The importance of fungal biotechnology for sustainable applications
Shilpa Garg
Abstract
Fungal biotechnology plays a vital role in advancing sustainability by offering innovative solutions for resource efficiency, environmental protection, and health improvements. Fungal systems are highly adaptable compared with other biotechnologies, with unique genomic and metabolic functions that enable the large-scale production of valuable compounds. This review emphasizes how fungal biotechnology contributes to global sustainability goals, particularly through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven methods that accelerate strain optimization and metabolic engineering. Engineered Aspergillus strains, with enhanced enzyme production, and Neurospora, a model organism, demonstrate significant potential for industrial applications. These advancements offer cost-effective and resource-efficient solutions, underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in fungal biology, genomics, enzymes, and computational approaches to scale fungal biotechnology for sustainable outcomes.