Biosynthesis of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds by fungi: bioengineering potential

What is it about?

Bioengineering has become the dominant means of producing biofuel molecules of various types. These efforts have proven most successful when the engineered pathways involve enzymes from diverse organisms, often identifying the appropriate combinations by trial and error. The enzymes of filamentous fungi have played little role in this advancement, which we feel is partly because of a disconnect between the fungal volatile organic compound literature and bioengineering. This review pairs prominent bioengineering successes with the observations of the same target molecules being produced by fungi. In the process we highlight a rich history of studying the volatiles made by fungi and the great potential for their use in many different applications.

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