Question

1) Highlight the medical or environmental or industrial importance for each of the following with examples.

A) Saccharonmyces

B) candida

C) Rhizoprus

D) Penicillium

E) Aspergillus

Answer 1

A. Saccharomyces- they are very much important in food industry. Because of their ability to carry out fermentation, they are used in the manufacture of wine and beer. They are also used in bread making process.

B. Candida- they have industrial importance. For example, they are used to produce lipases. These lipases serve as important hydrolytic enzymes in several industries, such as, in food industry, digestion of fats and oils, paper industry, detergent industry, etc.

C. Rhizopus- they are used to produce lactic acid and alcohol. They are also important in food industry, in the manufacture of fermented foods, such as tempeh from soybeans. They also have environmental importance. They are decomposers, that degrade complex organic compounds into simpler substances. For example, they can degrade crude oil, and therefore, can be used for bioremediation.

D. Penicillium- they are important both industrially and medically. One of the most popular medical importance of penicillium is the production of Penicillin, which is a well known antibiotic. Industrially, they are used in the manufacture of cheese.

E. Aspergillus- industrially used in Koji production. An essential step in Koji production includes release of hydrolytic enzymes by Aspergillus, that degrades complex compounds, such as carbohydrates into simple molecules. Koji is used to make soy sauce, mirin, sake, miso, etc.