The smell of fungi – Basidiomycetes as flavor producers

The growing demand for natural food ingredients has increased interest in biotechnological production processes for natural flavors. Fungi of the phylum Basidiomycota have proven to be a promising source, producing not only typical C8 volatiles but also arylic compounds (e.g., p-anisaldehyde), less well-known bicyclic terpenoids (e.g., dill ether and dihydromenthofurolactones), and sulfur-containing volatiles (e.g., 2-methyl-3-(methylthio)furan). Structural identification, stereoselective analyses, and elucidation of biosynthetic pathways, including enzymes involved, require complex analytical chemistry, the use of labeled precursors, and bioinformatics methods.