Role of Fungi in Antibiotic and Product Development

Fungi are thought to be bad organisms, causing food rot and disease. But fungi are important on many levels. These secondary metabolites have commercial uses. They naturally produce antibiotics to kill or inhibit bacterial growth, limiting their natural environment competition (Ingold, 2012). Cephalosporin and penicillin are an example of important antibiotics that can be isolated from fungi. Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressant drug isolated from fungi, which can reduce the possibility of organ rejection after a transplant. Various cultures over thousands of years have used psilocybin compounds for hallucinogenic properties. Fungi are model research organisms with the most modern genetic advances using Neurospora crassa, the red bread mold. Since yeast is eukaryotic, it can actively produce and modify proteins the same way human cells do, unlike the unicellular bacterium. That makes yeast a better organism to use in DNA technology experiments. Yeast can easily grow in culture, it accepts genetic modifications, and its generation time is short.

Fungi are an important biological insecticide, controlling the population of pests. The fungi attack specific insects and do not infect plants and animals. Though several fungi are on the market, more investigations are being carried out. Fungiform mycorrhiza’s relationship with plants increases farm productivity (Carlile et al., 2001). Over eighty percent of grasses and trees cannot survive without the root system’s fungal partner. Farmers can get mycorrhizal fungi inoculants, which are soil additives that promote organic culture, from supply stores. Fungi are part of the human diet. Their origin is the natural environment. Grain fermentation in wine and beer is an art used in many cultures. The brewer’s yeast was made from wild yeast. The isolated strains of the wild yeast are sold in different regions that make wine. Bread, a worldwide staple food, uses baker’s yeast in its preparation.