History of Biosynthetic Studies with Fungi

Microbial metabolites have proved to be more amenable to biosynthetic studies than the natural products obtained from higher plants partly because there are not the seasonal problems of production and also because the incorporation of labelled preeursors is higher. In 1907 Collie had proposed that natural polyphenols might be biosynthesized from polyearbonyl compounds (polyketides) 

Microorganisms, particularly yeasts, had long been a source of enzyme 

The growth of fungi is dependent on the chemical composition of their environment. The difference between the autumnal microflora of an acidic heathland and that of chalk downland is quite a striking illustration. In this chapter we consider the role of the chemical composition of the medium on which a fungus grows first in the context of the laboratory and then in the wild situation. 

In the laboratory a fungus can be grown on surface or still culture, in shake culture or in stirred and aerated fermentations. The extent of aeration differs between these and it affects not only the rate at which a fungus grows but it can also determine the metabolites that are produced. 

The Chemistry of Fungi By James R. Hanson James R. Hanson, 2008 

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