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Advances in Environmental and Applied Mycology

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 565

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
2. Fitolab, Laboratory for Phytopathology, Instituto Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: mycology; biodeterioration; cultural heritage; genetics; phytopathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
2. Fitolab, Laboratory for Phytopathology, Instituto Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: biodeterioration of cultural heritage; culture-dependent methods; culture-independent techniques; fungi and biotechnology; plant pathology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi, as incredibly versatile organisms with remarkable ecological and industrial significance, are increasingly recognized for their pivotal roles across diverse fields, making environmental and applied mycology a rapidly growing area of scientific exploration.

In natural environments, fungi drive essential processes such as nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and symbiosis with plants, playing a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem function, stability, and biodiversity. Their unique metabolic capabilities make them valuable agents in bioremediation, where they break down pollutants and restore contaminated habitats. Fungi's adaptability to diverse terrestrial and aquatic environments, along with their complex interactions and symbiotic relationships, offers insights into their ecological importance. However, fungi's influence extends beyond their beneficial roles, presenting challenges as some species contribute to plant diseases or even material biodeterioration, damaging materials like wood, stone, and concrete, among others, and posing significant threats to both infrastructure and cultural heritage.

Applied mycology seeks to turn these natural processes into innovative, sustainable solutions. From enhancing soil fertility and managing pests in agriculture to advancing waste management through fungal decomposition and improving conservation and restoration strategies, mycology's applications are incredibly diverse. The dual role of fungi—as both enhancers of environmental health and contributors to decay and plant diseases—offers a rich array of research opportunities with profound implications for industry, agriculture, the environment, and the bioeconomy.

This Special Issue invites contributions that explore the multifaceted roles of fungi, their beneficial and detrimental impacts, and their innovative applications across agriculture and various industries. We cover a wide range of research topics, including applied mycology, environmental mycology, fungal diversity and evolution in specific and extreme environments, fungal biology and ecology, and fungal metabolites and toxins as antibiotics or with other practical applications, among others. Our goal is to highlight the latest research that bridges the gap between fundamental fungal biology and ecology and practical, real-world solutions.

Dr. António Manuel Santos Carriço Portugal
Dr. Diana Sofia Coutinho Silva de Paiva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • applied mycology
  • environmental mycology
  • fungal biodegradation and biodeterioration
  • fungal bioremediation
  • fungal biotechnology
  • fungal bioresources
  • fungi for food
  • bioeconomy
  • fungal metabolites and toxins
  • plant health

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 8626 KiB  
Article
Morpho-Molecular and Genomic Characterization of Penicillium mexicanum Isolates Retrieved from a Forsaken Gold Mine
by João Trovão, Fabiana Soares, Diana Sofia Paiva and António Portugal
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(22), 10600; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142210600 - 17 Nov 2024
Viewed by 407
Abstract
During the ongoing studies designed to examine the fungal diversity present within the abandoned and flooded Escádia Grande gold mine (Góis, Portugal), we repeatedly isolated several specimens belonging to a Penicillium species. Molecular phylogenetic analysis, coupled with morphological observations, positioned this fungus within [...] Read more.
During the ongoing studies designed to examine the fungal diversity present within the abandoned and flooded Escádia Grande gold mine (Góis, Portugal), we repeatedly isolated several specimens belonging to a Penicillium species. Molecular phylogenetic analysis, coupled with morphological observations, positioned this fungus within subgen. Penicillium sect. Paradoxa, series Atramentosa, pinpointing its identity as Penicillium mexicanum (the first record for mining soils and the country). Given the limited research conducted on Penicillia isolated from similar environments, the species genome was sequenced utilizing the Oxford Nanopore® MinION methodology and studied through bioinformatic analysis. The obtained genome has a size of 29.62 Mb, containing a 47.72% GC content, 10,156 genes, with 44 rRNAs and 178 tRNAs/tmRNAs, providing the first genomic resource for this microorganism. Bioinformatic analysis allowed us to identify multiple genomic traits that can contribute towards this species survival in these extreme environments, including the presence of high levels of major facilitator transporters (MFS), Zn (2)-C6 fungal-type DNA-binding domains, P-loop containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolases, specific fungal transcription factors and sugar transporters. Furthermore, putative advantageous metabolic traits, such as methylotrophy, assimilatory nitrate and sulfate reduction abilities, were also detected. In addition, the results also highlighted a strong genomic and metabolic organization and investment towards arsenic detoxification (transport and oxidation). Lastly, thirty-two putative biosynthetic gene clusters were predicted, including some with high similarity values to monascorubrin, nidulanin A, histidyltryptophanyldiketopiperazine/dehydrohistidyltryptophanyldiketopiperazine/roquefortine D/roquefortine C/glandicoline A/glandicoline B/meleagrine, YWA1 and choline. Overall, this study expands the current Penicillia knowledge from mining environments while also enhancing our understanding regarding fungal arsenic resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Environmental and Applied Mycology)
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