Understanding the morphology of fungi

Filamentous fungi comprise an industrially very important collection of microorganisms, since they are used for the production of a wide variety of products ranging from primary metabolites to secondary metabolites and further on to industrial enzymes (such as proteases, lipases and antibiotics). It is known that fungal morphology is often considered as one of the key parameters in industrial production. For the production of fungal metabolite products, the desired morphology varies from one product to another. Many parameters affect the morphology of fungi during the process of fermentation, among them speed of agitation, specific growth rate, dissolved oxygen, number of spores or conidia per liter of fermentation broth are important and should be considered when higher yield is desired in the process. It is, therefore, of considerable importance to understand the mechanism underlying the morphology of the cell, its growth and product formation by filamentous fungi. Such knowledge may be used in the optimization of the microbial process. Several literatures with various fungi to study their morphology, relating enzyme or product production to the character of the fungi in the study is reviewed. It is also considered that how the process parameters affects the morphology. The aim of this communication is to review the relevant literature to understand the morphology of filamentous fungi.