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Some members of the genus produce penicillin, a molecule that is used as an antibiotic, which kills or stops the growth of certain kinds of bacteria. Other species are used in cheesemaking . According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the widespread genus contains over 300 species.
Penicillin G (benzylpenicillin) was first produced from a penicillium fungus that occurs in nature. The strain of fungus used today for the manufacture of penicillin G was created by genetic engineering to improve the yield in the manufacturing process.
Penicillium rubens is a species of fungus in the genus Penicillium and was the first species known to produce the antibiotic penicillin. It was first described by Philibert Melchior Joseph Ehi Biourge in 1923. For the discovery of penicillin from this species Alexander Fleming shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945. [1]
Production of antibiotics is a naturally occurring event, that thanks to advances in science can now be replicated and improved upon in laboratory settings. Due to the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and the efforts of Florey and Chain in 1938, large-scale, pharmaceutical production of antibiotics has been made possible.
Penicillium chrysogenum (formerly known as Penicillium notatum) is a species of fungus in the genus Penicillium.It is common in temperate and subtropical regions and can be found on salted food products, [1] but it is mostly found in indoor environments, especially in damp or water-damaged buildings. [2]
Abraham and Chain discovered that some airborne bacteria produced penicillinase, an enzyme that destroys penicillin. [65] It was not known why the mould produced penicillin, as the bacteria penicillin kills are no threat to the mould; it was conjectured that it was a byproduct of metabolic processes for other purposes. [64]
The cell wall of bacteria is also distinct from that of achaea, which do not contain peptidoglycan. The cell wall is essential to the survival of many bacteria, and the antibiotic penicillin (produced by a fungus called Penicillium) is able to kill bacteria by inhibiting a step in the synthesis of peptidoglycan. [76]
Sample of penicillin mould presented by Alexander Fleming to Douglas Macleod in 1935. The discovery of penicillin was one of the most important scientific discoveries in the history of medicine. Ancient societies used moulds to treat infections and in the following centuries many people observed the inhibition of bacterial growth by moulds.