Use Of Word Funga : To Highlight The Importance Of Fungi
The United Nations Biodiversity has urged people globally to use the word ‘funga’ whenever they say ‘flora and fauna’ in order to highlight the importance of fungi.
- Fungi along with Animalia (animals), Plantae (plants), Protista, Archaea/Archaebacteria, and Bacteria or Eubacteria, form the six ‘kingdoms’ of biology.
- They are eukaryotic organisms; i.e., their cells contain membrane-bound organelles and clearly defined nuclei.
- Fungi usually reproduce both sexually and asexually.
- Fungi are either terrestrial or aquatic, the latter living in freshwater or marine environments.
- They are found in all temperate and tropical regions of the world where there is sufficient moisture to enable them to grow.
- A few species of fungi live in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, although they are rare and are more often found living in symbiosis with algae in the form of lichens.
- They help in breaking down dead organic material.
- They continue the cycle of nutrients through ecosystems.
- Fungi, as food, play a role in human nutrition in the form of mushrooms.
- They also act as agents of fermentation in the production of bread, cheeses, alcoholic beverages, and numerous other food preparations.
- Secondary metabolites of fungi are used as medicines, such as antibiotics and anticoagulants.
