ABSTRACT
The present chapter is a review of our modern knowledge on wood-inhabiting fungi emphasizing their role and importance as pathogens, their ability to decay timber, their usage in mycoremediation, medicine, cultivation, structural purposes or artwork. Symptoms, economic impact and control strategies are discussed for some of the most feared pathogenic and timber decay fungi. Wood-fungi involved in mycoremediation processes and their abilities to decompose various environmental pollutants such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons or synthetic dyes are also presented. The second part of this chapter highlights the therapeutic effects of 33 wood-inhabiting fungi and some of the unsolved problems in the medicinal mushrooms science. A close attention is paid to the commercially important cultivated wood-decomposing fungi and discusses some of the problems involved in their growing process together with growing techniques and factors influencing their overall biological efficiencies. A new branch of mycology is also discussed here: the use of wood-inhabiting fungi for structural purposes and artwork.
The present chapter is a review of our modern knowledge on wood-inhabiting fungi emphasizing their role and importance as pathogens, their ability to decay timber, their usage in mycoremediation, medicine, cultivation, structural purposes or artwork. Symptoms, economic impact and control strategies are discussed for some of the most feared pathogenic and timber decay fungi. Wood-fungi involved in mycoremediation processes and their abilities to decompose various environmental pollutants such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons or synthetic dyes are also presented. The second part of this chapter highlights the therapeutic effects of 33 wood-inhabiting fungi and some of the unsolved problems in the medicinal mushrooms science. A close attention is paid to the commercially important cultivated wood-decomposing fungi and discusses some of the problems involved in their growing process together with growing techniques and factors influencing their overall biological efficiencies. A new branch of mycology is also discussed here: the use of wood-inhabiting fungi for structural purposes and artwork.
