ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with fungal characterization based on volatiles and will also cover the biosynthesis of common fungal volatiles and methods for their analysis. Primary metabolites are characterized by their broad distribution in all living things. Primary metabolism might be viewed as all integrated metabolic processes involved in the essential growth processes of an organism. The capability of fungi to interact with their surroundings through the gas phase seems very relevant, since the majority of fungi develop part of their mycelium and their entire reproductive structure in air, above the usually solid substrate that they grow on. Edible mushrooms and filamentous fungi are known to produce a number of aliphatic eight-carbon compounds. Mevalonic acid has no known metabolic function except in the formation of terpenes and steroids. Several different volatile compounds are derived from amino acids, which themselves may originate from the enzymatic degradation of proteins or simply from the growth medium.
