| Summary: | This book continues the exploration of fungal secondary metabolism and underlying genetics initiated in the first volume, adding analysis of regulatory key players and epigenetic control of their biosynthesis, genomics- and metabolomics-guided approaches. This work unearths the potential of fungi as resources of novel biologically active substances, the use of secondary metabolite profiles in fungal chemotaxonomy, less exploited substances and their producers, and the biological roles of secondary metabolites in organismic interactions. Fungal secondary metabolites significantly impact mankind, comprising substances that contribute to human well-being such as antibiotics, antivirals, immunosuppressives, antitumor and anticholesterolemic agents. These metabolites also comprise toxins that act as virulence factors in their respective hosts, causing health problems by contaminating our food and indoor environment. For the use of beneficial substances in medicine and pharmaceutical industry and the risk reduction of fungal metabolites with adverse health effects, a detailed knowledge and understanding of fungal secondary metabolism is essential. The recent emergence of high-throughput “omics” techniques constitutes an important step in this regard and will further significantly contribute to the discovery of novel fungal metabolites. |
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