[djf]

IIRC penicillin was discovered when Fleming had accidentally let some petri dishes get contaminated, and he didn’t realize it until he put them under the scope.

A worldwide search was then started to find related species of penicillium that had higher production rates.
After searching wordwide, nobody found anything, and one of the scientists conducting the search spotted an orange at a market right near the clinic that had a bit of blue mold on it so he said What the hey! and bought it, JACKPOT!!

The subspecies that they use today produce literally many thousands of times more that the original.

Interesting factoid: the penicillium that makes penicillin is closely related to another species of the penicillin bacteria that is the stuff that makes blue cheese blue!
There have been rare cases of people allergic to penicillin going into shock after exposure to blue cheese.

[hellbender]

Penicillium is a fungus, not a bacterium.

[Sherman Logan]

Pretty accurate account.

Except the organism in question is a species in the fungal genus Penicillium which is not a bacteria.

The antibiotic is a naturally-occurring mycotoxin that helps the fungi protect its living space and food source from competing bacteria.

[bopdowah]

Thanks for posting that! Forgot that story but heard pieces of it years ago!