With the impact of globalization on research trends, the search for healthier life
styles, the increasing public demand for natural, organic, and ”clean labelled” products,
as well as the growing global market for natural colorants in economically fast-growing
countries all over the world, filamentous fungi started to be investigated as readily
available sources of chemically diverse pigments and colorants. For all of these reasons,
this Special Issue of the Journal of Fungi highlights exciting new findings, which
may pave the way for alternative and/or additional biotechnological processes for
industrial applications of fungal pigments and colorants. Eight research papers and
one review constitute the journal’s final Special Issue.
Our first target when building this project was to welcome papers on the following
topics:
The fungal biodiversity from terrestrial and marine origins, bringing new elements
about fungi as potential sources of well-known carotenoid pigments (e.g., β-carotene,
lycopene) and other specific pigmented polyketide molecules, such as Monascus and
Monascus-like azaphilones, which are yet not known to be biosynthesized by any other
organisms such as higher plants. These polyketide pigments also include promising
and unexplored hydroxy-anthraquinoid colorants from Ascomycetous species.
The investigation of biosynthetic pathways of the carotenoids and polyketide-derivative
colored molecules (i.e., azaphilones, hydroxyanthraquinones, and naphthoquinones)
in pigment-producing fungal species.
The description of alternative greener extraction processes of the fungal colored
compounds, along with current industrial applications, description of their limits
and further opportunities for the use of fungal pigments in beverage, food, pharmaceutical,
cosmetic, textile and painting areas.
All these subjects and more are covered by articles published in this Issue:
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/jof/special_issues/fungal_pigments.
* Fungal biodiversity from terrestrial and marine origins:
Production and New Extraction Method of Polyketide Red Pigments Produced by Ascomycetous
Fungi from Terrestrial and Marine Habitats by Lebeau J. et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030034.
Biodiversity of Pigmented Fungi Isolated from Marine Environment in La Réunion Island,
Indian Ocean: New Resources for Colored Metabolites by Fouillaud et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030036.
* Biosynthesis of fungal pigments and ways to increase the efficacy of biosynthetic
routes and/or the diversity of the biosynthesized pigments:
Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Novel Multi-Hydroxy Carotenoids in the Red Yeast Xanthophyllomyces
dendrorhous
by Pollmann et al. doi:10.3390/jof3010009.
Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Fusarium
by Avalos J. et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030039.
Biosynthesis of Astaxanthin as a Main Carotenoid in the Heterobasidiomycetous Yeast
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous
by Barredo J.L. et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030044.
* In situ microscopic analysis of fungal pigments applied on surfaces:
Microscopic Analysis of Pigments Extracted from Spalting Fungi by Vega Gutierrez S.M.
and Robinson, S.C. doi:10.3390/jof3010015.
* New modes of extraction of fungal pigments (perstraction, pressurized liquid extraction
technique):
Perstraction of Intracellular Pigments through Submerged Fermentation of Talaromyces
spp. in a Surfactant Rich Media: A Novel Approach for Enhanced Pigment Recovery by
Morales-Oyervides L. et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030033.
Part of Production and New Extraction Method of Polyketide Red Pigments Produced by
Ascomycetous Fungi from Terrestrial and Marine Habitats by Lebeau J. et al., with
investigation of a pressurized liquid extraction technique. doi:10.3390/jof3030034.
* Fine chemical analysis of extracted fungal pigments:
Utilization of High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Tandem Mass Spectrometry
for Characterization of 8-O-methylbostrycoidin Production by Species of the Fungus
Fusarium by Busman, M. doi:10.3390/jof3030043.
* Application of fungal pigments in the industry:
Assessment of the Dyeing Properties of the Pigments Produced by Talaromyces spp. by
Morales-Oyervides L. et al. doi:10.3390/jof3030038.
We, as Guest Editors, trust all readers of this Special Issue enjoy the contents and
we would like to deeply thank all 34 authors who contributed (sorted by their last
name), also Prof. Dr. David S. Perlin, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fungi, and
the editing team at MDPI:
Avalos, Javier
Kosalkova, Katarina
Pollmann, Hendrik
Barredo, Jose L.
Lebeau, Juliana
Robinson, Sara C.
Barreiro, Carlos
Limón, María Carmen
Rodríguez-Ortiz, Roberto
Bode, Helge B.
Llorente, Melissa
Ruger-Herreros, Macarena
Breitenbach, Jürgen
Magalon, Helene
Sandmann, Gerhard
Busman, Mark
Méndez-Zavala, Alejandro
Sousa-Gallagher, Maria
Caro, Yanis
Montañez, Julio Cesar
Vega Gutierrez, Sarath M.
Cuet, Pascale
Morales-Oyervides, Lourdes
Venkatachalam, Mekala
Dufossé, Laurent
Oliveira, Jorge
Vinale, Francesco
Fouillaud, Mireille
Pardo-Medina, Javier
Wolff, Hendrik
García-Estrada, Carlos
Parra-Rivero, Obdulia
Hornero-Méndez, Dámaso
Petit, Thomas