Recent Advancement in White Biotechnology Through Fungi : Perspective for Sustainable Environments

Over the last decade considerable progress has been made in white biotechnology research and further major scientific and technological breakthroughs are expected in the future. The first large-scale industrial applications of modern biotechnology have been in the areas of food and animal feed production (agricultural/green biotechnology) and in pharmaceuticals (medical/red biotechnology). In contrast, the productions of bioactive compounds through fermentation or enzymatic conversion are known as industrial or white biotchnology. The fungi are ubiquitous in nature and have been sorted out from different habitats, including extreme environments (high temperature, low temperature, salinity and pH); and associated with plants (Epiphytic, Endophytic and Rhizospheric). 

The fungal strains are beneficial as well as harmful for human beings. The beneficial fungal strains may play important roles in the agricultural, industrial, and medical sectors. The fungal strains and itsproduct (enzymes, bioactive compounds, and secondary metabolites) are very useful for industry (e.g., the discovery of penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum). This discovery was a milestone in the development of white biotechnology as the industrial production of penicillin and antibiotics using fungi moved industrial biotechnology into the modern era, transforming it into a global industrial technology. Since then, white biotechnology has steadily developed and now plays a key role in several industrial sectors providing both high value nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. The fungal strains and bioactive compounds also play an important role in environmental cleaning. This volume covers the latest research developments related to value-added products in white biotechnology through fungi.

