Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the "ascus", a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.
Penicillium 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.
Talaromyces marneffei, formerly called Penicillium marneffei, was identified in 1956. The organism is endemic to southeast Asia where it is an important cause of opportunistic infections in those with HIV/AIDS-related immunodeficiency. Incidence of T. marneffei infections has increased due to a rise in HIV infection rates in the region.
Griseofulvin is an antifungal medication used to treat a number of types of dermatophytoses (ringworm). This includes fungal infections of the nails and scalp, as well as the skin when antifungal creams have not worked. It is taken by mouth.
The Eurotiales are an order of sac fungi, also known as the green and blue molds. It was circumscribed in 1980.
The Trichocomaceae are a family of fungi in the order Eurotiales. Taxa are saprobes with aggressive colonization strategies, adaptable to extreme environmental conditions. Family members are cosmopolitan in distribution, ubiquitous in soil, and common associates of decaying plant and food material.
Penicillium roqueforti is a common saprotrophic fungus in the genus Penicillium. Widespread in nature, it can be isolated from soil, decaying organic matter, and plants.
Penitrem A (tremortin) is an indole-diterpenoid mycotoxin produced by certain species of Aspergillus, Claviceps, and Penicillium, which can be found growing on various plant species such as ryegrass. Penitrem A is one of many secondary metabolites following the synthesis of paxilline in Penicillium crostosum. Penitrem A poisoning in humans and animals usually occurs through the consumption of contaminated foods by mycotoxin-producing species, which is then distributed through the body by the bloodstream. It bypasses the blood-brain barrier to exert its toxicological effects on the central nervous system. In humans, penitrem A poisoning has been associated with severe tremors, hyperthermia, nausea/vomiting, diplopia, and bloody diarrhea. In animals, symptoms of penitrem A poisoning has been associated with symptoms ranging from tremors, seizures, and hyperthermia to ataxia and nystagmus.
Antarctica is one of the most physically and chemically extreme terrestrial environments to be inhabited by lifeforms. The largest plants are mosses, and the largest animals that do not leave the continent are a few species of insects.
Penicillium chrysogenum is a species of fungus in the genus Penicillium. It is common in temperate and subtropical regions and can be found on salted food products, but it is mostly found in indoor environments, especially in damp or water-damaged buildings. It has been recognised as a species complex that includes P. notatum, P. meleagrinum, and P. cyaneofulvum. Molecular phylogeny has established that Alexander Fleming's first discovered penicillin producing strain is of a distinct species, P. rubens, and not of P. notatum. It has rarely been reported as a cause of human disease. It is the source of several β-lactam antibiotics, most significantly penicillin. Other secondary metabolites of P. chrysogenum include roquefortine C, meleagrin, chrysogine, 6-MSA YWA1/melanin, andrastatin A, fungisporin, secalonic acids, sorbicillin, and PR-toxin.
Charles Thom was an American microbiologist and mycologist. Born and raised in Illinois, he received his PhD from the University of Missouri, the first such degree awarded by that institution. He studied the microbiology of dairy products and soil fungi, and in particular researched the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. His work influenced the establishment of standards for food handling and processing in the USA. He pioneered the use of culture media to grow microorganisms, and, with food chemist James N. Currie, developed a process to mass-produce citric acid using Aspergillus. Thom played an important role in the development of penicillin in World War II.
Penicillium vanoranjei is an orange-colored fungus first described in 2013 from specimens collected in Tunisia. It was named after the Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander to commemorate his coronation as King of the Netherlands.
Penicillium isariiforme is an anamorph, phototropic species of the genus of Penicillium which produce secalonic acid D and F.
Penicillium psychrosexualis is a filamentous fungus in the genus Penicillium. Described as new to science in 2010, the species was found growing on refrigerated moldy apples in the Netherlands. It is closely related to the blue cheese fungus P. roqueforti.
Penicillium solitum is an anamorphic, mesophilic, salinity-tolerant, and psychrotolerant species of fungus in the genus Penicillium. It is known to produce various compounds including polygalacturonase, compactin, cyclopenin, cyclopenol, cyclopeptin, dehydrocompactin, dihydrocyclopeptin, palitantin, solistatin, solistatinol, viridicatin, viridicatol.
Penicillium digitatum is a mesophilic fungus found in the soil of citrus-producing areas. It is a major source of post-harvest decay in fruits and is responsible for the widespread post-harvest disease in Citrus fruit known as green rot or green mould. In nature, this necrotrophic wound pathogen grows in filaments and reproduces asexually through the production of conidiophores and conidia. However, P. digitatum can also be cultivated in the laboratory setting. Alongside its pathogenic life cycle, P. digitatum is also involved in other human, animal and plant interactions and is currently being used in the production of immunologically based mycological detection assays for the food industry.
Penicillium thymicola is a halotolerant species of fungus in the genus Penicillium which produces okaramine A, daldinin D, alantrypinone, seranttrypinone, fumiquinazoline F and fumiquinazoline G.
Penicillium velutinum is an anamorph species of fungus in the genus Penicillium which produces citrinin. Penicillium velutinum can spoil fruit juices.
Czapek medium, also called Czapek's agar (CZA) or Czapek-Dox medium, is a growth medium for propagating fungi and other organisms in a laboratory. It was named after its inventors, Czech botanist Friedrich Johann Franz Czapek and American chemist Arthur Wayland Dox. It was developed to grow Aspergillus niger and Penicillium camemberti. It works well for many saprophytic fungi and soil bacteria such as species of Aspergillus, Candida, Penicillium, and Paecilomyces.
