Mini-review: Brazilian fungi diversity for biomass degradation

Brazil houses over 10% of the total number of known species on Earth, with a great diversity of plants and fungi. The collection, isolation, identification and conservation of filamentous fungi with relevance to agriculture, pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries in Biological Resource Centers (CRBs) is very important to the development of a nation's scientific and technological infrastructure. In Brazil, 36 fungal collections are registered in the database of International Collections. Several federal and state programs have encouraged the formation of a researcher's network in order to study natural resources and the nation's biodiversity. In this context, Brazilian researchers have been on the frontiers of knowledge, investigating the enzymatic systems from native filamentous fungi with potential for biomass degradation and biotechnological application. In this review, we address recent progress in Brazilian fungal research, focusing on the identification and study of fungi and enzymes with potential for biomass degradation and application in bioenergy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.