Frontiers in Fungal Ecology Diversity and Metabolites

Mycology has become an important aspect of human, livestock and ecosystem health. Fungi are non-photosynthetic lower eukaryotes comprising single celled as well as multicellular filamentous forms. Fungi represent one of the three major evolutionary segments along with plants and animals. Reconstruction of early evolutionary history of fungi has recently linked to the animals as closest relatives. Although microfungi are invisible, they are the largest living organisms. Among eukaryotes, fungi are the only organisms those have the unique ability to thrive at higher temperatures. They are the inhabitants of diverse habitats, live mutualistically within the plant tissues (endophytes), symbiotically with plants (mycorrhizas), algae (lichens) and animals (trichomycetes). Majority of fungi involve in decomposition of dead materials and recycle the essential mineral nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). Fungal distribution in a wide variety of habitats and their interaction with biotic and abiotic system emerged fungal ecology as one of the frontier areas of research. The Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) projected the significance and magnitude of fungal diversity and revealed importance of fungal resources. The fungal metabolites possess life-saving qualities include enzymes, therapeutic proteins and antibiotics. Fungal multidimensional characteristic features with basic and applied value projected their potential beyond routine systematics, diversity and environmental studies. This present contribution emphasizes various aspects of mycological issues in 22 Chapters with major emphasis on the fungal ecology, diversity and metabolites. The topics treated include aquatic ecology, diversity, phylogeny, mutualism, metabolites, pathology, toxins, fungal infections, cell permeabilization and monocarboxylate transporters in yeasts. This volume is of special interest to mycologists as a valuable source of information on different aspects of mycology dealing with ecological amplitudes, diversity, methods of assessment, novel metabolites and bioprospecting avenues.