Fungus penicillium: structure, properties, application

Moldy mushroom penicillium - a plant that has become widespread in nature. It refers to the class of imperfections. At the moment there are more than 250 varieties of it. The golden pinicles, in a different way, the racemose green mold, is of particular importance. This variety is used for the manufacture of a medicinal product. "Penicillin" based on this fungus can overcome a lot of bacteria.

Habitat

Penicillium is a multicellular fungus, for which the soil is a natural habitat. Very often this plant can be seen in the form of a blue or green plaque mold. It grows on all kinds of substrates. However, it is most often found on the surface of plant mixtures.

Structure of the fungus

As for the structure, the penicillium mushroom is very similar to aspergillus, which also belongs to the family of moldy mushrooms. The vegetative mycelium of this plant is transparent and branching. It consists, as a rule, of a large number of cells. From mucor, the penicillin mushroom is distinguished by a mycelium. He has it multicellular. As for mycelium mukora, it is unicellular.

Penicillium penis either located on the surface of the substrate, or penetrate it. From this part of the fungus, the ascending and erect conidiophores depart. Such formations, as a rule, branch into the upper part and form brushes that bear colored unicellular pores. It's conidia. Brushes of a plant, in turn, can be of several kinds:

• Asymmetrical;
• Three-tier;
• Two-tiered;
• Single-tiered.

A particular type of penicillium forms conidia bundles, which are called coremias. Reproduction of fungus is carried out by spreading spores.

Why is it a parasite

Fungi-parasites (penicillium and mucor) provoke spoilage of products, and also take an active part in the decomposition of tissues having an animal and vegetable origin. This is due to a large number of enzymes. It should be noted that plaque on the vegetative substrate can be formed simultaneously by several species of fungi. In this case, the nutrition of this type of plant is carried out by sucking in the finished organic components. It is for this reason that penicillium is considered a parasite.

Is it harmful to a person

Many believe that the penicillium fungi are bacteria. However, this is not the case. Some species of this plant have pathogenic properties relative to animal organisms and humans. Most harm is caused in those cases when the mold fungus affects agricultural and food products, multiplying intensively within them. If stored incorrectly, penicillis affects the feed. If it is fed to animals, their death can not be ruled out. After all, inside the food, a large number of toxic substances accumulate, which negatively affect the health status.

Pharmaceutical applications

Can penisilla mushroom be useful? Bacteria that cause certain viral diseases are unstable to antibiotics, which are made from mold. Some varieties of these plants have become widespread in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to their ability to produce enzymes. The drug "Penicillin", which fights many types of bacteria, is obtained from Penicillium notatum and Penicillium chrysogenum.

It should be noted that the manufacture of this drug occurs in several stages. To begin with the fungus is grown. For this, a corn extract is used. This substance allows you to get the best products of penicillin. After this, the fungus is grown by immersing the culture in a special fermenter. Its volume is several thousand liters. There, plants actively multiply.

After extraction from the liquid medium, the penicillium fungus undergoes additional treatment. At this stage of production, solutions of salts and organic solvents are used. Such substances allow to obtain final products: potassium and sodium salt of penicillin.

Mold fungi and food industry

Due to some properties penicillium fungus is widely used in the food industry. Certain varieties of this plant are used in cheese making. As a rule, this is Penicillium Roquefort and Penicillium camemberti. These types of molds are used in the manufacture of such cheeses as "Stiltosh", "Gorntsgola", "Roquefort" and so on. This "marble" product has a loose structure. For cheeses of this variety is characterized by a specific flavor and appearance.

It should be noted that the culture of penicilli is used at a certain stage of manufacturing of such products. For example, for the production of Roquefort cheese, Penicillium Roquefort strain is used. This kind of fungus can reproduce even in loose loose curd mass. This mold perfectly tolerates a low concentration of oxygen. In addition, the fungus is resistant to increased content of salts in the acidic medium.

Penicill is able to release lipolytic and proteolytic enzymes that affect milk fats and proteins. Under the influence of these substances, the cheese becomes loose, oily, and also a specific flavor and taste.

In conclusion

The properties of penicillin fungus have not yet been fully explored. Scientists regularly conduct new research. This allows us to identify new properties of mold. Such works allow studying the metabolic products. In the future, this will allow the use of penicillin mushroom in practice.