This book represents the Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Food Mycology, which was held on the Danish island of Samsø from 15-19 October, 2003. This series of Workshops c- menced in Boston, USA, in July 1984, from which the proceedings were published as Methods for Mycological Examination of Food (edited by A. D. King et al. , published by Plenum Press, New York, 1986). The second Workshop was held in Baarn, the Netherlands, in August 1990, and the proceedings were published as Modern Methods in Food Mycology (edited by R. A. Samson et al. , and published by Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1992). The Third Workshop was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1994 and the Fourth near Uppsala, Sweden, in 1998. The proceedings of those two workshops were p- lished as scientific papers in the International Journal of Food Microbiology. International Workshops on Food Mycology are held under the auspices of the International Commission on Food Mycology, a Commission under the Mycology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Details of this Commission are given in the final chapter of this book. This Fifth Workshop was organised by Ulf Thrane, Jens Frisvad, Per V. Nielsen and Birgitte Andersen from the Center for Microbial Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, v vi Foreword Denmark.

For millennia, the presence of fungi in food has been both boon and bane to food stores. Fungi can spoil large quantities of food and produce dangerous toxins that threaten human health; however, fungal spoilage in certain foods can produce a unique, highly prized food source and there are some very effective fungal derived medicines. A thorough un

This book is the first state-of-the-art review that focuses on modelling fungal development in foods, an emerging field in the last decade. The objective of this book is to understand and to predict the development of fungi in food and raw materials and also the production and accumulation of secondary metabolites throughout the food chain.

The fungal kingdom consists of a wide variety of organisms with a diverse range of forms and functions. Fungi have been utilized for thousands of years and their importance in agriculture, medicine, food production and the environmental sciences is well known. New advances in genomic and metabolomic technologies have allowed further developments in the use of fungi in industry and medicine, increasing the need for a compilation of new applications, developments and technologies across the mycological field. Applied Mycology brings together a range of contributions, highlighting the diverse nature of current research. Chapters include discussions of fungal associations in the environment, agriculture and forestry, long established and novel applications of fungi in fermentation, the use of fungi in the pharmaceutical industry, the growing recognition of fungal infections, current interests in the use fungal enzymes in biotechnology and the new and emerging field of myconanotechnology. Demonstrating the broad coverage and importance of mycological research, this book will be of interest to researchers and students in all biological sciences.

The Kingdom fungi encompass a massive diversity of taxa with wide-ranging ecologies, life cycles, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. Before molecular methods came in existence, taxonomists considered this Kingdom to be a member of the plant kingdom due to certain life styles like immobility and growth habitats. Molecular markers (also known as DNA markers), facilitated a better alternative method over traditional morphological methods, employed for the identification, characterization, and to understand the evolution of fungi. The morphological methods used for identification are mainly dependent on spore color or microscopic features whereas molecular markers are based on DNA polymorphism in the genomic organization. Phylogenetic studies reported in last decade, based on molecular markers, have reshaped the classification system of Kingdom fungi, which divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla. Recent advances in molecular mycology have opened the way for researchers to identify and characterize novel fungal species from unique environments. Mycology is concerned with the systematic study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their use to humans as a source of medicine and food, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning and infections. In the 21st century with the development of DNA sequencing technologies and phylogenetic analysis based on molecular markers, new insights into fungal taxonomy were provided. This book contains a thorough discussion of molecular characterization and detection of different groups of fungi by using PCR-based markers and provides a comprehensive view of the applications and uses of different molecular markers in molecular mycology. It also addresses the recent molecular markers employed to solve the problems of identification and discusses current approaches used in molecular characterization and detection of fungi.

Interwoven with short essays on the lessons of the fungi, Radial Mycology begins with chapters that explore the uniqueness of fungal biology, the critical ecological roles of micro and macro fungi, how to accurately identify mushrooms and mycorrhizal fungi, the importance of lichens as medicines and indicators of environmental quality, and the profound influences that fungi have held on the evolution of all life and human cultures. With this foundation laid, the reader is then equipped to work with the fungi directly. Techniques for making potent fungal medicines, growing fermenting fungi for food, and cheaply cultivating mushrooms using recycled tools (and yet still achieving lab-quality results) are explored in-depth. Subsequent chapters grow far beyond the limits of other books on mushrooms. Detailed information on the principles and practices of natural mushroom farming--largely influenced by the design system of permaculture--is presented along with extensive information on cultivating mycorrhizal fungi and the science of mycoremediation, the application of fungi to mitigate pollution in the environment and in our homes. The book ends with deeper insights into the social effects that fungi present from the reflection of mycelial networks in the design of whole societies to a rigorous examination of the history of psychoactive fungi. Written for the beginner as well as the experienced mycologist, Radical Mycology is an invaluable reference book for anyone interested in Do-It-Yourself (or Do-It-Together) homesteading, community organizing, food security, natural medicine, grassroots bioremediation, and the evolution of human-fungal-ecological relations. More than a book on mushrooms, Radical Mycology is a call to ally with the fungi in all efforts to spawn a healthier world. Heavily referenced and vibrantly illustrated by the author, this unprecedented book will undoubtedly remain a classic for generations to come.