ECONOMIC IMPORTANCES OF FUNGI

 Fungi are  nucleated, spore bearing, achlorophyllous, heterotrphic (saprophytic, parasitic or hyper parasitic) ,eukaryotic organisms. The fungi are related to both the useful and harmful activities to which society, biosphere and modern biology are directly concerned.Therefore economically fungi are very important biological group.

 

Beneficial effects of Fungi in society:

1. Edible fungi: Fructification of certain species of Amanita, Boletus, Agaricus, Pleurotus, Auricularia, Phallus etcare edible as mushroom, which contain a huge nutritive value. The food value  of button mushroom Agaricus bisporus is as follows-

 

Composition	Percentage
1.      Water	81%
2.      Solids	9%
3.      Carbohydrates	2.4%
4.      Protein (N X 6.25)	3.3%
5.      Fat	0.4%
6.      Ash	0.4%

 

It also contain several essential amino acids like Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenyl alanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and  Valine. Like most vegetables, mushroom are good  source of minerals such as potassium, sodium, phosphorus,calcium, iron, magnesium.In addition with these, mushroom serve as a source of vitamins, like nicotinamide, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, thiamine, cholin, biotin and vitamine B₁₂ .

 

2. Food processing:Fungi are being employed in the processing of certain food products as agents, responsible for characteristic odour, flavour or texture.These are as follows-

a.      Protein cakes:    Saccharomyces cerevisiae

b.      Fermented food :Several yeast and Rhizopus, Mucor, Actinomucor

c.      Cheese and Butter: Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium camemberti

d.      Misoo(Japan & China): Saccharomyces rouxi, Aspergillus oryzae

e.      Tempeh (Indonesia): Rhizopus, Oligosporus

f.       Single cell protein(SCP): Candida utilis, Fusarium

 

3. Alcohlic beverages:Fungi are widely used by man for the production  of alcohohlic beverages. These are described below-

Wine: Saccharomyces ellipsoids

Beer:  Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces curlburgensis

Ethanol:Schizosaccharomycespombe ,Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Shake: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Japan), Aspergillus oryzae

 

4. Source of vitamins:Many fungal metabolites are the rich sources of vitamins ,which are used as nutritional supplement and medical theraphy. These are as follows-

                Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Vitamine B-complex

Rhodotorula gracilis:                         Vitamin-A

Ashbya gossypi :                      Riboflavin

Ermothecium ashbyi:              Riboflavin

 

5. Source of hormones:Gibberelin, a group of plant hormone, used to accelerate the growth of many crops, is obtained  from a fungus-Gibberella fujikoroi.Except that Mucor mucedo and Choanephora trispora also produces a hormone Trisporic acid.

 

6.Fat production: Certain fungi are good sources of fat.Among them the common are Aspergillus nidulans,  Claviceps purpurea etc.

 

7.Preparation of medicines:Fungi have explored new field in medicine by producing antibiotics, drugs and other useful components.These are-

a.      Penicillin(wonder drug)      :                       Penicillium notatum

b.      Beta lactum(anti bacterial drugs): Cephalosporium acremonium

c.      Cyclosporin(Immunosupressive): Tolypocladium inflamatum

d.      Ergotin (Uterocontracent):             Claviceps parpurea

e.      Zearelanone(anabolic growth agent):       Gibberella zeae

f.       Menivolin(Cholesterol inhibitor):            Aspergillus terreus

 

8.Preparation of other useful material: Fungi are also used in preparation of several cosmetics and use ful materials. For example  Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces ellipsoides.Another fungi Blakeslea trispora produces beta-Carotene which is used as a raw materials of several cosmetics.

 

Beneficial effects of Fungi in Ecology:

 

1 . Decomposing and increasing of soil fertility: Several fungi decompose the organic compounds of dead plants,animals and converts the essential elements in to forms  in which they can be used again as raw materials by plants.Some fungi like Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Rhizopus and Penicillium have soil binding properties due to the secretion of mucilaginous substances and polysachharides.

 

2. Bio-remediation: The degratative abilities of fungi can be exploited to decompose man made pollutants, such as hydrocarbons, pesticides and explossives.They may decompose substrates in to CO₂ and  H₂0 by respiratory pathways or they may reduce  toxicity by co-metabolic activity.The toxicity  of some compounds can also increased in this manner.

 

3. Symbiosis:Fungi can enter in to close associations with other microbes and with higher plants and animals.These beneficial associations are termed as symbiosis.The association can be external to the host cell, as in ectomycorrhizae and lichens or inside the cell as in the endomycorrhizae and endophyticfungi.

 

4.Fungi as predator: Some of the fungi, like Nematophora gynophilla; are utilized for controlling  nematodes and other soil borne pathogens.

