Towards engineering agaricomycete fungi for terpenoid production

Since ancient times, humans have harnessed the vast metabolic abilities of fungi to produce food, beverages, and medicines. Biotechnology and genetic engineering have opened new avenues to tailor and enhance these abilities, transforming fungi into powerful industrial workhorses. In this minireview, we focus on the biotechnological potential of Agaricomycetes, a class of basidiomycete fungi that includes the so-called 'true' mushrooms. Although many species are widely used in the food sector, their broader potential in biotechnology remains largely untapped. These fungi naturally produce a diverse array of metabolites with promising applications across various industries. Here, we highlight their ability to synthesize a wide range of terpenoids, many unique to this taxon, and we present recent advancements in genomics and genetic engineering tools developed for Agaricomycetes. We anticipate that continued progress in tailored genetic engineering tools and improved cultivation technologies will facilitate the establishment of these fungi as robust cell factories for producing valuable terpenoids, with significant contributions to the food, biotech, and pharmaceutical sectors. One-Sentence Summary: This minireview highlights the potential of mushroom-forming fungi to be engineered into cell factories for producing terpenoids-valuable compounds with diverse applications in food, medicine, and biotechnology.