Fungi are an understudied resource possessing huge potential for developing products that can greatly improve human well-being. In the current paper, we highlight some important discoveries and developments in applied mycology and interdisciplinary Life Science research. These examples concern recently introduced drugs for the treatment of infections and neurological diseases; application of –OMICS techniques and genetic tools in medical mycology and the regulation of mycotoxin production; as well as some highlights of mushroom cultivaton in Asia. Examples for new diagnostic tools in medical mycology and the exploitation of new candidates for therapeutic drugs, are also given. In addition, two entries illustrating the latest developments in the use of fungi for biodegradation and fungal biomaterial production are provided. Some other areas where there have been and/or will be significant developments are also included. It is our hope that this paper will help realise the importance of fungi as a potential industrial resource and see the next two decades bring forward many new fungal and fungus-derived products.

真菌是一种未被充分研究的资源，具有开发可极大改善人类福祉的产品的巨大潜力。在本文中，我们重点介绍了应用真菌学和跨学科生命科学研究的一些重要发现和发展。这些例子涉及最近推出的治疗感染和神经系统疾病的药物； –组学技术和遗传工具在医学真菌学和真菌毒素产生调控中的应用；以及亚洲蘑菇种植的一些亮点。还给出了医学真菌学中新诊断工具和新治疗药物候选物开发的示例。此外，还提供了两个条目，说明了利用真菌进行生物降解和真菌生物材料生产的最新进展。还包括已经和/或将会有重大发展的其他一些领域。我们希望本文将有助于认识真菌作为潜在工业资源的重要性，并看到未来二十年带来许多新的真菌和真菌衍生产品。