At the end of 2010 a group of Egyptian scientists and volunteers launched a series of activities to shed the light on fungi and fungal conservation. They organized more than 15 workshops organized by Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Egypt. The major objects of the aforementioned workshops were to raise the national awareness on Biodiversity and Conservation of Fungi. In 2013, Abdel-Azeem founded the Arab Society for Fungal Conservation (ASFC) as a pioneer society for fungal conservation in the Arab world and North of Africa. The society founded in Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Suez Canal, Egypt as a private, voluntary, non-governmental organization. In 2016, Abdel-Azeem founded the Egypt’s Mycologists Network (EMN) as a structured network of Egyptian mycologists, with a steering committee to guide and promote best practices, and to resolve relevant problems through collaboration between mycologists, amateur fungal groups, fungal conservation societies, regional natural parks and environmental agencies. Recently by the end of 2020 and due to these previous activities various networks have been founded by ASFC in Iraq, Algeria and Pakistan by mycologists and academia from these countries to illustrate the concept of fungal conservation through collaboration between decision makers, mycologists, fungal conservation societies, individual enthusiasts, national protectorates and environmental agencies. Based on aforementioned information we presented here the updated news concerning Fungal conservation efforts in Arab countries.

Myxomycetes are minuscule cryptogamic saprotrophs of decaying vegetative matter, but which also feed and therefore control soil bacteria, microfungi or fungal spores.Yet, their role is not much valued in conservation protocols, and they are not frequently included in red lists.Their study in the Maltese Islands commenced only in the late 20th century by Michael Briffa, where he published 74 records.This account amalgamates the previously published records, revised to their current taxonomy and classification, with new records collected in this research between 2014-2020.The resulting checklist of 96 myxomycetes occurring in the Maltese Islands is here provided.The location, date and host of the first record of each species are given in this annotated checklist.The 22 new records are members of the genera Cribraria, Lycogala, Echinostelium, Perichaena, Trichia, Badhamia, Craterium, Fuligo, Physarum, Diderma, Didymium and Mucilago.This ongoing study on the slime moulds of the Maltese Islands aims to collect, photograph and identify as many specimens as possible so a better represented and updated inventory is compiled.From the past records, experience and fieldwork gained in this research, the myxomycetes that are considered rare or threatened are identified for possible inclusion in a national Red Data List of cryptogams.Moreover, collections currently deposited at the author's Fungarium may be used to revive populations (e.g. in moist chambers) that are very rare and hence may be used for the conservation of native slime moulds.Finally, this work helps further students and international experts to comprehend which myxomycetes are currently recorded in the Maltese Islands.

Information concerning biodiversity and conservation of plants and animals in Egypt are fully available, but for fungi and fungus-like organisms (other organisms traditionally studied by mycologists), still missing and overlooked till 2010 when Abdel-Azeem published a full review of the history of mycology in Egypt, together with a checklist of 2281 species of fungi for the country, and an assessment of future perspectives for mycology in Egypt. Until that review, information about fungi from Egypt had been fragmentary and highly dispersed in many often obscure and difficult to obtain publications. Abdel-Azeem’ checklist greatly increased the number of fungi recorded from the country and, significantly, is the first fully documented checklist of fungi for any country in the Arabic speaking world. Records of fungi in Egypt from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database (4491 occurrences represented by 602 taxa), and that of the former International Mycological Institute fungal reference collection (IMI) (650 species) were also considered. Updated checklists of fungi are very limited in Egypt even they are one of the most important and critical tool for conservation. With this Mini-review we aim to provide an up-to-date overview on the recent developments on biodiversity and documentation of fungi and fungus-like organisms in Egypt. The documentation of fungal diversity in Egypt is urgently needed because natural habitats worldwide are being lost on a large scale through climate change and to promote proper exploration as a tool to facilitate fungal identification and to aid conceptualization and justification of future research projects.

This study was conducted to detect the contamination of some herbal slimming mixtures with mycotoxins producing fungi. Five of the most popular herbal slimming mixture samples in Baquba city were collected and investigated. The results revealed that 80% of the examined samples were contaminated with fungi. 40 fungal isolates were recorded with a total count ranging from 0.66×10-3 to 6.66×10-3 belonging to 4 different genera Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Mucor, Alternaria in addition to four imperceptible fungal isolates. Aspergillus niger recorded the highest percentage of frequency and appearance with 50% and 75% respectively. HPLC analysis showed that about 80% of the samples showed the presence of mycotoxins such as Aflatoxin B1, Aflatoxin B2, Aflatoxin G1 and Ochratoxin A in different concentration. First sample recorded 3.50 ng/gm of Aflatoxin B2 and 6.79 ng/gm (Aflatoxin G1), sample (2) recorded Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxin B1 in concentration 2.892 ng/gm and 2.877 ng/gm, sample (3) recorded Ochratoxin A in concentration 5.424 ng/gm, sample (5) showed presence Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxin B1 with concentrations 4.121 ng/gm and 3.061 ng/gm respectively. The results showed that Fumonisins, Aflatoxin G2 and Patulin were not present in all samples.

Finding the cause of the deterioration and arresting it were imperatives in the study. From among the wrappings, minute samples of the mummy’ chest and hair were taken for analysis. Mouchacca succeeded in identifying the destructive organism – a fungus with the splendid name Daedalea biennis (Bull.) Fr.

