Delimitation, research methods and application of keratinophilic fungi

Abstract:

Keratinophilic fungi are those species that can degrade keratin and utilize keratin materials as the only nutrient source most of which belong to Onygenales, Eurotiales and Hypocreales. Since these fungi are widely distributed in various environment or niches, and have many varieties and nutritional diversity, more and more methods and techniques have been developed for investigation and characterization of these species. In order to promote the understanding of the current status and research shortage of keratinophilic fungi, this paper defines the keratinophilic fungi, organizes their taxa, introduces three main research methods, summarizes their applications in feed, leather, medicine and agriculture, and as bioindicators. Finally, we summarized research directions of keratinophilic fungi in the future work.