Genomics of wood-degrading fungi

Woody plants convert the energy of the sun into lignocellulosic biomass, which is an abundant substrate for bioenergy production. Fungi, especially wood decayers from the class Agaricomycetes, have evolved ways to degrade lignocellulose into its monomeric constituents, and understanding this process may facilitate the development of biofuels. Over the past decade genomics has become a powerful tool to study the Agaricomycetes. In 2004 the first sequenced genome of the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium revealed a rich catalog of lignocellulolytic enzymes. In the decade that followed the number of genomes of Agaricomycetes grew to more than 75 and revealed a diversity of wood-decaying strategies. New technologies for high-throughput functional genomics are now needed to further study these organisms.