Mushroom Nanobiotechnology:
Concepts, Developments and Potentials
E. A. Adebayo, M. A. Azeez, M. B. Alao, M. A. Oke, and D. A. Aina
1 Mushrooms at a Glance
Historically, mushroom is a collective term for describing diverse species of macrofungi which the primitive Romans referred to as food of the gods, the Stone Aged
Egyptians named it the gifts from god of Osiris, while to the earliest Chinese, it
is the elixir of life (Smith et al. 2002). However, in the world today, mushrooms
are described as fungi fruiting bodies of orders Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes
which play vital roles in the management of forest ecosystems as they have the
potential of decomposing complex biomolecules and recycling nutrients within the
ecosystem. Thus, they are found all over the world mainly, in soils rich in organic
matter (humus), moist wood and animals waste. Mushrooms stand out in their habitats
with the possession of umbrella like fruiting bodies, remarkable colours and sizes.
Interestingly, mushrooms fruiting bodies disappear after a heavy rain or a sudden
change in temperature, leaving behind the mycelia, and this has drawn the attention
of mankind to the study of mushrooms. Recently in a study by Bal et al. (2017),
approximately 10% of all mushroom species on Earth has been extensively studied.
Similarly, about 2000 species of 31 genera are classified as edible mushrooms while
a little over 10% of the extensively studied species are classified as poisonous or
lethal (Teferi et al. 2013; Ruan-Soto et al. 2017).
E. A. Adebayo (B) · M. A. Azeez
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso P.M.B 4000,
Oyo State, Nigeria
e-mail: eaadebayo@lautech.edu.ng
M. B. Alao · M. A. Oke
Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,
Ogbomoso P.M.B 4000, Oyo State, Nigeria
D. A. Aina
Department of Microbiology, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_9
257
Concepts, Developments and Potentials
E. A. Adebayo, M. A. Azeez, M. B. Alao, M. A. Oke, and D. A. Aina
1 Mushrooms at a Glance
Historically, mushroom is a collective term for describing diverse species of macrofungi which the primitive Romans referred to as food of the gods, the Stone Aged
Egyptians named it the gifts from god of Osiris, while to the earliest Chinese, it
is the elixir of life (Smith et al. 2002). However, in the world today, mushrooms
are described as fungi fruiting bodies of orders Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes
which play vital roles in the management of forest ecosystems as they have the
potential of decomposing complex biomolecules and recycling nutrients within the
ecosystem. Thus, they are found all over the world mainly, in soils rich in organic
matter (humus), moist wood and animals waste. Mushrooms stand out in their habitats
with the possession of umbrella like fruiting bodies, remarkable colours and sizes.
Interestingly, mushrooms fruiting bodies disappear after a heavy rain or a sudden
change in temperature, leaving behind the mycelia, and this has drawn the attention
of mankind to the study of mushrooms. Recently in a study by Bal et al. (2017),
approximately 10% of all mushroom species on Earth has been extensively studied.
Similarly, about 2000 species of 31 genera are classified as edible mushrooms while
a little over 10% of the extensively studied species are classified as poisonous or
lethal (Teferi et al. 2013; Ruan-Soto et al. 2017).
E. A. Adebayo (B) · M. A. Azeez
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso P.M.B 4000,
Oyo State, Nigeria
e-mail: eaadebayo@lautech.edu.ng
M. B. Alao · M. A. Oke
Microbiology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,
Ogbomoso P.M.B 4000, Oyo State, Nigeria
D. A. Aina
Department of Microbiology, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_9
257