What is the use of fungus Penicillium?
What is the use of fungus Penicillium?
Penicillium is a genus of fungi. Some of the species are used to get penicillin, which is an antibiotic used for bacterial infection. Some of the species are also used in cheesemaking, enzymes and organic acid production. It is also used for the bioremediation process.
Where is Penicillium used?
Penicillium species, especially Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium camemberti, and Penicillium nalgiovense, are used in the production of blue cheeses, white cheeses, and mold-fermented meat sausages.
What type of fungi is Penicillium?
Penicillium is a diverse fungal genus of ascomycetous fungi and contains more than 350 species (Visagie et al., 2014). Penicillium is often referred as Deuteromycetes.
How do you identify Penicillium mold?
Species of Penicillium are recognized by their dense brush-like spore-bearing structures called penicilli (sing.: penicillus). The conidiophores are simple or branched and are terminated by clusters of flask-shaped phialides.
Is Penicillium harmful to humans?
As frequent agents of food spoilage, Penicillium molds can be hazardous to human health. This is because some species of Penicillium produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins (10). More than thirty different toxic compounds have been isolated from Penicillium ssp. contaminated foods, both human and animal (11).
Where is Penicillium found?
Habitat/Ecology. Penicillium are very commonly found in soil, on decaying vegetation and compost or on wood, dried foodstuffs, spices, dry cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables {808, 3095}they are also found growing on building materials in water-damaged environments {413} as well as in indoor air and house dust.
Why Penicillium is so called?
Etymology. The genus name is derived from the Latin root penicillum, meaning “painter’s brush”, and refers to the chains of conidia that resemble a broom.
How does Penicillium grow?
It grows most often on decaying organic materials such as fruits, vegetables and vegetation. Old bread, spoiling apples and pears, and rotting plant bulbs are all perfect habitats for various Penicillium species, which often show up as blue or green fuzzy growths.
Is Penicillium mold harmful?
What Are the Health Effects? Like many molds, Penicillium can threaten those with weak or compromised immune systems, causing allergic reactions or infections. Some species produce mycotoxins which are known carcinogens. Others species cause measurable organ damage when inhaled.
