Dear Colleagues,

Fungi, especially higher fungi (ascomycetes and basidiomycetes), have the ability to produce a wide range (over 100,000) of specific pigments, antibiotics, vitamins, and amino acids that are not vital to the fungi's survival itself. Being chemically classified as polyketides, terpenoids, non-ribosomal peptides, shikimic acid derivates, and hybrid compounds composed of these units, the compounds are defined as fungal secondary metabolites (FSMs). In addition, FSMs generally possess functions of natural communication signals when in coexistence with microorganisms and plant cells. They show irreplaceable biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects and also have critical biotechnological applications in agriculture and environmental engineering, as well as the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries.

Recently, fermentation has become one of the most popular technologies for the successful production of FSMs on a large scale. Therefore, the research and development of fermentation technology with regard to the sustainable application of FSMs has met with intense interest. Within this scope, this Special Issue is open for full-length original research papers and review articles in mycology, genetic engineering, and biochemical and bioprocessing engineering related to strain screening and selection, processing optimization, and new techniques to improve the production efficiencies and biological modification of FSMs.

Topics of specific interest include:

(1) Structural modification for new derivatives of FSMs through cultivation techniques;

(2) Discovery of emerging strain resources to produce FSMs;

(3) Metabolic pathways and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of FSMs;

(4) Regulatory factors of functional gene expression to adjust the biosynthesis of FSMs;

(5) Techniques to improve bioprocessing efficiency for FSM production including hemi-solid-state cultivation modes, temperature or light induction, co-cultivation, and chemical inducers;

(6) Case study of the pilot-scale or scale-up process;

(7) Process optimization, and kinetic modeling of the biochemical reaction.

Dr. Xiaofei Tian
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• functional gene and genome
• solid-state cultivation
• metabolic pathway
• bioprocessing efficiency
• chemical inducers
• high-throughput screen
• co-cultivation
• pilot-scale study
• kinetic modeling
• structural modification