Abstract

The genus Penicillium, part of the Trichocomaceae family, has been one of the most common and more studied fungi, found in soil, organic rotting material, plants, outdoor environments, and food products, among others. Penicillium spp. are known for the production of mycotoxins, such as ochratoxin A and patulin, which affect the quality and physicochemical properties of diverse foods, such as cereals, apples, and grains. Also, it may induce allergies and mycotoxicosis. But members of the genus Penicillium can be used for cheese production and fermented sausages, and as a producer of secondary metabolites of pharmacological interest. The most known is the antibiotic penicillin, but there are also anticancer, antifungal, microbiocide, antitumor, and/or antiangiogenic activities. For this reason, several methodologies can be used to obtain a higher concentration of the desired metabolites, such as the correct selection of growth parameters, overexpression or repression of regulators controlling secondary metabolite gene clusters, and heterologous expression of partial and full extrolite gene clusters in bacteria, yeast, or fungal hosts. Also, members of this genus may be used in other instances, such as mycoremediation, demonstrating that Penicillium can be used in biomedical and biotechnology processes