Қалыпты саңырауқұлақтар: Penicillium туысының сипаттамасы

Genus of fungi

Penicillium (,/p//ɛ//n//ɪ/'/s//ɪ//l//i//əm/) is a genus of ascomycetous fungi that is part of the mycobiome of many species and is of major importance in the natural environment, in food spoilage, and in food and drug production. Some members of the genus produce penicillin, a molecule that is used as an antibiotic, which kills or stops the growth of certain kinds of bacteria. Other species are used in cheesemaking. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the widespread genus contains over 300 species. Sexual reproduction involves the production of ascospores, commencing with the fusion of an archegonium and an antheridium, with sharing of nuclei. The irregularly distributed asci contain eight unicellular ascospores each.

Species of Penicillium are ubiquitous soil fungi preferring cool and moderate climates, commonly present wherever organic material is available. Saprophytic species of Penicillium and Aspergillus are among the best known representatives of the Eurotiales and live mainly on organic biodegradable substances. Commonly known in America as molds, they are among the main causes of food spoilage, especially species of subgenus Penicillium. This finding was based, in part, on evidence for functional mating type (MAT) genes that are involved in fungal sexual compatibility, and the presence in the sequenced genome of most of the important genes known to be involved in meiosis. Penicillium chrysogenum is of major medical and historical importance as the original and present day industrial source of the antibiotic penicillin. The species was considered asexual for more than 100 years despite concerted efforts to induce sexual reproduction. However, in 2013, Bohm et al. finally demonstrated sexual reproduction in P. chrysogenum. These findings with Penicillium species are consistent with accumulating evidence from studies of other eukaryotic species that sex was likely present in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes. Furthermore, these recent results suggest that sex can be maintained even when very little genetic variability is produced. Prior to 2013, when the "one fungus, one name" nomenclature change came into effect, Penicillium was used as the genus for anamorph (clonal forms) of fungi and Talaromyces was used for the teleomorph (sexual forms) of fungi. After 2013 however, fungi were reclassified based on their genetic relatedness to each other and now the genera Penicillium and Talaromyces both contain some species capable of only clonal reproduction and others that can reproduce sexually.