Penicillins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from Penicillium moulds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using deep tank fermentation and then purified. A number of natural penicillins have been discovered, but only two purified compounds are in clinical use: penicillin G and penicillin V. Penicillins were among the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. They are still widely used today for different bacterial infections, though many types of bacteria have developed resistance following extensive use.
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.
Blue cheese is any of a wide range of cheeses made with the addition of cultures of edible molds, which create blue-green spots or veins through the cheese. Blue cheeses vary in taste from very mild to strong, and from slightly sweet to salty or sharp; in colour from pale to dark; and in consistency from liquid or very soft to firm or hard. They may have a distinctive smell, either from the mold or from various specially cultivated bacteria such as Brevibacterium linens.
The Nitrosomonadales are an order of the class Betaproteobacteria in the phylum "Pseudomonadota". Like all members of their class, they are Gram-negative.
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.
Sodoku is a bacterial zoonotic disease. It is caused by the Gram-negative rod Spirillum minus. It is a form of rat-bite fever (RBF).
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.
Mevastatin is a hypolipidemic agent that belongs to the statins class.
Spirillum is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria in the family Spirillaceae of the Nitrosomonadales of the Betaproteobacteria. There are two species of Spirillum with validly or effectively published names - Spirillum winogradskyi and Spirillum volutans.
Spirillum minus is an organism associated with rat-bite fever that has never been fully identified and was assigned to the genus Spirillum in 1887 based on morphology, although it is not a validly published name. As Spirillum species generally obligately microaerophiles and are not found in mammals, this organism may be misclassified. Sequencing data should help to resolve this question.
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.
Penicillium brevicompactum is a mould species in the genus Penicillium.
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.
Spirillum volutans is a gram-negative, bacterium from the genus of Spirillum which occurs in freshwater. It has an amphitrichous flagellar arrangement. Spirillum volutans is one of the largest bacteria species.
Spirillum winogradskyi is a gram-negative, bacterium from the genus of Spirillum which was isolated from the sulfidic sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Spiral bacteria, bacteria of spiral (helical) shape, form the third major morphological category of prokaryotes along with the rod-shaped bacilli and round cocci. Spiral bacteria can be subclassified by the number of twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility. The two types of spiral cells are spirillum and spirochete, with spirillum being rigid with external flagella, and spirochetes being flexible with internal flagella.
Aquaspirillum /ˌakwəspəˈrɪləm/ is a genus of helical aerobic bacteria in the family Neisseriaceae that lives in freshwater.
