Fungi

Question 1

are fungi multicellular or unicellular, Prokaryotic or eukaryotic

Answer 1

Fungi are mostly multicellular eukaryotes, though there are some unicellular fungi.

Question 2

how do all fungi feed

Answer 2

All Fungi feed by absorption (chemoheterotrophs)

Question 3

what are hyphae

Answer 3

In filamentous fungi, the thin strands of cells are called hyphae.

Question 4

what is a mycelium

Answer 4

The majority of a fungi biomass is a non reproductive region called the mycelium.

Question 5

what is a fruiting body (Fungi)

Answer 5

The part of the fungi that is usually visible above the ground is called the fruiting body. This is what we call a mushroom. It is the reproductive tissue.

Question 6

what supports fungal cells

Answer 6

Fungal cells have cell walls and contain chitin for support compared to plant cellulose.

Question 7

what are the two types of hypha in fungi

Answer 7

1. Septate fungi (most fungi) have hypahe divided into cells by septa, with pores that allow cell-to-cell movement of organelles
2. Coenocytic fungi lack septa and have a continuous cytoplasmic mass containing hundreds of thousands of nuclei.

Question 8

what are the 5 fungi phyla

Answer 8

1. Chytrids
2. Zygomycetes (Zygote fungi)
3. Glomeromycetes (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi)
4. Ascomycetes (sac fungi)
5. Basidiomycetes (Club fungi)

Question 9

how are fungi divided

Answer 9

Divided based on cell characteristics and/or spore-producing structures

Question 10

what are the 4 broad categories of feeding fungi have

Answer 10

All fungi are chemoheterotrophs but have a wide range of feeding habits that fit into 4 broad categories:

• Saprotrophic
• Parasitic
• Predatory
• Mutualistic

Question 11

where can you find fungi

Answer 11

Fungi are generally confined to aquatic or moist habitats, though some have specialized into arid conditions like deserts

Question 12

what are Saprotrophic fungi

Answer 12

The majority of fungi are probably saprotrophs and many are closely associated with certain species of plant or animal.

They play a crucial role in decomposition or organic materials and the mycelia of countless species reach deep into soils.

Question 13

What are Parasitic fungi

Answer 13

Some fungi will attack living hosts, using hyphae adapted to penetrate into living tissue, and some are serious agents of disease for plants and animals

Diseases caused by fungi are often referred to as ‘mycosis’

Question 14

what are predatory fungi

Answer 14

Some fungi have hyphae adapted for trapping and killing prey

Question 15

what are mutualistic fungi

Answer 15

Many fungi especially in Glomeromycota have evolved very close associations with plant roots via mycorrhizae.

“Endophyte” is a general term that refers to mutualistic organisms that live in plant roots

Question 16

what are mycorrhizal fungi

Answer 16

Many fungi are considered mycorrhizal and form close symbiosis with plant roots, many are mutualistic some are parasitic.

Question 17

what are Ectomychorrizae fungi

Answer 17

• Ectomychorrizae - fungal symbiotes living on the outside of surrounding roots
  
  • Appear in Zygomycetes, Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes

Question 18

what are Endomychorrizae fungi

Answer 18

• Endomychorrizae - fungal symbiotes living on the inside of roots.
  
  • Confined to Glomeromycetes

Question 19

what are arbuscules

Answer 19

Some fungi have specialized hyphae that allow them to penetrate tissues of their host. e.g. arbuscules

Question 20

what are lichens

Answer 20

A lichen is a symbiotic associtation between a photosynthetic microorganism and a fungus (sometimes more than one fungus)

The symbioses are so complete in lichens that they are given their own species names.

Question 21

what ploidy do fungi spend most of their life in

Answer 21

For the typical multicellular species, most of the life is spent in the form of the mycelium (i.e. as a haploid
Nuclei are normally haploid with the exception of transient diploid stages formed during the sexual phase of reproduction.

Question 22

how do fungi reproduce

Answer 22

Fungi can reproduce sexually without ‘sexes’

Two separate cells with different mating time fuse into one cell with two separate nuclei (heterokaryon)

the fused cells can eventually form a zygote with a single nucleus.

Question 23

What are heterokaryote cells

Answer 23

mainly fungal cells that come from 2 fused cells of different mating types. Have two nuclei, not quite a zygote

Question 24

what does Karyo refer to

Answer 24

nuclear material and chromosomes

Question 25

how does sexual reproduction occur in fungi

Answer 25

Sexual reproduction requires fusion of nuclei from different mating types (and usually quickly followed by meiosis)

Question 26

when did fungi colonize land

Answer 26

Fungi were among the earliest colonizers of land and possibly formed mutualistic relationships with early land plants.

Question 27

where do fungi come from

Answer 27

They are in the group Opisthokonts along with animals, Chanoflagellates and Nucleariids. Closest to Nucleariids.

Both Nucleariids and Choanoflagellates are flagellated and unicellular, the common ancestor of fungi and animals was likely also unicellular and flagellated. Though in extant fungi the flagella is typically absent and most are multicellular.

Question 28

how many species of fungi are there

Answer 28

Around 1.5 million species of fungi have been described but there are an estimated 15 million species in the world today.

