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Human interactions with fungi include both beneficial uses, whether practical or symbolic, and harmful interactions such as when fungi damage crops, timber, food, or are pathogenic to animals. Yeasts have been used since ancient times to leaven bread and to ferment beer and wine .
The human use of fungi for food preparation or preservation and other purposes is extensive and has a long history. Mushroom farming and mushroom gathering are large industries in many countries. The study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi is known as ethnomycology .
Numerous fungi have well-documented psychotropic effects, some of them severe and associated with acute and life-threatening side-effects. [21] Among these is Amanita muscaria , the fly agaric . More widely used informally are a range of fungi collectively known as "magic mushrooms" , which contain psilocybin and psilocin .
Fungi are fundamental for life on earth in their roles as symbionts, e.g. in the form of mycorrhizae, insect symbionts, and lichens. Many fungi are able to break down complex organic biomolecules such as lignin, the more durable component of wood, and pollutants such as xenobiotics, petroleum, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Animals, plants, fungi, and microbes once confined in anthropological accounts to the realm of zoe or 'bare life'—that which is killable—have started to appear alongside humans in the realm of bios, with legibly biographical and political lives. [8]
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 ".
Infestations of head lice might have been beneficial for humans by fostering an immune response that helps to reduce the threat of body louse borne lethal diseases. [34] Some relationships between humans and domesticated animals and plants are to different degrees mutualistic.
Prebiotics are compounds in food that foster growth or activity of beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. [1] The most common environment concerning their effects on human health is the gastrointestinal tract, where prebiotics can alter the composition of organisms in the gut microbiome.