Question

Name the organism from ascomycetes used in biochemical and genetic work.

Answer 1

Hint: Ascomycota is one of the phylums of the kingdom Fungi. The members of this phylum are commonly known as the sac fungi or Ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of kingdom fungi consisting of over 64,000 species.

Complete Answer:
Ascomycetes: The defining feature of the members of this group is the presence of ‘ascus’.
Ascus is a microscopic sexual structure in which ascospores are formed. Ascospores are non-motile spores.
- As the spores mature within the ascus, they increase fluid pressure up inside and eventually the top of the ascus bursts off and releases all the spores.
- Ascomycetes have a diverse habitat. Some members of ascomycetes are saprophytes and some are disease causing pathogens.
Examples – Cladonia, Penicillium, Candila, Claviceps, etc.

Importances of Ascomycetes:
- The members of Ascomycetes help in fermentation of food like bread, alcohol cheese, etc.
- Ascomycetes are used in making antibiotics such as Penicillin and other chemicals.
- Many species of Ascomycetes are used in biological studies and research such as yeast and Neurospora.
- Many organic acids and enzymes are produced by the Ascomycetes. For example – citric acid, gluconic acid, amylase, etc. Morels, Truffles, lobster mushrooms are used as fungal delicacies.
- Organism from Ascomycetes used in biochemical and genetic work:
- Neurospora is the member of Ascomycetes which is used in biochemical and genetic work.
- It is widely used in genetics as a model organism because it has the ability to divide quickly and also it is easy to culture.
- It can also survive on minimal media (glucose, water, inorganic salts, biotin in agar, etc.)

Note: Neurospora is a type of red mold band belonging to the phylum Ascomycota. It is a filamentous fungus.