XVI. Future of mushroom production and biotechnology

Mushroom production is one of the few large-scale commercial applications of microbial technology for bioconversion of agricultural and forestry waste materials to valuable foods. The annual world production of cultivated mushrooms has recently exceeded 4 million tons. Many new methods for production and processing are being developed. Fundamental knowledge is being developed with mushroom physiology research in the studies of various factors affecting mycelium and fruit body development. Lignocellosic materials are the main substrates for mushroom production. Improvement of lignocellose degradation abilities of new mushroom strains, developed by applications of molecular biology, may result in higher efficiencies in production of fruit bodies.