There are several members of Ascomycetes which are economically important. The members have useful as well as harmful effects to the man kind. Some these economic roles of these members are;
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Beneficial aspects of fungi:
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Productions of beverages such as the beers, malt tonics are fermented from the malts by the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
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Productions of alcohol are mostly done with the help of the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces ellipsoideus. These fungi are used to ferment the starch and sugar to prepare alcohol.
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Vinegars are produced from the fruits, malts etc. with the help of the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
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Production of antibiotics like Penicillin is also done with the aid of the fungus like the Penicillium notatum and Penicillium chrysogenum. The Aspergillus species are also widely used in the preparation of the antibiotics.
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The Penicillium roqueforti and Penicillium camemberti are used are used for flavoring the cheese.
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Some Penicillium species are used in the production of the citric acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid and gluconic acids etc.
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Yeast is widely used in the baking industries.
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Yeast is also used in the genetic researches also.
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This fungus also involves the edible groups like morels and truffles which are rich in the proteins, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates.
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Harmful aspects of fungi:
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Some of the species of yeast are responsible for the spoilage of the food items like cheese, tomato products etc.
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Nematospora species causes various diseases in tomato, beans and cotton.
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Aspergillus species cause spoilage of food stuffs and deterioration of leather goods and fabrics.
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Penicillium expansum causes spoilage of apples, grapes and peas in storage.
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The powdery mildew of peas is caused by Erysiphe polygoni.
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The ergot of cereals is caused by the fungal species Claviceps purpurea.
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Candida species causes candidiasis in human beings.
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Taphrina maculans causes the leaf spot in turmeric plants.
