Fungi and their potential for biofuels production (review)

World production of wheat, rice, sugar cane, vegetables and corn has reached approximately 62 billion tons per year. Over 3,48 billion tons per year agricultural wastes are accumulated. Improper disposal of agricultural waste is one of the causes of environmental pollution. Biodegradation of plant residues for biofuel production has become a modern alternative for the treatment of agricultural waste. Fungi producing lignocellulolytic enzymes include species of Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, and several anaerobic species that break down cellulose in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants and some halophilic fungi. Anaerobic gut fungi have attracted huge interest as the most active cellulose degraders in nature. Some industrial production processes are carried out in the presence of high concentrations of NaCl. In such conditions, halophilic fungi with cellulase activity are already reported to be used in direct production of ethanol and butanol.