Biology 101 Fungi Kingdom Unit 2

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Characteristics of Fungi Kingdom

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-multicellular
-eukaryotic
-absorptive heterotrophs
-either saprophytes (absorb from dead organic matter) or parasites (absorb from living tissue)
-Saprophytes function as decomposers, and release the carbon bound up in bodies to be used again
-Parasites cause diseases: wheat rust, corn smut, chestnut blight, Dutch Elm disease, athlete's foot, ringworm, yeast-infection, Valley fever
-Great commercial significance: antibiotics, mushrooms, cheese, morella, truffles

-Fungi have a thallus body; plant-like in appearance but no true roots, stems or leaves
-fungal body made of strands of cells called hyphae; mass of hyphae is called mycelium
-fungal cells have a cell wall made of chitin unlike plant cellulose
-cross walls between cells of hyphae are called septa(e), and no septae mean that the hyphae is coenocytic
-saprophytes use rootlike rhizoids to hold them to substrate
-parasites use rootlike haustoria to penetrate host's tissue

-Fungi will reproduce asexually to produce clones in a stable environment
-Blastospores: produced by budding (yeast)
-Conidia: pinched off ends of hyphae - conidiophores (Penicillium)
-Sporangiospores: enclosed within sporangium (bread mold)
-Zoospores: motile spores with a single flagellum (chytrids)

-Fungi will reproduce sexually to produce genetically-variable offsping to survive a changing environment
-involves fusion of gametes which may be produced within gametangia
-the different fungal phyla are distinguished by how they reproduce sexually

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Characteristics of Phylum Chytridiomycota {Chytrids}

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-Coenocytic thallus (some are unicellular) and reproduce asexually by (2n) zoospores in zoosporangia
-many are aquatic (mostly freshwater) and saprobic, but some are parasites
-in reproduction, chytrids undergo alternation of generations life cycle
-not typical of most molds; it is typical of most plants
-haploid thallus produces flagellated (n) gametes in gametangia which fuse to form (2n) zygotes which grow into diploid thallus
-diploid thallus produces (2n) zoospores by mitosis (asexual reproduction) or (n) zoospores by meiosis which grow into haploid thallus

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Characteristics of Phylum Zygomycota (bread molds)

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-coenocytic hyphae and reproduce asexually by sporangiospores
-in sexual reproduction, hyphae of different strains produce gametangia of haploid nuclei
-gametangia fuse and different nuclei fuse to form diploid zygotes which are housed within a resistant zygospore
-zygotes undergo meiosis as zygospore germinates and form sporangia with haploid spores

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Water Molds vs. true fungi

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water molds (Oomycota) are diploud with cellulose walla while true fungi are haploid with chitin walls; also water molds undergo mitosis like most organisms, but true fungi have unique mitosis (no centrioles, no breakdown of nuclear membranes, spindle formed within nuclear membrane)
-Plasmodial slime molds (myxomycota) and Cellular slime molds (Acrasiomycota) lack hyphae or cells walls like a true fungue

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Characteristics of Phylum Ascomycota (sac fungi)

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-hyphae with perfroated septae and reproduce asexually bt conidia
-sexually, gametangia (antheridium and ascogonium) contain haploid nuclei; nuclei of different straings ( + -) mix in ascogonium
-dikaryotic hyphae with + & - nuclei in each cell emerge and form fruiting body ascocarp
-in ascocarp, nuclei of dikaryotic hyphae fuse to form zygote (2n) which undergoes meiosis to form 4, and then mitosis to form 8 (n) ascospores within saclike ascus

1.yeast
2. Cryptococcus neofromans: causes lung disease
3. Candida: causes intestinal/vaginal yeast infection
4. morels
5. truffles
6. cup fungi

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Characteristics of Phylum Basidiomycota (club fungi)

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-hyphae with perforated septa; asexual reproduction is rare but involved conidia
-sexually, occurs after hyphae of different strains fuse to form dikaryotic hyphae which form the basidiocarp (mushroom); on surfacce of gills of basisiocarp, nuclei in terminal cell fuse to form zygote (2n) which undergoes meiosis to form 4 (n) basidiospores on sterigmata outside the basidium
-rusts and smuts, which are plant parasites, dont form basidiocarps but produce basidida on hyphae at surface of host plant; many reproduce asexually with conidia
1.mushrooms
2.bracket fungi
3. puffballs
4.rusts
5. smuts

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Characteristics of Phylum Deuteromycetes (fungi imperfecti)

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-reproduce asexually with conidia
-most have lost ability to reproduce sexually
1. Penicillium
2. Aspegilllus
3. athlete's foot
4. ringworm

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Characteristics of Lichens

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-symbiotic relationship (mutualistic) between a fungus (usually ascomycete) and cyanobacteria and/or green algae
-three types: crustose, foliose, fruticose
-lichen relationship allows it to survive in the harshest of environments: pioneer
-lichens are extremely sensitive to air pollution; indicator species

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Mycorrhizae

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symbiotic relationship (mutalistic) between soil fungus and green plant

-endomycorrhizae (most common) is where zygomycete penetrates the plant's roots
-ectomycorrhizae is where basidiomycete surrounds but doesnt penetrate plants' roots.