How do plants benefit from fungi and bacteria in the soil and what is the economic importance of fungi in agriculture and industry?

20 June 2023 1 10K Report

Dilip Kumar Chaurasiya

Plants benefit from fungi and bacteria in the soil in several ways:

Nutrient Uptake: Mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic associations with the roots of plants, helping them absorb nutrients from the soil, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen. Similarly, nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Rhizobium convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use.

Disease Resistance: Certain beneficial soil microbes can protect plants from pathogenic microbes, offering a form of biological control. For instance, Trichoderma species have been exploited for their plant disease suppression abilities.

Improved Soil Structure: Fungi and bacteria contribute to the formation of soil aggregates, which improve soil structure, aeration, water-holding capacity, and erosion resistance.

The economic importance of fungi in agriculture and industry includes:

Crop Protection: Certain fungi are used as biopesticides. For instance, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae are entomopathogenic fungi used to control insect pests.

Bioremediation: Fungi are utilized for the removal or detoxification of pollutants in the environment. White rot fungi are particularly noted for their ability to degrade a wide range of persistent pollutants.

Food and Beverage Industry: Many fungi have crucial roles in food production. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, is used in bread, beer, and wine production. Fungi like Penicillium roqueforti and Aspergillus oryzae are used in cheese and soy sauce production respectively.

Pharmaceutical Industry: Fungi produce various bioactive compounds. Penicillin, produced by Penicillium chrysogenum, was the first antibiotic to be discovered. Lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is produced by Aspergillus terreus.

Biofuels: Certain fungi can break down lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars, which are then used to produce bioethanol.

The global agricultural biologicals market size was valued at $7.6 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $14.9 billion by 2025 (MarketsandMarkets, 2020). Meanwhile, the global industrial enzymes market (including those produced by fungi) was valued at $5.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $8.7 billion by 2026 (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). These numbers underline the significant economic value of fungi in agriculture and industry. Note that these figures were last updated in my training cut-off in September 2021, and current figures might be different.

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