Economic Importance of Fungi

The economic importance of fungi lies across various industries. In agriculture, certain fungi contribute to biopesticides, offering environmentally friendly alternatives for pest control. Biotechnological applications utilize fungi to produce enzymes, antibiotics, and other valuable compounds.

Fungi contribute to the pharmaceuticals and food industry as well. In this article, we will discover the diverse economic importance of fungi, from agriculture to medicine and beyond.

Fungi

What is Fungi?

Definition of Fungi: Fungi are eukaryotic organisms, including molds, yeasts, and mushrooms, characterized by their absorption of nutrients from the environment and cell walls made of chitin.

Fungi are characterized by their unique mode of obtaining nutrients through external digestion. They do so by secreting enzymes into their surroundings to break down organic matter. Fungi play crucial ecological roles as decomposers, aid in nutrient cycling, and engage in symbiotic relationships with various organisms. While some fungi can be pathogenic and cause diseases in plants and animals, others are utilized in biotechnological processes and food production, such as yeast in fermentation.

Their cell walls are composed of chitin, distinguishing them from plants and animals. Fungi lack chlorophyll and rely on organic material for nutrition. The fungal kingdom is vast and essential for various ecological and industrial processes.

Economic Importance of Fungi in Agriculture

Fungi are important in agriculture for enhancing soil fertility, aiding plant growth, and decomposing dead plant material to release nutrients.

• They release enzymes like cellulase and lignin to break down complex substances into simpler compounds like carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, etc, which plants can then use for food production.
• Some fungi also help to control weeds and pests like insects, mites, and nematodes, making them useful alternatives to chemical pesticides.
• Predatory fungi trap and destroy nematodes by forming loops on their mycelium, while others produce sticky conidia (asexual, non-motile spores of a fungus) that stick to passing nematodes and absorb nutrients by special hyphae.
• Fungi like Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to improve nutrient uptake, water absorption, leading to increased crop yields.

Some commercialized fungal BCAs used to control pests and their particular host are listed in table.

Biocontrol Agent Fungal (BCAs )	Target Hosts
Beauveria bassiana	Against a wide host range including beetles, caterpillars, Whiteflies, borers, grasshoppers, thrips, and aphids.
Metarhizium spp	Beetles, locusts, cockroaches, flies, grasshoppers, spittlebugs, termites ,root weevils, thrips, grubs, and borers
Hirsutella thompsonii	Citrus rust mite, hoppers and bug pests, whiteflies, red mites
Lecanicelium lecanii	Whiteflies, aphids, thrips, brown plant hoppers, scale insects, mealy bugs and other sucking insect pests of crop plants.
Trichoderma harzianum	Parasitic nematodes, bacteria, and especially fungi

Economic Importance of Fungi as Food

Fungi play a key role in food production and are consumed directly as food. There are approximately 2000 edible species of fungi found worldwide, with about 200 of them being present in the Western Himalayas.

• Some fungi like Mushrooms and truffles, are widely used in many cuisines due to their high nutritional value.
• They are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals like Zinc, Calcium, Potassium, Iron, and Phosphorus, as well as amino acids.
• Mushrooms have low fat and carbohydrate content. Due to this mushrooms are recommended for heart patients and diabetics.
• Commercial cultivation of mushroom fungi is becoming increasingly popular in developing countries, contributing to the national economy and offering economic opportunities for small farmers.

Some Common Examples of Edible Mushrooms are:

Some common examples of edible mushrooms are given in the tablet below.

Common Name	Biological Name
White button mushroom	Agaricus bisporus
Paddy straw mushroom	Volvariella volvacea
Oyster mushroom	Pleurotus florida
Dhingri Mushroom	Agaricus campestris

Economic Importance of Fungi in Industry

A number of Industries have been set up based on beneficial activities of fungi. Fungi have been utilized in a diverse range of industrial applications, either directly impacting materials or providing enzymes for various purposes.

Cheese Production

Certain fungi, commonly known as cheese molds, are essential for enhancing the taste and texture of cheese. The molds used in cheese production are harmless and therefore safe for consumption. Penicillium species like P. roqueforti and P. camemberti are utilized in making Roquefort and Camembert cheese by hydrolysis of fat and add specific flavors.

Production of Alcoholic Beverages

Yeast plays a key role in brewing industries by fermenting sugar solutions to produce ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide through the enzyme zymase.

