Fungal genomics

Fungi are the group of microorganisms largely responsible for recycling biomass in nature. In industry, fungi are used to produce beta lactam antibiotics (e.g., penicillin), ethanol, and citric acid and they offer the potential for rapid, highly productive conversion of lignocellulosic biomass sugars to other value-added products. However, current processes have been developed over many years without a clear understanding of the underlying ability to control and utilize fungal organisms. In order to effectively tap the potential of fungal organisms, this project is improving the basic understanding of fungal biotechnology to enable the rapid development of novel fermentation systems for biobased product manufacturing.