<em>Ganoderma</em> is the genus from order Aphyllophorales with more than 300 species. <em>Ganoderma</em> contains various compound that showed many biological activities e.g. enhancer of immune system, antitumor, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory action. These bioactive compounds related to the triterpenoids and polysaccharides classes. Proteins, lipids, phenols, sterols, and others, are also recorded. <em>Ganoderma</em> is currently an important source in the pharmaceutical industry and is one of the most promissing projects in the world of food and medicine, which is being highlighted these days. In Egypt seven species of <em>Ganoderma</em> were recorded by Abdel-Azeem (2018). Among cultivated mushrooms, <em>G. lucidum</em> is unique in that its pharmaceutical rather than nutritional value is paramount. A variety of commercial <em>G. lucidum</em> products are available in various forms, such as powders, dietary supplements, and tea. These are produced from different parts of the mushroom, including mycelia, spores, and fruit body. The commercial cultivation of <em>Ganoderma</em> in Egypt not started yet. In this article the most important bioactive materials produced by <em>Ganoderma</em>, their applications and business opportunity in Egypt will be discussed.

Fungi have a long and intimate connection with humankind, particularly at the chemical level as a source of both harmful and beneficial compounds. Their worldwide occurrence in various food and feeds poses a major health threatening risk for human and animal and, as a consequence, mycotoxins represent an economic burden. Fortunately, not all fungal secondary metabolites are toxic to humankind such as; antibiotics, phytotoxines, enzymes and antioxidants, which represent the other side of the coin. Endophytes are now considered as an important component of biodiversity, and act as reservoirs of novel bioactive secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, flavanoids, phenols, phenolic acids, quinones, steroids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, isocoumarin derivatives, peptides and enzymes, beside their ability to produce the same or similar kind of compounds of their host plants. Today’s world challenge is ensuring the safety of food, which has been a major focus of international and national action over the last years. Legislative limits for a range of mycotoxins continue to develop worldwide, due to being carcinogenic to animals and humans, resulting in an increased number of official controls monitoring in the food supply chain deriving from national food safety plans and for food trade purposes. This review brings about the harmful (mycotoxins) and beneficial (antioxidants, antibiotics, enzymes) fungal metabolites in industrial and pharmaceutical applications. It also provides a perspective about mechanism of how can endophytic fungi metabolites play a reverse role as one of the main strategies of mycotoxin deactivation and prevention representing the other side of the coin.

Edible mushrooms have the ability to bio-accumulate minerals from the growth medium into the fruiting body. Selenium (Se) is an example of minerals that can be easily absorbed by mushroom. This study investigated the phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial properties of Pleurotus spp. fortified with selenium. Pleurotus spp. (fortified with selenium and non-fortified with selenium) were cultivated on corn cobs using standard procedures. The yield, biological efficiency, selenium absorption level, phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial properties were determined using standard methods. Non-fortified Pleurotus pulmonarius recorded the highest yield and biological efficiency, while fortified Pleurotus ostreatus had the lowest yields and biological efficiency. There was no significant difference (P<0.05) in the selenium concentration absorbed in Pleurotus ostreatus (51.79µg/g) and Pleurotus pulmonarius (59.29 µg/g) but no selenium was detected in the non-fortified samples. The presence of 5 phytochemicals viz; saponins, alkaloids, phenols, tannins and flavonoids were detected in cultivated mushrooms. Saponin was highest (7.08 mg/g) in non-fortified Pleurotus pulmonarius while tannin was the least with the value of 0.02 mg/g in fortified Pleurotus ostreatus. The ethanolic extracts of Pleurotus spp. inhibited the growth of Gram positive and negative bacteria with Pseudomonas aeruginosabeen the most susceptible (25.00 mm). The ethanolic extracts of fortified Pleurotus spp. inhibited Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis. The non-fortified extracts however, had no inhibitory effects on the tested fungi. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that Se-fortification increased the antibacterial activities of Pleurotus spp. These results therefore, suggest that Se-enriched mushrooms can be used as potential source of dietary supplements and nutraceuticals. Fortification of Pleurotus spp. with essential metals should be encouraged as this can improve its health promoting property.

Two naturally occurring fungal and bacterial species, Aspergillus flavus and Bacillus sp. H6 strains, were capable of utilizing diesel oil as a sole source of carbon in synthetic microcosoms. The initial diesel oil contamination of 1666 mg kg-1 dry soil was reduced to 166.667 mg kg-1 after 150 days of incubation in fungal-bacterial consortium microcosm. That is mean 89.9%, of the initial oil concentration was removed. Abiotic process reduced the diesel oil contamination to about 616 mg kg-1dry soil at the end of the experiment. Seven microcosms were set up to fulfill the experiments. The decontamination activity follow this order; Bacillus sp. H6 + A. flavus consortium > Bacillus sp. H6 > natural control > A. flavus > cycloheximide treated > benzyl Penicillin-Streptomycin treated > poisoned control. Gas chromatographic analysis data revealed that both A. flavus and Bacillus sp. H6 treatment led to complete utilization of carbon-17 compounds. Other biodegradation products such as C-15, 16, 20, 21, and 24 appears in the chromatogram after 150 days incubation. Increase of C-20, 21 and C-24 compounds also noticed. The fungal- and bacterium consortium treatment depicted a decrease of all detected n-alkanes. The microbial success in biodegradation was evaluated by determining the number of germinating seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris. The highest level of germination (92 %) was detected in consortium microcosms after 150 days incubation. The treatment with A. flavus and Bacillus sp. H6 separately led to a lower percentage of germination (86%). The other treatments showed variable results except the poisoned control that showed negative germination and minor chemical degradation of diesel oil. Thus, bacterial-fungal consortium treatment is effective in bioremediation of contaminated oils than separate treatment.