Beneficial Mold & Fungus
The kingdom of fungi includes organisms such as mushrooms, yeasts and molds. Although some are poisonous or cause diseases, many fungi are beneficial.
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Edible Fungi
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Edible mushrooms are delicious, nutritious and economical. Mushrooms are an excellent source of vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, potassium, copper and selenium, and they are extremely low in fat and calories. Truffles (a type of fancy mushroom that grows underground) are prized as gourmet food and can sell for as much as $500 per pound, as of 2010.
Food Production
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Single-celled fungi (yeasts) produce the alcohol in beer and wine, as well as the carbon dioxide that makes bread dough rise. Molds are necessary for the production of soy sauce and blue cheeses such as Roquefort.
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Medicine
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Penicillin is an important antibiotic that can cure many bacterial diseases, and it comes from the common bread mold Penicillium. A mold called Rhizopus is used to produce the steroid drug cortisone.
Ecology
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Over 90 percent of plant species rely on symbiotic relationships with fungi to acquire nutrients. These fungi are called mycorrhizae, and they live in the root systems of most plants, functioning as an extension of the root system and helping plants uptake more nutrients from the soil. Molds and other fungi also play a crucial role in the environment as decomposers, working to break down organic materials such as dead trees.
Industrial
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Some molds are used in industrial processes because of the chemicals they produce. For example, the mold Aspergillus terreus is used in making plastics.
Psychoactive
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Psychoactive mushrooms (containing the chemicals psilocybin and psilocin) have a long history of spiritual and cultural use by the native people of Mexico, Central and South America.
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