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Fungal Biofuels and Specialty Chemicals
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Fungal Biofuels and Specialty Chemicals

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2022) | Viewed by 5808

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ross Carlson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, 306 Cobleigh Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Interests: systems biology; microbial consortia; biofuels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Brent M. Peyton

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering & Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, 306 Cobleigh Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Interests: Fungal and Algal Biofuels; Extremophiles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi possess at least four remarkable biological attributes which can contribute to the current and future production of renewable biofuels and chemicals. First, they are naturally capable of producing a wide range of valuable biochemicals including short- and long-chain alcohols, lipids relevant to biodiesel production, gasoline-relevant isoparaffins, olefins, and aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as a well as valuable flavor compounds. Second, they often have a remarkable, natural tolerance to high concentrations of both feedstocks like sugars and products like alcohols, properties that are difficult to engineer but essential for bioprocess feasibility. Third, many fungi are capable of deconstructing lignocellulosic biomass, since they possess a plethora of enzymes, including glucosidases, cellulases, and xylanases, capable of breaking down biomass into precursors for biofuels and renewable chemicals. Finally, fungi play important roles in the environment, including in the production of biomass; for example, endophytic fungi are critical components of the plant microbiome and support plant stress tolerance.

Of particular interest to this Special Issue are original studies and reviews on the direct production of biofuel and flavor compounds from renewable sources and on the control and regulation of the genes that encode these pathways. Studies on novel fungal enzymes and fungal biofilm activities related to biofuel production are especially welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ross Carlson
Prof. Dr. Brent M. Peyton
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fungi
  • biofuel
  • sustainable
  • genomes
  • green chemistry
  • novel pathways

Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 6716 KiB  
Article
In Silico Analysis of Functionalized Hydrocarbon Production Using Ehrlich Pathway and Fatty Acid Derivatives in an Endophytic Fungus
by Kristopher A. Hunt, Natasha D. Mallette, Brent M. Peyton and Ross P. Carlson
J. Fungi 2021, 7(6), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7060435 - 29 May 2021
Viewed by 2222
Abstract
Functionalized hydrocarbons have various ecological and industrial uses, from signaling molecules and antifungal/antibacterial agents to fuels and specialty chemicals. The potential to produce functionalized hydrocarbons using the cellulolytic, endophytic fungus, Ascocoryne sarcoides, was quantified using genome-enabled, stoichiometric modeling. In silico analysis identified [...] Read more.
Functionalized hydrocarbons have various ecological and industrial uses, from signaling molecules and antifungal/antibacterial agents to fuels and specialty chemicals. The potential to produce functionalized hydrocarbons using the cellulolytic, endophytic fungus, Ascocoryne sarcoides, was quantified using genome-enabled, stoichiometric modeling. In silico analysis identified available routes to produce these hydrocarbons, including both anabolic- and catabolic-associated strategies, and determined correlations between the type and size of the hydrocarbons and culturing conditions. The analysis quantified the limits of the wild-type metabolic network to produce functionalized hydrocarbons from cellulose-based substrates and identified metabolic engineering targets, including cellobiose phosphorylase (CP) and cytosolic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHcyt). CP and PDHcyt activity increased the theoretical production limits under anoxic conditions where less energy was extracted from the substrate. The incorporation of both engineering targets resulted in near-complete conservation of substrate electrons in functionalized hydrocarbons. The in silico framework was integrated with in vitro fungal batch growth experiments to support O2 limitation and functionalized hydrocarbon production predictions. The metabolic reconstruction of this endophytic filamentous fungus describes pathways for both specific and general production strategies of 161 functionalized hydrocarbons applicable to many eukaryotic hosts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Biofuels and Specialty Chemicals)
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21 pages, 2870 KiB  
Systematic Review
Implementation of Synthetic Pathways to Foster Microbe-Based Production of Non-Naturally Occurring Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives
by Ana Vila-Santa, Fernão C. Mendes, Frederico C. Ferreira, Kristala L. J. Prather and Nuno P. Mira
J. Fungi 2021, 7(12), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7121020 - 29 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2683
Abstract
Microbially produced carboxylic acids (CAs) are considered key players in the implementation of more sustainable industrial processes due to their potential to replace a set of oil-derived commodity chemicals. Most CAs are intermediates of microbial central carbon metabolism, and therefore, a biochemical production [...] Read more.
Microbially produced carboxylic acids (CAs) are considered key players in the implementation of more sustainable industrial processes due to their potential to replace a set of oil-derived commodity chemicals. Most CAs are intermediates of microbial central carbon metabolism, and therefore, a biochemical production pathway is described and can be transferred to a host of choice to enable/improve production at an industrial scale. However, for some CAs, the implementation of this approach is difficult, either because they do not occur naturally (as is the case for levulinic acid) or because the described production pathway cannot be easily ported (as it is the case for adipic, muconic or glucaric acids). Synthetic biology has been reshaping the range of molecules that can be produced by microbial cells by setting new-to-nature pathways that leverage on enzyme arrangements not observed in vivo, often in association with the use of substrates that are not enzymes’ natural ones. In this review, we provide an overview of how the establishment of synthetic pathways, assisted by computational tools for metabolic retrobiosynthesis, has been applied to the field of CA production. The translation of these efforts in bridging the gap between the synthesis of CAs and of their more interesting derivatives, often themselves non-naturally occurring molecules, is also reviewed using as case studies the production of methacrylic, methylmethacrylic and poly-lactic acids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Biofuels and Specialty Chemicals)
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