Impact of fungal molecular genetics on biotechnology.

The application of biotechnology has a very long history and life has benefited a lot from the application of fungal products. The industrial successful application of the use of fungi has been due to pioneering activities in both universities and industry. The most recent example of the application of a new technique was demonstrated with recombinant DNA techniques. Until now these techniques were mainly applied to rather simple processes. But we might also expect in the near future the application of these techniques to more complex systems. A very interesting area in this respect might be the production of plant secondary metabolites by fungi. As far as the economic benefits are concerned, a good balance has to be found between the economics of the processes and constrains posed on these processes by governmental regulations.