Penicillium chrysogenum
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| Penicillium chrysogenum Thom |
Penicillium chrysogenum is a mold that is widely distributed in nature, and is often found living on foods and in indoor environments. It was previously known as Penicillium notatum (Samson et al. 1977). It has rarely been reported as a cause of human disease. It is the source of several β-lactam antibiotics, most significantly penicillin. Other secondary metabolites of P. chrysogenum include various different penicillins, roquefortine C, meleagrin, chrysogine, xanthocillins, secalonic acids, sorrentanone, sorbicillin, and PR-toxin (Hoog et al. 2000).
Like the many other species of the genus Penicillium, P. chrysogenum reproduces by dry chains of spores (or conidia) from brush-shaped conidiophores. The conidia are typically carried by air currents to new colonization sites. In P. chrysogenum the conidia are blue to blue-green, and the mold sometimes exudes a yellow pigment. However, P. chrysogenum cannot be identified based on color alone. Observations of morphology and microscopic features are needed to confirm its identity.
P. chrysogenum has been used industrially to produce penicillin and xanthocillin X, to treat pulp mill waste, to produce the enzymes polyamine oxidase, phospho-gluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose oxidase (Hoog et al. 2000).
[edit] Science and History
Penicillin was discovered from this species in 1928 when Alexander Fleming's lab assistant left a window open overnight and had mold spores cover his Staphylococcus bacterial specimens in a petri dish.[1][2] At first he was very irritated at the contamination but as he was about to throw the specimens away he noticed something interesting. He looked under the microscope at the bacteria surrounding the blue-green mold and noticed they many were dead or dying bactria due to the mold preventing the bacteria to make new cell walls and reproduce. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum, which releases the antibiotic penicillin G into the medium. After this he did some testing on humans and animals and discovered that not only did it kill bacteria, but that it was suitable for use in humans and animals. However, the discovery did not attract much attention until the 1940s when Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed methods for mass production and application in humans, incited by the urgent war-time need of antibacterial agents. Army pilots sent back soil from around the world to be tested for the right kind of mold. Even the people of Peoria, Illinois were told to bring in any molds that they found around their homes. It has also been said that the scientists working on this project kept an eye out for similar looking molds while grocery shopping or when they were cleaning around the kitchen especially their refrigerators. The discovery of penicillin ushered in a new age of antibiotics derived from microorganisms.
Penicillium notatum produces its antibiotic agent as a result of thousands of years of mutations and evolution. The trait of killing bacteria (a competitor for the same nutrients) allowed Penicillium notatum to become the dominant species in its domain.
[edit] References
- Hoog, G.S. de, J. Guarro, J. Gené, F. Figueras 2000, Atlas of Clinical Fungi. 2nd Edition. Utrecht: Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures.
- Raper, K.B. & Thom, C. 1949, A manual of the Penicillia. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Company.
- Samson, R.A., R. Hadlok & A.C. Stolk. 1977. A taxonomic study of the Penicillium chrysogenum series. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 43(2): 169-175.
- ^ Diggins F (1999). "The true history of the discovery of penicillin, with refutation of the misinformation in the literature". Br J Biomed Sci 56 (2): 83-93. PMID 10695047.
- ^ Ligon B (2004). "Penicillin: its discovery and early development". Semin Pediatr Infect Dis 15 (1): 52-7. PMID 15175995.
