Mold Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Mold belongs to the fungi group and is closely related to mildew, rusts, and mushrooms. As it does not produce chlorophyll, it does not conduct photosynthesis, and so lives on matter made by other plants, by animals, or on decaying matter, as do bacteria and other fungi. Mold develops from a spore, which is a tiny particle broadcast as its seeds. Mold requires a damp or wet organic surface upon which it can feed and grow. When a mold spore lands on a surface, such as a piece of bread in a damp climate, it begins to grow by producing tiny fibers (hyphae). The roots of the mold are the hyphae that become rhizoids. Stolons are the hyphae threads that spread on the surface of the organic material that is host to the mold. If the mold is able to grow to maturity, it will grow hyphae that stand upright and become spore casings. Spores are released from the hyphae that can be carried off by air currents or water to new locations.

Mold can be helpful to human beings. Blue mold, which often appears greenish in color, is familiar to humans as the mold on French Roquefort cheese, Stilton cheese, and many other natural blue cheeses. These cheeses are aged in places where the mold is allowed to grow on the cheese rounds or blocks so that it can give the cheese its flavor naturally. Blue cheese is made artificially by injecting the cheese in a manufacturing process so that the mold grows on the cheese more rapidly. The mold of blue cheese produces a chemical that aided the development of antibiotics. Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) developed penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum.

Mold can be harmful to humans or their possessions. In areas of high humidity mold can grow on shoes, clothes, or other surfaces causing damage. It can grow in closed containers where there is no light, such as in the near freezing damp of a refrigerator. Mold can also destroy food. Green mold is familiar to most people as the mold that grows on bread; humans cannot eat this mold. The great Irish Famine (1845-49) was caused by the water mold Phytophthora infestans. It produced a late blight of potatoes, destroying the crop and causing millions of the Irish to starve to death or emigrate.

Breathing mold spores may harm human health. If mold can grow in the respiratory tract it can cause allergies. Or powerful toxins may be released and a weakening of the immune system or other major health problems may result. Air conditioning systems may develop mold that causes illnesses. The presence of toxic mold is a major problem in buildings or houses that have been flooded. It has also been the subject of growing litigation against owners who sold houses or buildings to buyers without disclosing the presence of a toxic mold problem.

Bibliography:

Eric Lax, The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle (Henry Holt & Company, 2005);
Nicholas P. Money, Carpet Monsters and Killer Spores: A Natural History of Toxic Mold (Oxford University Press, 2004);
Carmel Streater, Mold and Real Estate: A Handbook for Buyers and Sellers (SouthWestern Educational & Professional, 2003).