• Yeasts lack enzyme diastase, so they cannot convert starch into sugar. Various fungi, such as molds, secrete a variety of enzymes that facilitate the fermentation of complex carbohydrates.
• In industrial alcohol production, molds are used as starters to break down starch to sugar, with yeast later used to act on the sugar.
• While molds can complete the fermentation process, but using yeast for the second stage typically results in a better yield
• Popular molds for saccharification include Mucor racemosus, M. rouxii, and some Rhizopus species, while Aspergillus flavus is used in African native beer production.

Some examples of fermented products and fungal strains used in fermentation are:

Product	Fungi used
Wines	Saccharomyces ellipsoideus
Beer	Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Shoyu (soy sauce) and Miso	Shoyu koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae)
Tempeh	Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus oryzae

Production of Enzyme

Variety of hydrolytic enzymes were used in various industrial processes like amylases, invertases, cellulases and hemicellulases, pectinases, proteases, laccases, phytases, and lipases. These enzymes degrade complex organic compounds to simpler ones. In recent years many enzymes are commercially produced by using fungi.

Enzymes	Fungal source	Uses
Amylase	Aspergillus niger, A.oryzae	Alcohol industry and Pharmaceuticals
Invertase	Saccharomyces cerevisiae	Paper industry, confectionary
Cellulase	Trichoderma konigi	Production of cheese and hydrolysis of cellulose
Zymase	Saccharomyces cerevisiae	Ethyl alcohol production

Production of Organic Acid

Several pathogenic Fungi enhance their ability to infect by releasing organic acids or ammonia to change the acidity levels of their host’s environment. This ability of fungi is advantageous for biotechnological production of organic acid.

Organic acid	Fungi used
Citric acid	Aspergillus niger, A. wentil
Gluconic acid	Aspergillus niger, Penicillium Purpurogenum
Fumaric acid	Rhizopus stolonifer
Kojic acid	Aspergillus oryzae

Therapeutic Uses of Fungi

Various Fungi species generate metabolites that are key origins of active pharmaceutical drugs.

• Folk medicine(Traditional home remedies) employs specific mushrooms for therapeutic purposes like Agaricus subrufescens, Ganoderma lucidum, and Ophiocordyceps sinensis.
• Fungi have revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry through the production of antibiotics after the first antibiotic Penicillin was discovered, by Alexander Fleming which has saved countless lives since its introduction.
• Pharmacological studies have identified antifungal, antiviral, and antiprotozoan, immunosuppressants, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and anti-cancer compounds from Fungi, highlighting their importance in modern healthcare.

Use of Fungi in Bioremediation

Fungi possess remarkable ability to break down and detoxify diverse environmental pollutants through bioremediation.

• Fungal enzymes can degrade contaminants such as organic chemicals like petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides and reduce the risks associated with metals and radionuclides, thereby restoring polluted environments.
• Fungi can treat organic or metal contaminants in soil, concentrated or trace organic pollutants in water, remove metals from water, eliminate volatile organic compounds from air, and use extracellular enzymes instead of whole fungal for pollutant removal.
• Fungi’s ability to form extensive mycelial networks contribute to their effectiveness in degrading pollutants.
• This eco-friendly approach to waste management showcases the potential of fungi in combating environmental degradation.

Conclusion – Economic Importance of Fungi

In conclusion, fungi play a vital role in the economy through their diverse applications in varipus fields. Understanding the economic importance of fungi includes their crucial roles in agriculture, medicine, industry, and environmental management, contributing to food production, bioremediation, and antibiotic manufacturing. Acknowledging the economic significance emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices to utilize their potential effectively.

FAQs on Economic Importance of Fungi

What is the Economic Importance of Fungi Class 11?

Fungi hold economic significance in agriculture, medicine, industry, and environmental management through roles like decomposition, food production, bioremediation, and antibiotic production.

What is the Role of Fungi in Biotechnology?

Fungi have played a significant role in biotechnological processes throughout history, including baking, brewing, and the creation of various products such as antibiotics, alcohols, enzymes, organic acids, and pharmaceuticals.

What are the Five Benefits of Fungi?

The important uses of fungi are as follows: It is used in different medical processes, various agricultural practices, plays an important role in the atmosphere, finds uses in economic activities and is used in household processes.

Why are Fungi so Important to Life on Earth?

Fungi is important for us because They break down organic matter and release useful gases. They are used to produce different daily used products. They are used in medicines. They are eaten for different essential nutrients

What is the Economic Importance of Fungi in Agriculture ?

Fungi have various roles in agriculture including biological control, increasing soil nutrients, breaking down organic matter, maintaining soil pH, supporting plant growth, and enhance plant health and increase yields.