# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DIhLa1WsBgu
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/61247853-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3266052189.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-04-16T19:03:37.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

🔬 You see when producing blue cheese like Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Stilton, cheese makers will add a special fungus called Penicillium roqueforti. This fungus is saprotrophic, meaning it feeds mainly on dead organic matter, and can be naturally found in forest soil and wood. Although in cheese-making, the fungi used to inoculate the milk are grown commercially, cheese-makers are not picking Penicillium up from forest litter, don’t panic!⁠
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As Penicillium roqueforti grows and matures, it produces blue-coloured spores to reproduce, giving blue cheeses their characteristic colour. Although Penicillium can only grow in the presence of oxygen, it sporulates in cheese cavities, creating blue veins. Penicillium roqueforti also releases enzymes that break down fats and proteins, resulting in the creamy texture and tangy flavour of blue cheeses.⁠
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Blue spores are synthesized on structures that look a bit like small hands, called conidiophores. The spores then emerge from the tip of the « fingers » and are round. Not only does P. roqueforti produce blue spores, but it also releases toxins as secondary metabolites. Don’t you worry, though, the concentration of these toxins is so low that it can’t hurt you. These toxins are usually used to protect the fungus from predators, competitors, and pathogens. Under certain laboratory conditions, some of these toxins show antiparasitic, bacteriostatic (preventing the growth of bacteria), and anti-cancer properties!⁠
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Not only can you find Penicillium roqueforti in blue cheese, but also other microbes like yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). Lactic acid bacteria are added before Penicillium and ferment lactose into lactic acid, which gives a hint of acidity to the cheese and creates the right conditions for Penicillium roqueforti to thrive.⁠
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🎥 & 📝 courtesy of: tardibabe⁠
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#bluecheese #microscope #microscopic #bluespores #penicillium #biology #science

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## Tags

science, microscope, penicillium, bluecheese, microscopic, biology, bluespores

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