Mushrooms:Fungi For All Seasons

Humankind is currently facing immense challenges,none more so than those undermining adequate food supplies for a global population in excess of eight billion,the increasing frequency of virus pandemics such as COVID-19,and irreparable deterioration of the planet's environment resulting from global warming and pollution.One approach to the partial resolution of these challenges is through the application of Mushroom Biology,that branch of mycology which is specifically concerned with mushroom fungi and which is made up of three sub-branches.Mushroom Science,which describes activities specifically associated with mushroom cultivation:Mushroom Biotechnology,which is focused on the use of mushrooms and mushroom-derived products in enhancing general health and well-being,and in the prevention and treatment of human disease,and Mushroom Biorestoration which is concerned with those features that can be used to improve the quality of the environment.Mushrooms can be cultivated in large,industrial-scale production facilities as well as in situations where capital-intensive operations are inappropriate.In the latter case,mushroom production as a "cottage industry" can enrich the diet of the local population,especially in areas of protein deficiency,address shortages of arable land,provide employment particularly for women (thereby raising their socio-economic status),and generate additional income for farmers in the form of a cash crop.Technical improvements and innovations in mushroom cultivation continue to increase production capacities,improve product quality,and extend the number of species under artificial/semi-artificial cultivation on a commercial-scale.Mushrooms and mushroom-derived products (mushroom nutriceuticals) have also been credited with a wide range of therapeutic properties.These include antitumor,anti-cancer,antioxidant,hepatoprotective,anti-diabetic,anti-microbial,cholesterol-lowering and genoprotective activities.Other species are reported to pr otect against atherosclerosis,cardiovascular,chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases,and cognitive dysfunctions associated with neurodegenerative conditions.Among the most extensively studied pharmacologically-active components of mushrooms are polysaccharides (in particular beta-glucans),polysaccharide-protein complexes,triterpenes,lectins,and fungal immunomodulatory proteins.Mushrooms are also a source of natural bio-control agents for agricultural use,flavour compounds used in the food service industry,and components with cosmetic properties (cosmeceuticals).Biochemical systems used by mushrooms to convert the lignin component of cultivation systems can also degrade a wide range of recalcitrant anthropogenic compounds (e.g.,synthetic dyes,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,polychlorinated biphenyls,polybrominated diphenyl ethers,pesticides and munitions) that pollute our environment.Mycorrhizal mushroom species play a central role in the restoration and enhancement of forest health and diversity in natural and managed ecosystems.Mycorrhizal symbioses are often greatest under the most extreme conditions such as those involving exposure to infertile soils,drought or metal contamination.The presence of ECM fungi on the roots of trees is reported to confer protection against the harmful effects of several root pathogenic fungi.Mycorrhizal species that are highly valued for their culinary properties,such as Tuber melanosporum (black truffle) and Tricholoma matsutake (matsutake) adds to their ecological importance.