Preface before pre senting a detailed des at ar many nd th that dis tinctive metabolites of the more c arately.Many fungal metabolites are involved in the interactions of fungi with plants and others are toxic to man.Some of these are described in the sub sequent chapters.Fungi can transform chemicals in ways that can complement actions.The use as reagents forms the of the at dea T which c r the liter nted to resent me of the chemistry and biological activity than was deseribed in those volumes.A great deal has been discovered since they were published.Reviews on various aspects of microbiological chemistry that have appeared in Natural Product Reports and else where are cited in the bibliography. Finally tha Dr Brian Cross and John Gre who firs e to mi d production of the book. James R.Hanson University of Sussex before presenting a detailed description of particular metabolites. Investi￾gations into these biosyntheses have utilized many subtle isotopic labelling experiments. Compounds that are fungal pigments and those that are dis￾tinctive metabolites of the more conspicuous Basidiomycetes are treated sep￾arately. Many fungal metabolites are involved in the interactions of fungi with plants and others are toxic to man. Some of these are described in the sub￾sequent chapters. Fungi can transform chemicals in ways that can complement conventional reactions. The use of fungi as reagents forms the subject of the final chapter. This book owes a great deal to Brian Turner’s Fungal Metabolites, volumes which cover the literature to 1982, although I have attempted to present more of the chemistry and biological activity than was described in those volumes. A great deal has been discovered since they were published. Reviews on various aspects of microbiological chemistry that have appeared in Natural Product Reports and elsewhere are cited in the bibliography. Finally, I wish to thank Dr Brian Cross and Dr John Grove who first introduced me to microbiological chemistry at The Frythe, Professor Tom Simpson FRS who read the manuscript and Dr Merlin Fox of the Royal Society of Chemistry for his help in the production of the book. James R. Hanson University of Sussex vi Preface