Fungi Flashcards
Why is fungi important?
They are major decomposers (along w/ bacteria). They are responsible for the cycling of nutrients through the biosphere. They have symbiotic relationships with plants (get nutrients from soil).
Humans use them as food, Alcohol or Antibiotics and even narcotics.
It could also be used in genetic engineering.
Why aren’t fungi in the plant kingdom?
They are hetertrophic. They get their energy from either living or dead organisms (saprophytes).
Instead of taking food in, fungi grow next to their food source and release digestive enzymes into their surroundings.
These enzymes digest the food then the fungi absorb the nutrients through the cell membranes of the hyphae.
What are some similarities Fungi has to the plant-kingdom protists?
They are Eukaryotes, Multicellular (not yeast though), they have cell walls (chitin) and are anchored in soil/stationary.
What are the main characteristics of Fungi?
1) Eukaryotic
2) Heterotrophic
3) Multicellular
4) Cannot move on their own
5) Most are haploid instead of Diploid.
What are the main phyla of Fungi?
1) Zygomacota - Common Mold (bread mold)
2) Ascomycota - Sac Fungi (yeast, truffles)
3) Basidiomycota - Club Fungi (“edible” mushrooms like Portabello)
4) Deuteromycota - “Imperfect” Fungi (grows on fruits and produces Penicillin).
What are the mechanics of Fungi?
Bodies of most fungi are usually made up of a branching network composed of a network of filaments called ‘Mycelium’.
These filaments are called ‘Hyphae’.
What are hyphae?
hyphae are long tubes of cytoplasm which contain many nuclei (cell wall is made of chitin).
Hyphae are divided into cells by cross-walls called “septa”.
The “fuzz” we associate with mold is actually hyphae.
Whats Mycelium?
its a mass of branching hyphae. the reproductive structure of a fungus is usually the only visible part (it’s called the fruit).
The ‘living’ body of the fungus is the mycelium which is usually hidden in the soil, wood or other food sources.
What are the two methods of reproduction for fungi?
Basidiomycota and Acomycota.
How does Basidomycota work?
Basidiomycota produce spores externally (mostly on the underside of a mushroom cap in gills).
What’s Zygomycota?
Zygomycota is a fungi that produce and release spores at the ends of stalks (the image is moldy bread).
How does Ascomycota work?
Ascomycota produce spores internally in a structure called an ‘ascus’.
How do fungi reproduce?
Usually asexually?
1) the bud in single-celled yeasts (like binary fission)
2) Fragmentation - bits of hyphae break off and grow as seperate entities.
3) Spore forms.
Less commonly they have sexual reproduction where spore formation by different strains of fungi fuse together.
What is some symbiotic relationships fungi have to other things?
Lichens (fungi and cyanobacteria or green algae).
The mycelium envelops and protects the cyanobacteria or algae and supplied them with water and mineral nutrients. In return they supply the fungi with food.
2) Leaf cutter ants.
The ants cut pieces of leaves and bring them back to the colony. They don’t eat them but rather they clean and chew the leaves into pulp and feed the fungus.
Ants grow and tend to the fungus gardens and feed almost only on the fungus.
3) Soil fungi and plants: Hyphae grows around root cells of the plant and supply the plant with nutrients (mostly minerals). In exchange, the plant provides the fungi with energy rich food molecules.
Disease?
Fungi that feed on a living organism can cause a variety of issues (ringworm and athletes foot).
Fungal diseases can also affect plants and can produce toxic chemicals for the plants.
