Bioprospects of extremophilic fungus Myceliopthrora thermophila: Insights from genomic analysis and recent developments

Abstract Filamentous fungi are the predominant microorganisms used to produce various industrially important products including enzymes, organic acids, etc. Thermophilic fungi have the to thrive between 45 and 55 °C and are particularly advantageous for the large-scale production of several compounds by fermentation. One such well-studied thermophilic fungi is Myceliophthora thermophila, which has strong ability to degrade biomass during its optimal growth at 45–55 °C. It produces a repertoire of biomass hydrolyzing enzymes which find many applications in biotechnology due to their higher stability and better catalytic rates at elevated temperatures during the process. In recent times, this fungus has been improved through metabolic engineering and other strain improvement strategies. The genome sequence data of M. thermophila has further helped in better understanding of its physiology for industrial exploitation. This chapter provides insights on bioprospects of M. thermophila supported by recent developments.