Overview
- The Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie announced the selection in December from Frankfurt am Main.
- Penicillium is the original source of penicillin, a 1940s-era antibiotic that VAAM says has saved millions of lives.
- Cheesemakers use P. camemberti for the white rind and soft texture of Brie and Camembert, while P. roqueforti underpins Roquefort’s flavor and aroma.
- Industrial uses include enzyme-driven clarification of fruit juices, pretreatment of textiles, and production of bioactive molecules such as mycophenolic acid and pyripyropen A.
- Coverage recalls milestones from Fleming’s 1928 observation to a high-yield strain found on a moldy melon in 1941, with annual penicillin output estimated at about 50,000 tonnes.