Sampling, preservation, and growth monitoring of filamentous fungi

Nowadays, filamentous fungi play remarkable roles in our lives, from producing wide-ranging compounds (e.g., citric acid, antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, enzymes, etc.) to consumption as humans' food. In near future, filamentous fungi will be our major resource for sustainable processes and bio-economy. Therefore, it is of substantial significance to investigate more about this group of microorganisms and consider their taxonomy, evolution, biodiversity, comparative and functional genomics, physiological properties, industrial potentials, optimal growth conditions, and long-term conservation. Here, we present an overview of isolation and sampling techniques of filamentous fungi. Moreover, due to the widespread applications of filamentous fungi in various industries, it is a requisite to set up maintenance procedures for these microorganisms to not only conserve them but also keep their genotypic and phenotypic characteristics without any change during the time. In this chapter, we describe different protocols for the conservation of filamentous fungi. In addition, we highlight the various techniques required for the growth monitoring of filamentous fungi that can be used by researchers to optimize processes and expand their experience and knowledge for high yield and cost-effective processing on a large scale.