Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Morphological Engineering of Filamentous Fungi: Research Progress and Perspectives

  • Zhengwu Lu (College of Life Sciences, Linyi University) ;
  • Zhiqun Chen (College of Life Sciences, Linyi University) ;
  • Yunguo Liu (College of Life Sciences, Linyi University) ;
  • Xuexue Hua (Shandong Fufeng Fermentation Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Cuijuan Gao (College of Life Sciences, Linyi University) ;
  • Jingjing Liu (College of Life Sciences, Linyi University)
  • Received : 2024.02.05
  • Accepted : 2024.03.06
  • Published : 2024.06.28
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Abstract

Filamentous fungi are important cell factories for the production of high-value enzymes and chemicals for the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Under submerged fermentation, filamentous fungi exhibit diverse fungal morphologies that are influenced by environmental factors, which in turn affect the rheological properties and mass transfer of the fermentation system, and ultimately the synthesis of products. In this review, we first summarize the mechanisms of mycelial morphogenesis and then provide an overview of current developments in methods and strategies for morphological regulation, including physicochemical and metabolic engineering approaches. We also anticipate that rapid developments in synthetic biology and genetic manipulation tools will accelerate morphological engineering in the future.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Youth Foundation of Shandong Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. ZR2020QC007); the Innovation Project for Major Application Technology in the Agricultural Sector in Shandong Province (Grant No. SD2019ZZ005); and Special Funds for the Central Management of Scientific and Technological Development at the Local Level (Grant No. YDZX2021070).

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