Question

Penicillin is obtained from which fungus?

Answer 1

Hint: You may have seen that when you are sick and visit a doctor, the doctor gives you medicine which is usually antibiotics. After eating that medicine for a few days you get well. Have you ever wondered what medicine consists of? Basically, it contains antibiotics which kill the organism due to which you get sick.

Complete answer:
The antibiotic or antibacterial is a wide range of drugs which are used to kill or inhibit the growth of the microorganisms, which cause the infections. The antibiotics are usually administered in the case of bacterial infections when the body’s immune system alone cannot fight the infections.
The penicillin is also a type of antibiotic which is produced from a fungus called as Penicillium notatum. It was discovered in the late 19th century when a Scottish scientist, Alexander Fleming was researching the influenza virus in London. Fleming went on a two week holiday and when he returned he found that a mold had developed on his accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. When he observed and examined the culture plate, he saw that the mold doesn’t allow the staphylococci to grow. Although it was a chance discovery in the field of medicines, it helped to cure many diseases.
Penicillium notatum is a fungus belonging to the Ascomycota group. It is found in areas with moist soils or damp waters. It also grows on stored foods and feeds on dead decaying matter. It reproduces with the formation of spores called conidia which are released from conidiophores. Its hyphae are slender, branched and tube like from which the conidiophores develop. Fleming described these conidiophores as white fluffy masses.

Note: Penicillin is used for the treatment of gram-positive bacteria that usually cause pneumonia, gonorrhea, wounds, bacterial fevers etc. it is also used in the treatment of the plant diseases which occur in apples, trees, grapes and tomatoes.