Fungal Exoenzymes

Abstract

The secretion of enzymes by many species of filamentous fungi is an essential feature of their lifestyle, whether it be to support saprophytic growth or pathogenicity. Fungi respond to their habitats by controlled gene expression and secretion of particular enzymes in response to environmental triggers. Although fungal enzymes have long been exploited by man, only recently have the detailed mechanisms of gene expression and enzyme secretion been investigated. Such investigations are still in their infancy and studies have necessarily concentrated on those species which are amenable to molecular approaches. Indeed, it is likely that only a small fraction of fungi have been studied at any level and, of those that have, only a minority are receptive to the techniques of molecular biology. In this chapter we have taken a broad view by discussing the impact of ecology and physiology on exoenzyme production but concentrating, where possible, on examples which have been studied at a detailed molecular level.