THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI
COVENANT UNIVERSITY
Department of Biological Sciences
NAME: OBUEKWE CHUKWUEMEKA AZUBUIKE
MAT NO: 12CQ014230
PROGRAMME: MICROBIOLOGY COURSE: MCB 212 (MYCOLOGY)
TOPIC: THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI IN;
MEDICINE
INDUSTRY
THE ENVIRONMENT
{DR OLASEINDE G.}
INTRODUCTION
Fungi are tremendously important to human society and the planet we live on. They provide fundamental products including foods, medicines, and enzymes important to industry. They are also the unsung heroes of nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, hidden from view but inseparable from the processes that sustain life on the planet.
THE MEDICAL IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI
Most Fungal genera have tremendous applications in modern medicine some of which include;
Drugs from Fungi
At the beginning of the 21st century, Fungi were involved in the industrial processing of more than 10 of the 20 most profitable products used in medicine. Three anti-cholesterol statins, the antibiotic penicillin and the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A are among the top 10. Fungi are extremely useful organisms in biotechnology.
Fungi construct unique complex molecules using established metabolic pathways. Different taxa produce sets of related molecules, each with slightly different final products. Metabolites formed along the metabolic pathway may also be biologically active. In addition, the final compounds are often released into the environment. Manipulation of the genome, and environmental conditions during formation of compounds, enable the optimisation of product formation.
On the negative side, single isolates of fungi in manufacture may lose their capacity to form or release the target molecules. Indeed, the target compound may only be expressed under specific conditions, or at a specific point in the life cycle of the fungus. It is amazing that so many
Department of Biological Sciences
NAME: OBUEKWE CHUKWUEMEKA AZUBUIKE
MAT NO: 12CQ014230
PROGRAMME: MICROBIOLOGY COURSE: MCB 212 (MYCOLOGY)
TOPIC: THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI IN;
MEDICINE
INDUSTRY
THE ENVIRONMENT
{DR OLASEINDE G.}
INTRODUCTION
Fungi are tremendously important to human society and the planet we live on. They provide fundamental products including foods, medicines, and enzymes important to industry. They are also the unsung heroes of nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, hidden from view but inseparable from the processes that sustain life on the planet.
THE MEDICAL IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI
Most Fungal genera have tremendous applications in modern medicine some of which include;
Drugs from Fungi
At the beginning of the 21st century, Fungi were involved in the industrial processing of more than 10 of the 20 most profitable products used in medicine. Three anti-cholesterol statins, the antibiotic penicillin and the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A are among the top 10. Fungi are extremely useful organisms in biotechnology.
Fungi construct unique complex molecules using established metabolic pathways. Different taxa produce sets of related molecules, each with slightly different final products. Metabolites formed along the metabolic pathway may also be biologically active. In addition, the final compounds are often released into the environment. Manipulation of the genome, and environmental conditions during formation of compounds, enable the optimisation of product formation.
On the negative side, single isolates of fungi in manufacture may lose their capacity to form or release the target molecules. Indeed, the target compound may only be expressed under specific conditions, or at a specific point in the life cycle of the fungus. It is amazing that so many