Waste exogenous organic matter, including spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and chicken manure (CM), can be used as the basis of a soil-improving cropping system in sustainable agriculture. However, there is—as yet—a lack of information about important quality indicators such as the fungal community relative abundance, structure and biodiversity in soils treated with these additives. In this study, the responses of the soil fungal community composition and mycobiome diversity to SMS and CM application compared to the control soil were evaluated using a combination of the following molecular approaches: quantitative polymerase chain reactions, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and next-generation sequencing. The most abundant phylum for both treatments was Ascomycota, followed by Basidiomycota. The application of SMS and CM increased the abundance of fungi, including Tremellomycetes and Pezizomycetes for the SMS additive, while the Mortierellomycetes, Pezizomycetes, and Leotiomycetes levels increased after CM addition. SMS and CM beneficially reduced the relative abundance of several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) which are potential crop pathogens. The results provide a novel insight into the fungal community associated with organic additives, which should be beneficial in the task of managing the soil mycobiome as well as crop protection and productivity.

Talaromyces flavus is a soilborne fungus that can contaminate fruits. It constitutes serious influence on heat-processed food spoilage, as T. flavus belongs to the heat-resistant fungi group, which are able to survive the pasteurization process. Moreover T. flavus has been reported to be capable of mycotoxigenicity, therefore they have a serious threat to human health. To maintain the safety of food production, sensitive method for T. flavus detection was developed. The loop mediated amplification, abbreviated LAMP, reactions were designed as specific for detection of DNA replication licensing factor gene of T. flavus. The specificity of assay was confirmed by use of 5 T. flavus strains and 35 other fungal isolates. The achieved limit of detection was 1fg of T. flavus genomic DNA and 64 ascospores in 1 g of strawberry fruits or soil samples.

Phytopathogens cause undeniably serious damage in agriculture by harming fruit cultivations and lowering harvest yields, which as a consequence substantially reduces food production efficiency. Fungi of the Botrytis, Colletotrichum and Verticillium genera are a main concern in berry production. However, no rapid detection method for detecting all of these pathogens simultaneously has been developed to date. Therefore, in this study, a multiplex real-time PCR assay for this purpose was established. Universal fungal primers for the D2 region of the large subunit ribosomal DNA and three multiplexable fluorogenic probes specific for the chosen fungi were designed and deployed. The triplex approach for the molecular detection of these fungi, which was developed in this study, allows for the rapid and effective detection of crucial berry pathogens, which contributes to a more rapid implementation of protective measures in plantations and a significant reduction in losses caused by fungal diseases.

Spoilage of heat processed food and beverage by heat resistant fungi (HRF) is a major problem for food industry in many countries. Neosartorya fischeri is the leading source of spoilage in thermally processed products. Its resistance to heat processing and toxigenicity makes studies about Neosartorya fischeri metabolism and chemical sensitivity essential. In this study chemical sensitivity of two environmental Neosartorya fischeri isolates were compared. One was isolated from canned apples in 1923 (DSM3700), the other from thermal processed strawberry product in 2012 (KC179765), used as long-stored and fresh isolate, respectively. The study was conducted using Biolog Phenotype MicroArray platforms of chemical sensitivity panel and traditional hole-plate method. The study allowed for obtaining data about Neosartorya fischeri growth inhibitors. The fresh isolate appeared to be much more resistant to chemical agents than the long-stored isolate. Based on phenotype microarray assay nitrogen compounds, toxic cations and membrane function compounds were the most effective in growth inhibition of N. fischeri isolates. According to the study zaragozic acid A, thallium(I) acetate and sodium selenate were potent and promising N. fischeri oriented fungicides which was confirmed by both chemical sensitivity microplates panel and traditional hole-plate methods.

Increasing consumer awareness of potentially harmful pesticides used in conventional agriculture has prompted organic farming to become notably more prevalent in recent decades. Central European countries are some of the most important producers of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in the world and organic cultivation methods for these fruits have a significant market share. Fungal pathogens are considered to be the most significant threat to organic crops of berries, causing serious economic losses and reducing yields. In order to ameliorate the harmful effects of pathogenic fungi on cultivations, the application of rapid and effective identification methods is essential. At present, various molecular methods are applied for fungal species recognition, such as PCR, qPCR, LAMP and NGS.

Cellulose degradation is less known in the Ascomycota phylum, but it is important to recognize it because this process influences the most important biochemical cycle: the carbon cycle. Cellulose degradation is carried out by a complex enzyme: cellulase. Petriella setifera has recently been recognized as a producer of cellulolytic enzymes. In this work, it was shown, that the activity of cellulose-degrading enzymes, carbon source utilization and the gene expression of P. setifera were not determined by pre-culturing in different lignocellulosic wastes. Moreover, it was found that the presence of glucose and cellobiose could inhibit the activity and the expression of the cellobiohydrolase enzyme. β-glucosidase exhibits a higher activity in all of the analysed wastes and this behaviour can be explained as a mechanism for P. setifera to overcome cellobiose-glucose inhibition through the transglycosylation reaction. The significance of our research is to enable researchers to understand more thoroughly the cellulose degradation caused by soft rot fungus which belongs to the Ascomycota phylum. Our research is contributing to the understanding of cellulase activity and gene expression inhibition through the availability of a carbon source for P. setifera. Furthermore, it facilitates the acquisition of more information concerning the fungus P. setifera.