Penicillium notatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi Division: Ascomycota Subdivision: Pezizomycotina Class: Eurotiomycetes Order: Eurotiales Family: Trichomaceae Genus: Penicillium Species: P. notatum
Binomial name
Penicillium notatum Westling

Penicillium notatum is a synonym of Penicillium chrysogenum, which has taxonomic priority. It is a mold commonly found in most homes and a basis of Beta-lactam antibiotics. Penicillium is known as the blue-green mold on bread,Bagles, whole wheat and whole grain bread fruits, and nuts. It is mostly found on rotting tangerines. It is also used for the production of green and blue mold cheese. Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Deuteromycota The fungi (singular fungus) are a kingdom of eukaryotic organisms. ... Subphyla/Classes Archaeascomycetes Euascomycetes Hemiascomycetes or Pezizomycotina Laboulbeniomycetes Eurotiomycetes Lecanoromycetes Leotiomycetes Pezizomycetes Sordariomycetes Dothideomycetes (and many more) Saccharomycotina Saccharomycetes Taphrinomycotina Neolectomycetes Pneumocystidomycetes Schizosaccharomycetes Taphrinomycetes The Ascomycota, formerly known as the Ascomycetae, or Ascomycetes, are a Division of Fungi, whose members are commonly known as the Sac Fungi, which produce spores... Classes Arthoniomycetes Chaetothyriomycetes Dothideomycetes Eurotiomycetes Laboulbeniomycetes Lecanoromycetes Leotiomycetes Orbiliomycetes Pezizomycetes Sordariomycetes mitosporic Pezizomycotina Pezizomycotina is a subphylum of the Ascomycota and was previously called the Euascomycota. ... Orders Arachnomycetales Eurotiales Onygenales Eurotiomycetes are a class of ascomycetes within the Pezizomycotina clade; some of its members were previously grouped in the class Plectomycetes. ... Families Elaphomycetaceae Trichocomaceae The Eurotiales are also known as the green and blue moulds. ... Species Penicillium notatum Penicillium glaucum Penicillium candida Penicillium roqueforti Penicillium marneffei Penicillium bilaiae Penicillium, commonly known as bread mold, is a genus of fungus that includes: Penicillium notatum, which produces the penicillin antibiotic. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The species of the genus Penicillium grow at their peak during the spring and winter, but the molds have no seasonal variation. The genus is a well-known group of brushed-shaped microorganisms belonging to the fungimycin family, and having no known sexual state ("fungi imperfecti" or "Deuteromycetes"). All Penicillium species are heterotrophic. This means that they get nutrients through food digestion. A cluster of Escherichia colibacteria magnified 10,000 times. ... Flowchart to determine if a species is autotroph, heterotroph, or a subtype A heterotroph (Greek heterone = (an)other and trophe = nutrition) is an organism that requires organic substrates to get its carbon for growth and development. ...

Science history

Penicillin was discovered with this species in 1927 when Alexander Fleming's lab assistant left a window open overnight and had mold spores cover his bacteria (Staphylococcus) specimens in a petri dish. At first he was very irritated at the contamination but as he was about to throw the specimens away he noticed something odd. He looked under the microscope at the bacteria and where the mold grew the bacteria was dead or dying. 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 it was harmless to 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. Some individuals have shown themselves to be allergic to the antibiotic produced by the fungus now that it has entered widespread use, however the vast majority of humans suffer no ill effects from exposure to the mold. Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. ...