Question

Which of the following organisms is useful in the preparation of Roquefort cheese?
A. Mucor
B. Rhizopus
C. Aspergillus
D. Penicillium

Answer 1

Hint: Many microorganisms can be used economically by industries to produce useful products for human consumption which can be used in many ways. The various kinds of microorganisms used in the food industry are - yeast, molds, bacteria, etc.

Complete Answer:
Bacteria and Fungi are economically important as these microorganisms are used by humans for many purposes. The beneficial uses of bacteria and fungi include the production of traditional foods such as yogurt, cheese, and vinegar. Microbes are also important in agriculture for the compost and fertilizer production.

Let us analyze the options to find the correct answer.
- Option A: Mucor is an ethanol producing microorganism whose morphology can be changed and controlled, so Option A is incorrect.
- Option B: Rhizopus stolonifer causes fruit rot on strawberry, tomato and sweet potato and is used in commercial production of fumaric acid and cortisone. So, Option B is incorrect.
- Option C: Aspergillus Niger is a fungus used for production of citric acid and in production of several enzymes such as amylases, pectinases and proteases. So, Option C is incorrect.
- Option D: Penicillium Roqueforti is used as a fungal starter culture for production of blue veined cheeses, also known as Roquefort cheese, with both proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes produced by the fungus involved in ripening of cheese and flavor production. So, Option D is correct.

Thus, the correct option is D) Penicillium.

Note: Some of the important microbes and their products can be listed below.
- Citric Acid – Aspergillus niger (fungus)
- Acetic Acid - Acetobacter aceti (bacterium)
- Butyric Acid – Clostridium butyrillium (bacterium)
- Ethanol – Saccharomyces cerevisiae (fungus)
- Swiss Cheese – Propionibacterium shermanii (bacterium)
- Curd or Yogurt – Lactobacillus or LAB (bacterium)