Fungal Metabolites, 1st ed. 2017
Reference Series in Phytochemistry Series

This handbook compiles authoritative information about fungal metabolites and their chemistry and biotechnology. The first in the reference work series ?Phytochemicals?, and written by a team of international expert authors, this book provides reference information ranging from the description of fungal natural products, over their use e.g. as anticancer agents, to microbial synthesis, even spanning to the production of secondary metabolites on industrial scale. On the other hand it also describes global health issues related to aflatoxin production in foods and agriculture, including perspectives for detoxification. The handbook characterizes different compound classes derived from fungal secondary metabolites, like ergot alkaloids and aflatoxins. The discussion puts a special emphasis on how potentially useful compounds can be obtained and what applications they can find, on the one hand, and how potential dangers can be encountered on the other hand. The comprehensive chapters in this handbook will thus appeal to readers from diverse backgrounds in chemistry, biology, life sciences, and even medicine, who are working or planning to work with fungal (secondary) metabolites and their application. They provide the readers with rich sources of reference information on important topics in this field.

Biosynthesis of the ergot alkaloids.- Toward awakening cryptic secondary metabolite gene clusters in filamentous fungi.- Fungal secondary metabolites - strategies to activate silent gene clusters.- Phytotoxic secondary metabolites and peptides produced by plant pathogenic fungi.- Industrial production of bioactive plant secondary metabolites utilizing endophytes.- Microbial biosynthesis of medicinally important plant secondary metabolites..- Comprehensive annotation of secondary metabolite biosynthetic genes and gene clusters of Aspergillus.- Fungal secondary metabolites as modulators of interactions with insects and other arthropods.- Fungal metabolites with anticancer activity.- An ecological perspective of microbial secondary metabolism.- Peroxisomes in secondary metabolite biosynthesis in filamentous fungi.- Fungal natural products – the mushroom perspective.- Recent advances in awakening silent biosynthetic gene clusters and linking orphan clusters to natural products in microorganisms.- Ergot Alkaloids.- Ultraviolet irradiation detoxification of aflatoxins.- Global health issues of aflatoxins in food and agriculture: challenges and opportunities.- The occurrence of aflatoxin in rice worldwide.

Professor Dr. Jean-Michel Merillon is the « Directeur de l’EA 3675 (Groupe d’Etude des Substances Vegetales à Activité Biologique + Polyphenols Biotech) », at the Faculte de Pharmacie, Universite de Bordeaux, Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, in Villenave d’Ornon, France. He received his M.Pharma. (1979) and Ph.D. (1984) from the University of Tours in France. He joined the University of Tours as assistant professor in 1981, became associate professor in 1987. In 1993 he moved to the faculty of Pharmacy, University of Bordeaux, France, accepting a position as full professor. He is currently leading the “study group on biologically active plant substances” at the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, which comprises 25 scientists and research students. The group has been working on phenolic compounds from vine and wine for many years, mainly complex stilbenes and their involvement in health. Prof. Mérillon has supervised the doctoral theses of 19 students. He is involved in developing teaching on plant biology, natural bioactive compounds and biotechnology.
Prof. Mérillon has published more than 145 research papers in internationally recognized journals, resulting in an H index of 35 (documents published between 1996 and 2015). He has co-edited books and reference works on secondary metabolites and biotechnology.
Throughout his career, Prof. Mérillon has traveled widely as a senior professor. Scientists from several countries have been and are working in his laboratory, and his research is supported by funding from the Aquitaine Regional Government, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and various private companies. In 2004, he founded the technology transfer unit “Polyphenols Biotech”, providing support for R&D programs for SMEs and major groups from the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agricultural and health-nutrition sectors.
Prof. Dr. Kishan G. Ramawat is Former Professor & Head of the Botany Department, M.L. Sukhadia University