Economic importances of fungi are as follows:
1. Role of fungi in medicine:
(a) Antibiotic penicillin is obtained from Penicillium.
(b) Drugs like cyclosporine, immunosuppressant drugs, precursors of steroid hormones, etc are isolated from fungi.
2. Role of fungi in industries:
(a) Yeast is used in bread making. It causes dough to rise and make the bread light and spongy. It is also used in breweries or wine making industries. Sugars present in grapes are fermented by using yeast. This results in production of alcohol which is used for making wine.
(b) Lichen is a symbiotic association of algae and fungi are used in preparation of litmus paper which is used as acid-base indicator.
3. Role of fungi in food:
(a) Fungi like mushrooms are consumed as a food. These are rich source of protein.
(b) Fungi genus Penicillium helps in ripening of cheese.
4. Role of fungi as biocontrol agents:
(a) Fungi help to control growth of weeds.
(b) Pathogenic fungi like Fusarium sp., Phytophthorapalmivora, Alternaria crassa, etc act as mycoherbicides.
