Fungi: Usefulness of Fungi

Usefulness of Fungi

Fungi are valuable economically as a source of antibiotics, of vitamins, and of various industrially important chemicals, such as alcohols, acetone, and enzymes, as well as for their role in fermentation processes, as in the production of alcoholic beverages, vinegar, cheese, and bread dough. They are extremely important in soil renewal, through the decomposition of organic matter (see humus)—a function unwelcome when it results in the rotting of clothing and other goods and the spoilage of foods.

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