Who among the following discovered the antibiotic producing fungus from Penicillium genus?

Sir Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, discovered penicillin in 1928 [2]. While studying Staphylococcus bacteria, he observed a chance contamination of a petri dish by a mold, which he identified as belonging to the Penicillium genus [1]. He noticed a clear zone around the mold where bacterial growth was inhibited, leading him to conclude that the fungus released an antibacterial substance he named 'penicillin' [4]. This discovery marked the beginning of the antibiotic era, revolutionizing the treatment of infectious diseases [3]. While Fleming identified the substance, its purification and large-scale production were later achieved by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain [3]. Other options are incorrect: Robert Hooke is known for naming the 'cell' [2], Louis Pasteur for pasteurization and germ theory, and Stanley Prusiner for the discovery of prions.

Sources

1. [1] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 3: Health: The Ultimate Treasure > Discovery of the first antibiotic, Penicillin > p. 40
2. [2] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: The Invisible Living World: Beyond Our Naked Eye > Ever heard of ... > p. 10
3. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_penicillin
4. [3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5403050/