Fungal Applications in Sustainable Environmental Biotechnology

Diane Purchase received her BSc and PhD in Microbiology from King’s College London. She has over 20 years of research experience in academia and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Middlesex University in London. She is the Honorary Secretary of the Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences in the UK and a Fellow of the Institution of Environmental Sciences. She has a long-held interest in the environmental applications of microorganisms and belongs to many microbiological and environmental organisations, such as the British Mycological Society, American Society for Microbiology, International Society for Microbial Ecology and Institution of Environmental Sciences. Diane has over 60 publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference papers and book chapters. She is the coordinating editor of Environmental Geochemistry and Health, a Springer Nature journal, and the co-editor of Microbial Applications – Recent Advancements and Future Developments, published by De Gruyter. She also serves as reviewer of numerous journals, including: Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, Journal of Hazardous Materials, PLoS ONE and Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Diane is committed to promoting sustainability through her research and teaching. She currently chairs an International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) task group to examine the environmental and health challenges of E-waste and its management.

• Introduction.- Part I. Fungal Biotechnology in Agriculture and Their Potential Contributions Towards Food Security.- Fungi in Composting.- The Genetic Basis of Abiotic Stress Resistance in Extremophilic Fungi: The Genes Cloning and Application.- Fungi as an Alternative to Agrochemicals to Control Plant Diseases.- Part II. Providing Sustainable and Environmentally-Friendly Solutions to Treat Wastewater.- Application of Biological Adsorption and Biodegradation Function of Fungi in Wastewater and Sludge Treatment.- Potential of White-Rot Fungi to Treat Xenobiotic-Containing Wastewater.- Fungal Bioremediation of Emerging Micropollutants in Municipal Wastewaters.- Application of Microalgae and Fungal - Microalgal Associations for Wastewater Treatment.- Part III. Mycoremediation: Fungi as Prolific Degraders to Control Waste and Reduce Pollution.- Mycoremediation of Organic Pollutants: Principles, Opportunities and Pitfalls.- White and Brown Rot Fungi as Decomposers of Lignocellulosic Materials and Their Role in Waste and Pollution Control.- Mycoremediation of Heavy Metal/Metalloid-Contaminated Soil: Current Understanding and Future Prospects.- Part IV. Biotechnology to Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels: From Biomass to Biofuel.- Fungi in Consolidated Bioprocessing of Lignocellulosic Materials.- Fungal Enzyme and Their Role in Bioenergy.- Part V. Fungi as Biofactories and Other Biotechnological Applications.- Fungal Biosynthesis of Nanoparticles, a Cleaner Alternative.- Unravelling the Chemical Interactions of Fungal Endophytes for Exploitation as Microbial Factories.- Geomycology.

“The book is useful for microbiologists, mycologists, and scientists concerned with biotechnology. It shows current advances and discusses future prospects including potential and limitations of fungal environmental biotechnology.” (Marwa T. A. Abdel-Wareth, International Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol. 74 (6), 2017)