Genomics, Lifestyles and Future Prospects of Wood-Decay and Litter-Decomposing Basidiomycota

Saprobic (saprotrophic and saprophytic) wood-decay fungi are in majority species belonging to the fungal phylum Basidiomycota, whereas saprobic plant litter-decomposing fungi are species of both the Basidiomycota and the second Dikarya phylum Ascomycota. Wood-colonizing white rot and brown rot fungi are principally polypore, gilled pleurotoid, or corticioid Basidiomycota species of the class Agaricomycetes, which also includes forest and grassland soil-inhabiting and litter-decomposing mushroom species. In this chapter, examples of lignocellulose degradation patterns are presented in the current view of genome sequencing and comparative genomics of fungal wood-decay enzymes. Specific attention is given to the model white rot fungus, lignin-degrading species Phanerochaete chrysosporium and its wood decay-related gene expression (transcriptomics) on lignocellulose substrates. Types of fungal decay patterns on wood and plant lignocellulose are discussed in the view of fungal lifestyle strategies. Potentiality of the plant biomass-decomposing Basidiomycota species, their secreted enzymes and respective lignocellulose-attacking genes is evaluated in regard to development of biotechnological and industrial applications.Peer reviewe

Fungal enzyme sets for plant polysaccharide degradation

Enzymatic degradation of plant polysaccharides has many industrial applications, such as within the paper, food, and feed industry and for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. Cellulose, hemicelluloses, and pectins are the main components of plant cell wall polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are often tightly packed, contain many different sugar residues, and are branched with a diversity of structures. To enable efficient degradation of these polysaccharides, fungi produce an extensive set of carbohydrate-active enzymes. The variety of the enzyme set differs between fungi and often corresponds to the requirements of its habitat. Carbohydrate-active enzymes can be organized in different families based on the amino acid sequence of the structurally related catalytic modules. Fungal enzymes involved in plant polysaccharide degradation are assigned to at least 35 glycoside hydrolase families, three carbohydrate esterase families and six polysaccharide lyase families. This mini-review will discuss the enzymes needed for complete degradation of plant polysaccharides and will give an overview of the latest developments concerning fungal carbohydrate-active enzymes and their corresponding families

STUDIES OF DISCHARGE PHENOMENA DURING TRANSITION FROM BREAKDOWN IN VACUUM TO BREAKDOWN IN GAS

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