5. Entomogenous fungi: These fungi are utilized for controlling plant-pest and also the insects, which cause human diseases eg-Legenidium.Many insects and pests are being controlled by using fungi like Beauveria bassiana, Metarrhizium anisopliae etc., since the begining of present century.Coelomyces, is an aquatic fungus which attacks mosquioto larvae and kill them within a short period 

 

Economic importance of Fungi in Modern biology:

1 . Fungi as genetics research tools: Fungi are used as a basic material for the study of  various fundamental biological processes. For example Neurospora grow very fast and require a shorter period to complete one generation and hence used as experimental material for geneticists and molecular biologists. They are also preferable in the study of cytology and biochemistry.

 

2. Hallucinogenic drugs production:Amanita muscaria, Psilocybe mexicana etc. Produce hallucinogenic drugs like psilocybin, psilocine, Lysergenic acid di-ethylamine (LSD), which are used in production of several medicines and biochemical research.

 

3.Source of Enzyme: Various kinds of enzymes are synthesized on commercial scale by using different fungi for biological study. Eg-

 

a.      Aspergillus flavus: Taka distase, Digestin, Ployzime

b.      Aspergillus oryzae: Amylase, Protease, Pectinase

c.      Aspergillus niger: Amylase

d.      Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Invertase

4. Source of organic acid : Many fungi are increasingly valuable for the production of organic acids in huge amount as their metabolic products. Eg-

                        a.  Aspergillus niger : Citric acid,Galic acid, Gluconic acid

                        b. Rhizopus arrhizus: Itachoic acid

                        c. Penicillium :Citric acid, Fumaric acid, Oxalic acid

 

Negative aspects Of Fungi:

Fungi have a negative value because some fungi are dangerous to human beings and society.The negative roles of fungi are as follows          

 

1.Plant pathogenic fungi: Almost all plants, from minute members of algae to giant forest trees, are attacked and destroyed by fungi. Fungal diseases may result even into  a catastropic allowed to run their course unchecked. Few examples of plant pathogenic fungus are as follows..........

a.      Puccinia graminis- Rust of wheat

b.      Phytophthora infestans- Late blight of potato

c.      Albugo candida-White rust of crucifers

d.      Erysiphe polygoni- Powdery mildew of peas

e.      Alternaria solani- Early blight of potato

f.       Alternaria alternata- Blight of tea

 

2.Decay of Timber: Many species of  Polyporous and other genera of

basidiomycetes cause the damage  and decay to the timber wood and sufficient losses are caused

3.Destruction of Textiles:The species of the genera Alternaria,Penicillium etc are especially destructive to wollen textiles.The rayon  is destroyed by the genera of Aspergillus and Penicillium.The chief destructing fungi to the textiles are Mucor, Aspergillus,Fusarium and Trichoderma.The deterioration of cotton in storage is caused chiefly by species of Stachybotrys.

 

4.Destruction of Paper Industry: Many fungi cause damage to the proper pulp-wood e.g., Polyporous adustus, Polystichous hirsutus etc. Many species of basidiomycetes cause wood decay if suitable environmental conditions prevail. Many fungi  destroy the paper of  books and news paper in moist condition.The fungi such as  Chaetomium, Aspergillus, Cephalothecium, Stachyobotrys, Alternia, Fusarium, Cladosporium,Dematium etc cause the damage to paper industry.

 

5.Spoilage to food stuff: Penicillium digitatum is responsible for rotting of Citrus fruits.Many fungi such as Mucor, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Oidium, Fusarium,, Cause damage to the milk and milk products. Oidium lactis develops the fishy odour of the butter and causes damage to the butter.Mucor mucedo and Aspergillus are responsible for the bread spoilage.

 

6.Human pathogen: Several important human diseases are caused by different species of fungi, which are described bellow.

 

 i. Aspergillus fumigates and Aspergillus glaucas are responsible for the lung disease “aspergillosis”.

 

ii. The disease “Mycosis” and “Tokelan” are caused by various species of Aspergillus.

 

iii. Dermatophytes cause skin diseases “Dermatomycoses”.It also known as ring worm.

 

iv. Epidermophyton flocossum causes chronic infection commonly known as “Athletes’s foot”.

 

v. Microsporum generally infects the scalp of children, causing a condition  called by “Tinea capitis”

 

vi.Several form genera of Moniliaceae which include serious human pathogens are Blastomyces, Histoplasma, Geotrichum and Sporotrichum.They cause North American blastomycosis.

 

vii.South American blastomycosis caused by Blastomyces braziliensis .

 

viii.Certain form species Geotrichum are known to be pathogenic to man. Four forms of “geotrichosis” have been described - Oral, intestinal, bronchial and Pulmonary.