You fungi they are eukaryotic organisms that present heterotrophic nutrition, that is, they cannot produce their own food. Its main representatives are mushrooms, wood ears, yeasts and molds. Some species of fungi cause great harm to human beings, such as food deterioration, diseases such as candidiasis, white cloth, mycoses, pulmonary aspergillosis etc., however, other species are extremely important, such as we will see below.
As we said earlier, fungi are heterotrophic organisms and feed on organic molecules taken from organic matter. This organic matter from which they extract these molecules comes from corpses and the remains of plants and animals. For this reason, they are called saprophages and, together with bacteria, they break down organic matter, recycling nutrients in nature and preventing the accumulation of organic waste.
Some species of fungi such as Agaricus campestris it's the Lentinus edodes, known respectively as mushroom and shitake, are widely used in the preparation of various cuisine dishes.
In addition to these fungi, there are those used in the manufacture of cheese, such as Penicillium roqueforti, used in cheese production roquefort, it's the penicillium camembertii, used in cheese making camembert.
Yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisae, are used in the manufacture of foods such as breads, donuts, cakes, etc. They are used as yeast, as they give the dough lightness and softness. In alcoholic beverages such as beer, whiskey and sake, the Saccharomyces cerevisae is also used, but in the production of wine, the fungus used is the Saccharomyces ellipsoideus.
In addition to being important as decomposers in the food and beverage industry, fungi are also very important in the industry. pharmaceutical, in the production of antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in the year 1929, which is widely used in the current.
By Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/a-importancia-dos-fungos-para-os-seres-humanos.htm
