Fungi Flashcards
1
Q
Basic fungi information
A
- unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic: molds, mushrooms, yeasts
- Shares characteristics of about plants and animals
- Main decomposers in ecological systems (creates the Wood Wide Web)
- Can be deadly pathogens
- May have driven evolution onto land
2
Q
Shared features with plants
A
- Many grow ‘rooted’ in the ground but use mycelium
- Has cell wall and vacuole
- Sexual or asexual reproduction
- Some produce spores
- Many produce fruiting body to aid in reproduction
3
Q
Shared features with animals
A
- Heterotrophic and lacks chloroplasts
- Produces chitin (plants produce cellulose)
- Stores carbohydrates energy as glycogen (plants use starch)
- Produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight (genetic similarities)
4
Q
Unique fungi features
A
- Some species can reproduce via clonal budding / fission
- The cells (multicellular) grow elongated structures called hyphae (occurs at tips) - this happens by the extension of the cell walls by external polymerization and internal synthesis of new membranes
5
Q
Hyphal features
A
- Hyphal wall 2. Septum 3. Mitochondrion 4. Vacuole 5. Ergosterol Crystal 6. Ribosome 7. Nucleus 8. ER 9. Lipid Body
6
Q
Fungal Evolution (part 1)
A
- Both fungi and animals share a common ancestor of a flagellated protist
- More basal fungi still have a flagellum (e.g. chytrids)
- Genetically most similar to protists
- First branched 1 - 1.5 billion years ago
7
Q
Fungi classification
A
Taxa are based on morphology and genetics
1. Chytridiomycota: chytrid fungi
2. Neocallimastigomycota: anaerobic fungi
3. Mucoromycota: zygote fungi
4. Glomeromycota: root symbiotic fungi
5. Ascomycota: sac fungi
6. Basidiomycota: club fungi
8
Q
Chytrid Fungi
A
- One of the earliest diverging fungi phylum
- Microscopic with flagellum
- Aquatic (but also wet environments)
- Mostly asexual reproduction (release of spores - mitosis)
- Breaksdown chitin and keratin, sometimes a parasite
9
Q
Anaerobic Fungi (Neo)
A
- Found in digestive tracks of herbivore animals
- Microscopic with flagellum
- Asexual reproduction
- Breakdowns cellulose = digestion of plants
10
Q
Zygotic Fungi (Muco)
A
- Molds or mycorrhizal fungi (mostly terrestrial - soil or decaying matter)
- Asexual (spores) but switches to sexual in degrading environments (creates zygote by fusing strains)
- Some are parasites to plants, insects and small animals
11
Q
Root Symbiotic Fungi (Glom)
A
- Forms mycorrhizal fungi (mostly terrestrial - soils)
- Asexual (spores): cannot survive without the roots of plants
- produces mycorrhizae: form of hyphae that interacts with the cells of roots of plants (exchanges nutrients and water for carbohydrates, connecting plants together in a network)
12
Q
Sac Fungi (Asco)
A
- Largest phylum
- Defining feature: ascus - microscopic structure where spores form
- Asexual
- Molds, mildew, yeasts and mushrooms
- Fungal symbionts in the
majority of lichens
13
Q
Club Fungi (Basi)
A
- Contains mushrooms, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket
fungi, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, some yeasts - Reproduce sexually via the formation of specialized club-shaped end cells called basidia, the site where spores are produced
14
Q
Fungi sizes
A
- Unicellular (small)
- Multicellular: ranges - extremes: largest whole fungus (fruiting body and mycelium) Armillaria ostoyae, which covers 9
km2 in an Oregon State Park and is estimated to be 2,400 years old
15
Q
Heterotrophic
A
- Fungi find food, secretes enzymes called exoenzymes to digest foods and absorb smaller molecules
- Parasitic: like dermatophytes (sac fungi) that eats keratin and cause athlete’s foot & ringworm
- Mutualistic: like mycorrhizal fungi (from zygote fungi) or sac fungi that make up the fungal side of lichen
- Saprophytic: decomposers and nutrient cycling (resets food web and keeps nutrients moving)
