What is the critical part of the fungal life style that has allowed humans to exploit fungi.?

Fungi secrete exoenzymes from the hyphae which breaksdown numerous organic molecules. Fungi can be used in beverage brewing, baking, food production (cheeses), medicines (antibiotics), and to recycle wastes from organisms (wood, leaves, animal manure). The numerous tiny tubular hyphal filaments have very large surface area for efficient breakdown of materials.