What Is The Economic Importance Of Fungi?

There are certainly a lot more economically valuable things than fungi although it does certainly have great value. Fungi comes in many forms and has several uses in both food and in medicine.

The most valuable of the fungi family is the very sought after truffles. These have become highly fashionable in the up-market restaurant scene. The truffles can command a fee of hundreds of dollars and so have great economic value. People have even resorted to getting specialist pigs to sniff out the truffles that are found deep in the ground. Many farmers have since switched their business plan to concentrate solely on farming truffles due to the massive value for little outgoing costs.

Normal mushrooms also have some economic weight due to their mass popularity worldwide. The mushroom is found in many food dishes and is globally distributed at a staggering quantity.

Fungi is also used in some medicine and in previous research. According to the website Gmushrooms.com, "during the past 50 years, several major advancements in medicine came from lower organisms such as molds, yeast, and fungi." The value of medicine hits the billions mark and so the use of fungi in such research again shows there is certainly economic benefits to using fungi.

Economic importance of fungi

Edible fungi:
Certain fungi are edible. About 200 species of mushrooms (e.g., Asgaricus sp), morels (e.g. Morchella esculenta), truffles (underground fruiting bodies of some Ascomycetes.Beware of poisonous mushrooms called the toadstools, such as death cap o death angle and jack –'O'

latern mushroom.
Fermentation and food industry:
Certain fungi are used in food industry e.g.,
Yeast is used in the production of bread and liquor.
Penicillium species are used for giving flavor, aroma and characteristic color to some cheese.

Source of Antibiotics:
Some fungi are source of antibiotics and some other drugs e.g.
Penicillin
Lovastatin
Cyclosporine
Ergotine
Griseofulvin

Natural dyes:
Some natural dyes obtained from lichens are used in fertile industry.

Use in genetic and molecular biological research:
Yeats are heavily used in genetic and molecular biological research because of their rapid generation and rapidly increasing pool of genetic and biochemical information. Yeast are also being investigated for production of some hormones.

Fungi are decomposers . They eat up the dead plants and animals.

1. Help with nutrient turnover
2. Feed on dead organic matter (breakdown access dead matter)
3. Release other nutrients (like nutrients)
4. Help other plants grow

D chitin in cultured fungi can be used to make plaster of Paris(POP) which is cheaper than when being made from crabs

Fungus is a decomposer

Fungi are considered as one of the most prolific types of life on earth, which are found nearly everywhere around us. There are many different types of fungi some of which are very beneficial for mankind. It has immense economic applications and plays a major role in producing a number of products like Drugs, antibiotics -- penicillin and others, contraceptives, Food, mushrooms, morels, Penicillium -- cheeses, truffles, yeasts -- bread, alcoholic beverages, tempeh -- Rhizopus and soybeans
For further information see the link below:
www.bact.wisc.edu

Fungi is used in alcohol industry as yeast. Ethanol is produced with the help of barley seeds