Environmental Conditions that impact plants and animals: Microbes

Penicillin is a major subclass of beta-lactam antibiotics discovered in 1928 when a culture plate became contaminated with Penicillium notatum (now called P. chrysogenum ). This mold inhibited the Staphylococcus aureus that bacteriologist Alexander Fleming was culturing, and eventually, the active ingredient, penicillin, was isolated.

The discovery of penicillin was one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 1900s. Penicillin belongs to a group of medical drugs called antibiotics. These medicines fight infections caused by small living things called bacteria.

Alexander Fleming, in full Sir Alexander Fleming, (born August 6, 1881, Lochfield Farm, Darvel, Ayrshire, Scotland—died March 11, 1955, London, England) was a Scottish bacteriologist best known for his discovery of penicillin.

Molds are forms of fungus. They are different from other fungi in several ways. They are larger than yeasts, which usually have only one cell, but they do not have the large, visible structures that mushrooms have.