Abstract
The fungal kingdom now contains approximately 100,000 described species and our knowledge of their occurrence and properties is steadily increasing. However, estimates of the real fungal biodiversity indicate that this is only a small portion of the million taxa to be discovered. In our society, fungi can have an important impact that can be useful or harmful. It is therefore essential to understand the structures and growth conditions (nutrients, water, pH, oxygen, temperature, light) of fungi. This chapter gives a general overview of how fungi develop and produce their diverse propagules for distribution and development. In environmental mycology not only is the fungus with its mycelium and various propagules important, but also the metabolites it produces. The diversity of fungi is reflected by a great variety of metabolites, and this is particularly manifested in genera such as Aspergillus and Penicillium. Mycotoxins are important metabolites and in this chapter the significance of toxins in food and indoor environment is discussed briefly.
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