of edible filamentous fungi (Agaricomycetes) in bioreactors enables maximum mass transfer of nutrients and has the potential to increase the volumetric productivity of fungal biomass compared to solid state cultivation. These aspects are paramount if one wants to increase the range of bioactives (e.g.

Simultaneous Metabarcoding and Quantification of from Environmental Samples: Insights into Community Composition and Novel Lineages.

Anaerobic fungi from the herbivore digestive tract () are primary lignocellulose modifiers and hold promise for biotechnological applications. Their molecular detection is currently difficult due to the non-specificity of published primer pairs, which impairs evolutionary and ecological research with environmental samples. We developed and validated a -specific PCR primer pair targeting the D2 region of the ribosomal large subunit suitable for screening, quantifying, and sequencing.

Seven new Neocallimastigomycota genera from wild, zoo-housed, and domesticated herbivores greatly expand the taxonomic diversity of the phylum.

We isolated and characterized 65 anaerobic gut fungal (AGF; Neocallimastigomycota) strains from fecal samples of five wild (W, axis deer, white-tailed deer, Boer goat, mouflon, and Nilgiri tahr), one zoo-housed (Z, zebra), and three domesticated (D,  horse, sheep, and goat) herbivores in the US states of Texas (TX) and Oklahoma (OK), Wales (WA), and the Indian states of Kerala (KE) and Haryana (HA). Phylogenetic assessment using the D1-D2 regions of the large subunit (28S) rDNA and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) identified seven monophyletic clades that are distinct from all currently recognized AGF genera. All strains displayed monocentric thalli and produced exclusively or predominantly monoflagellate zoospores, with the exception of axis deer strains, which produced polyflagellate zoospores.

gen. et sp. nov., a new anaerobic fungus (Neocallimastigomycota) isolated from the rumen of a goat.

An extended incubation strategy to culture slow growing members of anaerobic fungi resulted in the isolation of a novel anaerobic fungus from the rumen of a goat after 15 days. The novel genus, represented by type strain G1SC, showed filamentous monocentric thallus development and produced uniflagellate zoospores, hence, showing morphological similarity to the genera , , and . However, strain G1SC showed genetic similarity to the genus , which, though produces uniflagellate zoospore, also exhibits polycentric thallus development.

Isolation, identification and characterization of lignocellulolytic aerobic and anaerobic fungi in one- and two-phase biogas plants.

Aerobic and anaerobic fungi are among the most effective plant biomass degraders known and have high potential to increase the efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass utilization, such as for biogas generation. However, limited information is available on their contribution to such industrial processes. Therefore, the presence of fungi along the biogas production chain of one-phase and two-phase biogas plants in Germany was analyzed.

PCR and Omics Based Techniques to Study the Diversity, Ecology and Biology of Anaerobic Fungi: Insights, Challenges and Opportunities.

Anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota) are common inhabitants of the digestive tract of mammalian herbivores, and in the rumen, can account for up to 20% of the microbial biomass. Anaerobic fungi play a primary role in the degradation of lignocellulosic plant material. They also have a syntrophic interaction with methanogenic archaea, which increases their fiber degradation activity.

Presence and transcriptional activity of anaerobic fungi in agricultural biogas plants.

Bioaugmentation with anaerobic fungi (AF) is promising for improved biogas generation from lignocelluloses-rich substrates. However, before implementing AF into biogas processes it is necessary to investigate their natural occurrence, community structure and transcriptional activity in agricultural biogas plants. Thus, AF were detected with three specific PCR based methods: (i) Copies of their 18S genes were found in 7 of 10 biogas plants.

Development of three specific PCR-based tools to determine quantity, cellulolytic transcriptional activity and phylogeny of anaerobic fungi.

Anaerobic fungi (AF) decompose plant material with their rhizoid and multiple cellulolytic enzymes. They disintegrate the complex structure of lignocellulosic substrates, making them more accessible and suitable for further microbial degradation. There is also much interest in their use as biocatalysts for biotechnological applications.

Anaerobic Fungi and Their Potential for Biogas Production.

Plant biomass is the largest reservoir of environmentally friendly renewable energy on earth. However, the complex and recalcitrant structure of these lignocellulose-rich substrates is a severe limitation for biogas production. Microbial pro-ventricular anaerobic digestion of ruminants can serve as a model for improvement of converting lignocellulosic biomass into energy.

A new anaerobic fungus (Oontomyces anksri gen. nov., sp. nov.) from the digestive tract of the Indian camel (Camelus dromedarius).

Two cultures of anaerobic fungi were isolated from the forestomach of an Indian camel (Camelus dromedarius). Phylogenetic analysis using both the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large-subunit (LSU) regions of the rRNA locus demonstrated that these isolates were identical and formed a distinct clade within the anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota). Morphological examination showed that these fungi formed monocentric thalli with filamentous rhizoids and uniflagellate zoospores, broadly similar to members of the genus Piromyces.

Anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota): advances in understanding their taxonomy, life cycle, ecology, role and biotechnological potential.

Anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota) inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of mammalian herbivores, where they play an important role in the degradation of plant material. The Neocallimastigomycota represent the earliest diverging lineage of the zoosporic fungi; however, understanding of the relationships of the different taxa (both genera and species) within this phylum is in need of revision. Issues exist with the current approaches used for their identification and classification, and recent evidence suggests the presence of several novel taxa (potential candidate genera) that remain to be characterised.

Towards a unified paradigm for sequence-based identification of fungi.

The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is the formal fungal barcode and in most cases the marker of choice for the exploration of fungal diversity in environmental samples. Two problems are particularly acute in the pursuit of satisfactory taxonomic assignment of newly generated ITS sequences: (i) the lack of an inclusive, reliable public reference data set and (ii) the lack of means to refer to fungal species, for which no Latin name is available in a standardized stable way. Here, we report on progress in these regards through further development of the UNITE database (http://unite.