Ajar Nath Yadav is an Assistant Professor in Department of Biotechnology, Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India. He has 4 years of teaching and 10 years of research experiences in the field of Industrial Biotechnology, Microbial Biotechnology, Microbial Diversity, and Plant-Microbe-Interactions. Dr. Yadav obtained doctorate degree in Microbial Biotechnology, jointly from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India; M.Sc. (Biotechnology) from Bundelkhand University and B.Sc. (CBZ) from University of Allahabad, India. Dr. Yadav has 101 publications, which include 37 research papers, 15 review articles, 3 books, 1 book manual, 31 book chapters, 8 popular articles, 7 editorials, 2 technical reports, and 1 patent with h-index 23, i10-index 50, and 1551 citations (Google Scholar). Dr. Yadav has published 105 research communications in different international and national conferences. Dr. Yadav has got ten Best Paper Presentation Awards, one Young Scientist Award (NASI-Swarna Jyanti Purskar) and three certificate of excellence in reviewing awards. Dr. Yadav received "Outstanding Teacher Award" in 6th Annual Convocation 2018 by Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Yadav has a long standing interest in teaching at the UG, PG and PhD level and is involved in taking courses in agriculture microbiology, bacteriology, bioprocess engineering and technology, environmental microbiology, industrial microbiology, and microbial biotechnology. Dr. Yadav is currently handling two projects one funded by Department of Environments, Science & Technology (DEST), Shimla entitled "Development of Microbial Consortium as Bio-inoculants for Drought and Low Temperature Growing Crops for Organic Farming in Himachal Pradesh" as Principal Investigator and another funded by HP Council for Science, Technology & Environment (HIMCOSTE) on "Value-added products" as Co-PI. He also worked as an organizing committee member for 7 international conferences/symposia in the related field. Presently he is guiding 02 scholars for PhD degree and 01 for M.Sc. dissertations. In his credit 6700 microbes (Archaea, bacteria and fungi) isolated from diverse sources and 550 potential and efficient microbes deposited at culture collection National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms (NBAIM), Mau, India. He has deposited 2386 nucleotide sequences and 03 whole genome sequences (Bacillus thuringiensis AKS47, Arthrobacter agilis L77 and Halolamina pelagica CDK2) and 02 transcriptome to NCBI GenBank databases: in public domain. Dr. Yadav and group have developed method for screening of archaea for phosphorus solubilization for the first time. He has been serving as an editor/editorial board member and reviewer for more than 35 national and international peer-reviewed journals. He has lifetime membership of Association of Microbiologist in India, Indian Science Congress Council, India and National Academy of Sciences, India.
Sangram Singh is an Associate Professor in Department of Biochemistry, Dr. Rammanohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, India, has 11 years of teaching and 14 years of research experiences in field of applied biochemistry. Dr. Singh obtained Ph.D. Biochemistry and M.Sc. Biochemistry from Dr. Rammanohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, India. Dr. Singh has been published 34 National and International research papers; 02 books, 02 book chapter. He has presented 09 papers in different National and International Symposia/ Seminars/ Conferences/ Workshops.
Shashank Mishra is presently working as Scientist 'C', Biotech Park, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He obtained his doctorate degree in Science "Industrial Biotechnology" in 2015, from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India; M.Phil. (Biotechnology) in 2008 from Alagappa University, Tamil Nadu; M.Sc. (Botany), in 2005 from Dr. R.M.L. University, Ayodhya; M.Sc. (Biotechnology), in 2004 from Barkatullah University, Bhopal and B.Sc. (Botany and Chemistry) in 2001 from Dr. R.M.L. University, Ayodhya, India. He has made pioneering contributions in the area of Microbial Biotechnology; Natural product synthesis and Environmental Microbiology for food, pharmaceutical and Human Health. In his credit 21 Publications [06 research papers, 02 review articles, 03 books and 10 book chapters] in different reputed international and national journals and publishers with 82 Citation, h-index-05 and i10-index 04 (Google Scholar). He has reported first time with high concentration of phenolic compounds by optimizing various parameters and published in peer-reviewed and referred international journals. He has published 16 abstracts in different conferences/symposiums/workshops. He has presented 16 papers presentation [12 poster ] 04 oral] in conferences/symposiums and got 01 best poster presentations Award, Dr. Mishra has contributed in organizing 07 conference/workshops. He has deposited 03 nucleotide sequences to NCBI GenBank databases: in public domain. Dr. Mishra and group have isolated and characterized 03 microbes (bacteria and microalgae) from Tulsi and paddy plantation site and transformed ferulic acid into value-added phenolic compounds viz. vanillin, vanillic acid and 4-vinylguaiacol. He has a long-standing interest in teaching at the UG, PG and Ph.D. level and is involved in taking courses in industrial biotechnology, bioprocess engineering and technology, environmental biotechnology, environmental microbiology, industrial microbiology, microbial biotechnology and techniques in microbiology and biotechnology. He is reviewer in 06 international journals including BMC Microbiology, Indian Phytopathology, PLOS One, Scientific Reports and Archive of Phytopathology and Plant Protection and 3 Biotech. He has the lifetime membership of Association of microbiologist of India (AMI) and Vigyan Bharti (VIBHA).
Arti Gupta is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology, Sri Avadh Raj Singh Smarak Degree College, Bishunpur Bairiya, Gonda, India. Dr. Arti Gupta received her B.Sc. in Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry in 2001 and got M.Sc. in Biotechnology in 2003 from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, India. Dr. Arti Gupta obtained Ph.D. from Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, India in 2010 in Animal Science. Dr. Gupta started her career in 2004 with teaching for graduate and post graduate student of Biotechnology from D.A.V. (P.G.) College, Muzaffarnagar. In 2005, she was appointed as Research Internships at the Central Drug Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh.In 2010, she was appointed as Teaching Associate at the Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. In 2012, she worked as Scientist with Sun Agrigenetics Pvt. Ltd., Vadodara, Gujarat and has 9 years ofteaching and 11 years of research experiences in the field of Animal Biotechnology, Molecular Plant Biotechnology, Molecular Animal Biotechnology, Bioprocess Technology, and Microbiology. Dr. Gupta has been published one monograph, Three Springer Nature, Switzerland edited Books and currently editing few other springer nature books, 22 National and International research papers and 36 National and International Symposia/ Seminars / Conferences / Workshops have been attended. Dr. Gupta has been awarded University Topper (Gold Medal), M.Sc. (Biotech.) from Ch.C.S.University, Meerut, Young Scientist Award (Gold Medal) awarded by the Zoological Society of India, Lucknow, Best Poster Presenter awarded by Asian Journal of Experimental Science, Jaipur, Best Poster Presenter awarded by International Consortium of Contemporary Biologists (ICCB) and Madhawai-Shyam Educational Trust, Ranchi, Fellowship Award awarded by International Consortium of Contemporary Biologist (FICCB) and Madhawi ShayamEducational Trust (FMSET) and Dr. V.P. Agarwal Gold Medal awarded by D.A.V. (P.G.) College, Muzaffarnagar. Dr. Arti has lifetime memberships of Indian Science Congress Association, Biotech Research Society of India, Zoological Society of India and International Consortium of Contemporary Biologist.