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Yeasts have been used since ancient times to leaven bread and to ferment beer and wine. [2] More recently, fungi have been used for a wide variety of industrial fermentations, whether working directly for their effects on materials such as processing paper pulp or bioremediating industrial waste, or serving as the source of enzymes for many purposes, such as fading and softening denim for ...
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
Pathogenic fungi are fungi that cause disease in humans or other organisms. Although fungi are eukaryotic , many pathogenic fungi are microorganisms . [ 1 ] Approximately 300 fungi are known to be pathogenic to humans; [ 2 ] their study is called " medical mycology ".
Entomopathogenic fungi all typically disperse through the environment through the use of microscopic spores (usually asexual or Conidia) that commonly use hydrophobins and adhesins to attach to and recognize the host cuticle. [4] Germination is environmentally triggered under specific temperature and humidity conditions.
Ectomycorrhizal fruiting body, Amanita spp. Soil carbon storage is an important function of terrestrial ecosystems. Soil contains more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined. [1] Understanding what maintains the soil carbon pool is important to understand the current distribution of carbon on Earth, and how it will respond to ...
Fungi are everywhere, but only some cause disease. [13] Fungal infection occurs after spores are either breathed in, come into contact with skin or enter the body through the skin such as via a cut, wound or injection. [3] It is more likely to occur in people with a weak immune system. [14]
An example is Talaromyces marneffei, [3] a human pathogen that grows as a mold at room temperature, and as a yeast at human body temperature. The term dimorphic is commonly used for fungi that can grow both as yeast and filamentous cells, however many of these dimorphic fungi actually can grow in more than these two forms.
Some fungi can cause extensive discolourations when luxuriantly developed. A striking example is Xanthoriicola physciae on Xanthoria parietina, which can give the host a soot-spattered appearance and potentially reduce its photosynthetic area to the point of local death. [3] In contrast, other lichenicolous fungi have very localised effects.