Ch 24 Fungi

Question 1

What are the major structural components of fungi?

Answer 1

Chitin cell wall, hyphae, mycelium, spores, fruiting bodies.

Question 2

What is the main component of fungal cell walls, and how does it differ from plants?

Answer 2

Chitin (vs. cellulose in plants).

Question 3

What are the five major fungal phyla?

Answer 3

• Chytridiomycota – Aquatic, flagellated spores.
• Zygomycota – Bread molds (e.g., Rhizopus).
• Ascomycota – Sac fungi (yeasts, truffles).
• Basidiomycota – Club fungi (mushrooms, puffballs).
• Glomeromycota – Forms symbiosis with plant roots.

Question 4

How do fungi reproduce asexually and sexually?

Answer 4

• Asexual – Budding (yeast), fragmentation, spores.
• Sexual – Plasmogamy (fusion of cytoplasm), karyogamy (fusion of nuclei), meiosis (spore production).

Question 5

What are the ecological roles of fungi?

Answer 5

• Decomposers – Break down organic material.
• Symbionts – Mycorrhizae (plant roots), lichens (fungi + algae).
• Pathogens – Cause diseases in plants and animals.

Question 6

How do fungi contribute to medicine and industry?

Answer 6

• Medicine – Antibiotics (e.g., Penicillin).
• Industry – Fermentation (bread, beer, wine), bioremediation.

Question 7

How do mycorrhizal fungi benefit plants?

Answer 7

Help plants absorb nutrients (especially phosphorus).

Question 8

What is the difference between septate and coenocytic hyphae?

Answer 8

• Septate hyphae – Have cell walls separating nuclei.
• Coenocytic hyphae – No cell walls, multinucleate.

Question 9

How do fungi compare to bacteria?

Answer 9

• Both decompose organic matter.
• Fungi are eukaryotic; bacteria are prokaryotic.
• Fungal cell walls = chitin, bacterial cell walls = peptidoglycan.

Question 10

What are examples of fungal diseases in humans?

Answer 10

• Athlete’s foot (Trichophyton).
• Yeast infections (Candida).
• Lung infections (Histoplasma).

Question 11

What role do fungi play in the carbon and nitrogen cycles?

Answer 11

Decomposers that break down organic material, recycling carbon and nitrogen.

Question 12

What are the closest relatives of fungi?

Answer 12

Fungi share a common ancestor with protists and are evolutionarily closer to animals than plants.

Question 13

How do mycoviruses impact fungi?

Answer 13

Mycoviruses infect fungi but do not cause disease in other organisms.

Question 14

What is the significance of Penicillium?

Answer 14

A mold from which the antibiotic penicillin was discovered.

Question 15

What makes lichens unique?

Answer 15

They are mutualistic partnerships between fungi and algae/cyanobacteria, helping to colonize new environments.