Question

Give two examples of fungi that are important economically, ecologically, and as food for humans.

Answer 1

A fungus or fungi is a kind of living organism which is eukaryotic having cell wall containing Chitin.

Fungi are useful to humans because of their economic value.

Example - YEAST

It is a single celled eukaryotic microorganism which is a form of a fungi.

Yeast helps in fermentation of sugars, therefore it is used bread production, beer fermentation, baking foods.

Yeast converts the fermentable sugars into carbon dioxide thereby expanding the dough and making it rise. This makes the baking products soft and spongy. When the dough is baked, the east dies on the air pockets set giving it spongy texture. The yeast used in fermentation is saccharomyces cerevisiae which is also used in alcohol fermentation.

Example- MUSHROOM or TOADSTOOL

It is a fleshy, spore bearing fruiting body which is a form of a fungus which is grown on soil.

All mushrooms are not a edible and can be poisonous to humans.

Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking because it contains maximum amount of water and also contains proteins which has nutritional value.

Edible mushrooms can be harvested and cultivated in any small areas.