Abstract
Fungi are a highly diverse group of heterotrophic organisms that play an important role in diverse ecological interactions, many of which are chemically mediated. Fungi have a very versatile metabolism, which allows them to synthesize a large number of still little-known chemical compounds, such as soluble compounds that are secreted into the medium and volatile compounds that are chemical mediators over short and long distances. Mass spectrometry (MS) is currently playing a dominant role in mycological studies, mainly due to its inherent sensitivity and rapid identification capabilities of different metabolites. Furthermore, MS has also been used as a reliable and accurate tool for fungi identification (i.e., biotyping). Here, we introduce the readers about fungal specialized metabolites, their role in ecological interactions and provide an overview on the MS-based techniques used in fungal studies. We particularly present the importance of sampling techniques, strategies to reduce false-positive identification and new MS-based analytical strategies that can be used in mycological studies, further expanding the use of MS in broader applications. Therefore, we foresee a bright future for mass spectrometry-based research in the field of mycology.
Highlights
Fungi comprise a monophyletic yet unresolved kingdom
In a search within the Web of Science portal, we in a search within the Web of Science portal, we found that the number and pattern of scientific found that the number and pattern of scientific publications per year involving fungal metabolites publications year involving fungaland metabolites almost identical the number pattern of are almost per identical to the number pattern ofare mycological studiestoinvolving
We provide information on the main fungal specialized metabolites such as alkaloids, nonribosomal peptides, polyketides, shikimic acid derived compounds and terpenoids. These specialized metabolites are synthesized by the group of enzymes known as nonribosomal peptide synthetases
Summary
Fungi comprise a monophyletic yet unresolved kingdom. At the moment, it is still not possible to diagnose fungi based on specific characters and they should be regarded as a group without synapomorphies [1]. For For example, fungi communicate andand interact intra-/interspecific chemical communication example, fungi communicate interact within and with other species either via volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or non-volatile secreted within and with other species either via volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or non-volatile secreted compounds [14,15] Most of these compounds been identified usingspectrometry mass spectrometry compounds. Thereby, we believe that it is necessary and of current interest for a of sampling and analytical techniques used in MS-based fungal metabolomic studies. Our goal in combination of sampling and analytical techniques used in MS-based fungal metabolomic studies. Our goal in this review is to show the versatility and potential use of MS-based techniques in by providing information on the diverse metabolites known from fungi, their ecological role and the mycological studies by providing information on the diverse metabolites known from fungi, their.
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