Fungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry. Moreover, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. The search for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology. We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers. We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products. Fungi have provided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.

Background: Fruits are vital food resources as they are loaded with bioactive compounds varying with different stages of ripening. As the fruit ripens, a dynamic color change is observed from green to yellow to red due to the biosynthesis of pigments like chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. Apart from making the fruit attractive and being a visual indicator of the ripening status, pigments add value to a ripened fruit by making them a source of nutraceuticals and industrial products. As the fruit matures, it undergoes biochemical changes which alter the pigment composition of fruits. Results: The synthesis, degradation and retention pathways of fruit pigments are mediated by hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors. Manipulation of the underlying regulatory mechanisms during fruit ripening suggests ways to enhance the desired pigments in fruits by biotechnological interventions. Here we report, in-depth insight into the dynamics of a pigment change in ripening and the regulatory mechanisms in action. Conclusions: This review emphasizes the role of pigments as an asset to a ripened fruit as they augment the nutritive value, antioxidant levels and the net carbon gain of fruits; pigments are a source for fruit biofortification have tremendous industrial value along with being a tool to predict the harvest. This report will be of great utility to the harvesters, traders, consumers, and natural product divisions to extract the leading nutraceutical and industrial potential of preferred pigments biosynthesized at different fruit ripening stages.

Summary: Photosynthesis is currently a focus for crop improvement. The majority of this work has taken place and been assessed in leaves, and limited consideration has been given to the contribution that other green tissues make to whole‐plant carbon assimilation. The major focus of this review is to evaluate the impact of non‐foliar photosynthesis on carbon‐use efficiency and total assimilation. Here we appraise and summarize past and current literature on the substantial contribution of different photosynthetically active organs and tissues to productivity in a variety of different plant types, with an emphasis on fruit and cereal crops. Previous studies provide evidence that non‐leaf photosynthesis could be an unexploited potential target for crop improvement. We also briefly examine the role of stomata in non‐foliar tissues, gas exchange, maintenance of optimal temperatures and thus photosynthesis. In the final section, we discuss possible opportunities to manipulate these processes and provide evidence that Triticum aestivum (wheat) plants genetically manipulated to increase leaf photosynthesis also displayed higher rates of ear assimilation, which translated to increased grain yield. By understanding these processes, we can start to provide insights into manipulating non‐foliar photosynthesis and stomatal behaviour to identify novel targets for exploitation in continuing breeding programmes.

Background and aims: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the seventh most commonly detected cancer among women. This study aimed to map the hub and core genes and potential pathways that might be involved in the molecular pathogenesis of OC. Methods: In the present work, we analyzed a microarray dataset (GSE126519) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and used the GEO2R tool to screen OC cells and ovarian SINE-resistant cancer cells for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). For the functional annotation of the DEGs, we conducted Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses (KEGG) using the DAVID v6.8 online server and GenoGo Metacore™, Cortellis Solution software. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed using the STRING database, and Cytoscape software was used for visualization. The survival analysis was performed using the online platform GEPIA2 to determine the prognostic value of the expression of hub genes in cell lines from OC patients. Results: We identified a total of 809 upregulated and 700 downregulated DEGs. GO analysis revealed that the genes with statistically significant differences in expression were mainly associated with biological processes involved in the cell cycle, the mitotic cell cycle, mitotic nuclear division, organ morphogenesis, cell development, and cell morphogenesis. By using the Analyze Networks (AN) algorithm in GeneGo, we identified the most relevant biological networks involving DEGs that were mainly enriched in the cell cycle (in metaphase checkpoints) and revealed the role of APC in cell cycle regulation pathways. We found 10 hub genes and four core genes (FZD6, FZD8, CDK2, and RBBP8) that are strongly linked to OC. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the molecular pathogenesis of OC and is expected to provide potential molecular biomarkers that are beneficial for the treatment and clinical molecular diagnosis of OC.