[5] Cunninghamella elegans is a filamentous fungus that produces purely gray colonies.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, aryl sulfotransferase, glutathione S-transferase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, UDP-glucosyltransferase activities have been detected in cytosolic or microsomal fractions.

[17] Cunninghamella elegans is able to transform the tricyclic antidepressants amitriptyline[18] and doxepin,[19] the tetracyclic antidepressant mirtazapine,[20] the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine,[21] the typical antipsychotic chlorpromazine as well as the antihistamine and anticholinergic methdilazine[22] and azatadine.

[24] The phase I cytochrome P450 enzyme systems of C. elegans has been implicated in the neutralization of numerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

[32] Cunninghamella elegans is also able to degrade the herbicides alachlor,[33] metolachlor[34] and isoproturon[35] as well as the fungicide mepanipyrim.

[38] Glucosylation may nevertheless occur but in 3'- position, as happens during the microbial transformation of psiadiarabin and its 6-desmethoxy analogue, 5,3′ dihydroxy-7,2′,4′,5′-tetramethoxyflavone, by Cunninghamella elegans NRRL 1392 that gives the 3′-glucoside conjugates of the two flavones.

[43] Methods for efficient C. elegans genomic DNA isolation and transformation have been developed.

[48] It has been used to produce isoapocodeine from 10,11-dimethoxyaporphine,[49] triptoquinone from the synthetic abietane diterpene triptophenolide[50] or for the rational and economical bioconversion of antimalarial drug artemisinin to 7beta-hydroxyartemisinin.

[51] Cunninghamella elegans has been used in environmental biotechnology for the treatment of textile wastewaters,[52] for instance those discoloured by azo dyes[53] or malachite green.