Question 29

what are Coenocytic fungi analogous to

Answer 29

Coenocytic fungi with no septum in the hypha are analogous to plasmodial slime molds, and these analogous characteristics led to early confusion about the classification of ‘slime molds’ as fungi.

Question 30

what is Mycology

Answer 30

Mycology = the biological study of fungi

based on “myco” the greek word for fungus or mushrooms

Question 31

what is the Humongous fungus

Answer 31

The world largest individual organism is the mycelium of a ‘honey mushroom’ Armillaria ostoyae

The Humongous fungus occupies approximately 9.1 $km^2$ and possibly weighs 35,000 tons

Question 32

what is Basidiomycetes

Answer 32

includes mushrooms but also many other forms like shelf fungi and puffballs

Question 33

what is Ascomycetes

Answer 33

includes truffles, morels, and yeasts

make bread, beer, etc

Question 34

what is Zygomycetes

Answer 34

sometimes referred to as ‘pin molds’ because of the shape of the ‘fruiting bodies’ aka Sporangia

Black bread mold

Question 35

what is Glomeromycetes

Answer 35

includes mycorrhizal fungi (plant root symbiotic)

Glomeris roughly means ball shaped

has ball shaped spores

Question 36

what are chytrid fungi

Answer 36

found in moist terrestrial freshwater and marine habitats

Spores have whip-like flagella

Unlike the other fungal phyla, chytrids are characterized by having motile (flagellated) spores

One species is notorious for inflecting amphibians.

Question 37

what is a basidiocarp

Answer 37

Basidiocarp is the precise name of the fruiting body of basidiomycete fungi.

Some mushrooms are consumed really common.

Ex: White button = Cremini = Portabella = Agaricus bisporus

Question 38

how do other animals rely on fungi

Answer 38

They are also food or habitat for many other organisms

Although toxicity of some mushrooms species may be the product of natural selection for protective chemicals, some fungus-loving species can tolerate these toxins.

Nonhuman animals like leafcutter ants farm the fungi from leaf cuttings

Question 39

how have fungi impacted health

Answer 39

Fungi have led to the development of human medicines.

Many fungi have evolved biochemical ‘weapons’ that have been indispensable for human medicine.

Ex: Penicillin was made from Penicillium a mold.

Question 40

what is Cordyceps

Answer 40

One unique group of parasitic fungi are Cordyceps, which zombify ants by infecting them with spores, then causes it to climb to the stem or underside of a leaf before latching on and dying. The fungus grows and consumes the ant, then grows a stem called a stroma from the ants head, and releases spores into a killing zone which infect new ants.

Question 41

do fungi parasitis other fungi

Answer 41

Some fungi parasitize other fungi. Life Hypomyces Lactifluoru infects Russula brevipes and turns it into the lobster mushroom.

Question 42

what is interesting about oyster mushrooms

Answer 42

The oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus is partly carnivorous and uses poison to kill small invertebrates.

Question 43

how is kombucha produced

Answer 43

Kombucha is a drink resulting from fermentation by a: Symbiotic culture of Bacteria and Yeast

Question 44

what are the 4 components of a fungal lifestyle

Answer 44

1. Zygote (fusion of gametes)
2. Meiosis (recombination)
3. Haploid phase
4. Heterokaryotic phase

Question 45

describe the lifecycle of a Basidiomycetes fungi

Answer 45

Basidiospores (n) dispers and germinate.
They make haploid mycelia of mating types + or -.
When they find another mycelia of opposite type they undergo plasmogamy to form a Dikaryotic Mycelium.
This then grows a Basidiocarp (n+n) that has gills lined with basidia.
In the basidia (n+n) Karyogamy occurs creating a diploid phase.
then very quick meiosis occurs creating diploid nuclei.
Each Basidium contains four haploid nuclei which are made into four basidiospore, which are released.

Question 46

describe the lifecycle of a Ascomycete fungi

Answer 46

Spores (n) disperse and germinate in the spring.
They produce mycelia of mating types + or -.
The - mating type creates a conidiophore which asexually reproduces and releases conidiums (like spores), which either make more type - mycelia,
or come in contact with a type + mycelia.
From the Conidium and Mycelium plasmogamy occurs creating the heterokaryotic hyphae.
On the Heterokaryotic hyphae an ascus forms: a sac shaped structure.
In the ascus the nuclei fuse and diploid nuclei exist.
Then meiosis occurs resulting in four haploid nuclei in the ascus.
They then create 8 ascospores.
The ascus then creates a large structure called an Ascocarp, which contains asci, which contain spores which are released.

Question 47

describe the lifecycle of a Zygomycete

Answer 47

Spores disperse and germinate.
They create mating types + or - mycelia
Some might undergo Asexual reproduction releasing spores.
When a mating type + and - mycelia connect they make a Gametangia with haploid nuclei.
The Gametangia undergoes Plasmogamy to form a Zygosporangium where heterokrayotic cells exist.
It grows and then undergoes Karyogamy to make a diploid nuclei, which undergoes meiosis.
The Zygosporangium produces a sporangium which releases spores