Fungal Volatile Organic Compounds: More Than Just a Funky Smell?

Fungal Volatile Organic Compounds: More Than Just a Funky Smell? Annu Rev Microbiol. 2020 Sep 08;74:101-116 Authors: Inamdar AA, Morath S, Bennett JW Abstract Many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with industry cause adverse health effects, but less is known about the physiological effects of biologically produced volatiles. This review focuses on the VOCs emitted by fungi, which often have characteristic moldy or "mushroomy" odors. One of the most common fungal VOCs, 1-octen-3-ol, is a semiochemical for many arthropod species and also serves as a developmental hormone for several fungal groups. Other fungal VOCs are flavor components of foods and spirits or are assayed in indirect methods for detecting the presence of mold in stored agricultural produce and water-damaged buildings. Fungal VOCs function as antibiotics as well as defense and plant-growth-promoting agents and have been implicated in a controversial medical condition known as sick building syndrome. In this review, we draw attention to the ubiquity, diversity, and toxicological significance of fungal VOCs as well as some of their ecological roles. PMID: 32905756 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Annual Review of Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Annu Rev Microbiol Source Type: research