Table 1.
Diversity of the fungal product portfolio
| Fungus | Exemplar industrially relevant product(s) | Exemplar companies |
|---|---|---|
| Aspergillus niger | Enzymes (glucoamylases, proteases, glucosidases, catalases, phytases, pectinases) Organic acids (e.g. citric acid, succinate) Secondary metabolites |
DSM (The Netherlands), Zymergen (USA), Novozymes A/S (Denmark) COFCO, Ensign, RZBC Group, (People’s Republic of China) |
| Aspergillus oryzae | Enzymes (amylases) | Novozymes A/S (Denmark), Amano Enzyme Inc. (Japan), Gekkeikan Sake Company Ltd. (Japan) |
| Aspergillus terreus | Enzymes (xylanases) Organic acids (itaconic acid) Secondary metabolites (lovastatin) |
Merck (USA), Pfizer (USA) |
| Acremonium chrysogenum | β-lactam antibiotics (cephalosporins) | DSM (The Netherlands), Sandoz (Austria), Astellas Pharma (Japan) |
| Blakeslea trispora | Vitamins (β-carotene) | Universal Foods Corporation (Japan), DSM (The Netherlands), Pharmacia & Upjohn (USA) |
| Fusarium venenatum | Mycoprotein | Quorn Foods (United Kingdom) |
| Ganoderma lucidum | Composite materials (construction material) Imitation leather |
Mycoworks (USA) |
| Thermotelomyces thermophila | Enzymes (cellulases, phytases, laccases) | Novozymes A/S (Denmark), BASF SE (Germany) |
| Penicillium chrysogenum | β-lactam antibiotics (penicillins) Enzymes (glucose oxidase) |
DSM (The Netherlands), Pharmacia & Upjohn (USA), Merck (USA) |
| Pleurotus ostreatus | Composite materials (packaging material, construction material) | Ecovative (USA) |
| Schizophyllum commune | Textiles | MycoTEX (The Netherlands) |
| Trichoderma reesei | Enzymes (cellulases and hemi-cellulases) | DuPont (USA), Iogen Energy Corporation (Canada) AB Enzymes (Germany) Roal Oy (Finland) |
| Ustilago maydis | Itaconic acid | Toray Industries (USA), BASF SE (Germany) |
Listed are fungal cell factories, key product(s), and companies that use each organism. Exemplar companies are meant only as a guide and were identified from published literature or patent databases. Note that this list is not exhaustive—for more examples, see [2]