A review of applications of fungi in biotechnology from the old ages to the present times is presented. Origins of vine and beer fermentation as well as leavened bread making are lost in the mist of antiquity and records of the production of Roquefort cheese go back about a thousand years. On the other hand, commercial production of yeast began in the last century and the production of single-cell proteins (SCP) was born in our century. Nowadays, fungi are further used in commercial production of enzymes, organic acids, vitamins, antibiotics and plant growth regulators, in biotransformations of steroids and antibiotics, in the ephedrin synthesis and in preparation of other pharmacologically useful substances. Great achievements were obtained by applying classical genetic methods. Possibilities of the use of protoplast fusion and recombination, gene amplification or recombinant DNA technology using restriction enzymes are discussed.
Betina V. (1986): Fungi in biotechnology-history, present times, perspectives. – Česká Mykologie 40(2): 65–73.
