It is the dominant fungus of compost heaps, due to its ability to withstand high temperatures and use complex carbon sources for energy.
As the temperature of compost heaps rises and the availability of simple carbon sources decreases, it is able to out compete pioneer microflora.
It plays an important role in breaking down the hemicelluloses found in plant biomass due to the many hydrolytic enzymes that it produces, such as lipolase, amylase, xylanase, phytase, and chitinase.
T. lanuginosis was one of four species of thermophilic fungi isolated from self-heating hay by Miehe, along with Mucor pusillus, Thermoidium sulfureum, and Thermoascus aurantiacus.
[1] Kurt Noack isolated several thermophilic fungi from natural habitats, including T. lanuginosis, studying their physiology further.
Cooney and Emerson provided taxonomic descriptions of the 13 known fungal species during WWII, while studying alternate sources of rubber.
[1][3] Tsiklinskaya originally isolated and described the species, but failed to indicate the size of aleuriospores and didn't include drawings.
Photographs of mycelium and spores were inconclusive because they didn't give a true picture of the size or structure due to failure in indicating the magnification.
One of the features that has been discovered through sequencing of the genome is that the fungus has a ubiquitin degradation pathway, which helps it respond to various environmental stressors, such as nutrient limitation, heat shock, and heavy metal exposure, and may be essential for adaptation during rising temperatures.
It is also capable of histone acetylation/deacetylation and contains high numbers of methylases, which play important roles in packing and condensation of DNA.
[5][1] Masses of developing aleuriophores can be seen on the fine, colourless hyphae of young colonies when viewed under a microscope.
The asexual conida are borne singly on short stalks and are one celled, dark brown, with a roughened surface.
[5] Spores are colorless and smooth at first, but turn dark brown during maturation, and the thick exospore becomes wrinkled.
[1] Thermophilic moulds grown at high temperatures (above 50 °C) contain dense body vesicles in their hyphae that function as storage organelles, mainly for phospholipids.
[7] T. lanuginosis is unable to utilize cellulose because it does not produce a cellulase, but it is well adapted to using other complex carbon sources such as hemicellulose.
The hydrolytic products of cellulose and hemicellulose - glucose, xylose and mannose, are transported using the same proton-driven symport.
[2] The thin mycelial suspensions formed by the fungus make it desirable for use in the production of stable lipase for manufacturing detergents for hot water machine washing.
[7] The immobilization of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) or other lipases on diverse supports utilizing a variety of immobilization techniques has been investigated in scientific literature with the aim of enhancing enzyme stability, reusability, and performance in various biocatalytic applications, such as biodiesel production and ester synthesis.
These outcomes highlight the potential of immobilized lipases for industrial-scale applications in the food, beverage, and biofuel sectors, as they offer environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives for diverse chemical transformations.
Extra phosphorus needs to be added into feed to desphosphorylate the phytic acid because it forms insoluble complexes with some metal ions, making them unavailable for nutrition.
They can be used in the degradation of chitin in crude shrimp shells without pre-treatment with harsh chemicals, and also have applications in medicine as chitinase has been found to have antifungal properties.
[7] Thermomyces lanuginosus has two of the most important qualities required for being a compost colonizer - it is able to withstand high temperatures and use complex carbon sources for energy.
[14] T. lanuginosus is a secondary sugar fungus and can participate in mutualistic relationships with some true cellulose decomposers of composts.
[9] Thermomyces lanuginosus Lipase (TLL) has a number of different chemical, environmental, and industrial applications, where hydrolytic processes are involved.
Its regiospecificity allows the oleochemical industry to produce products such as cocoa butter equivalents, human milk fat substitutes, and other specific-structured lipids.
It has a high morbidity and mortality, as well as a potential for relapse, so patients with uncommon non-Aspergillus mould endocarditis may require lifelong suppressive antifungal therapy.