Kingdom Fungi

Question 1

How many species are known?

Answer 1

More than 100 000

Question 2

What environmentally important role do fungi play?

Answer 2

• Play the role of decomposers
• They enrich the soil by converting remains of dead organisms into essential nutrients

Question 3

How they contribute

Answer 3

• Source of many antibiotics
• Carry out process of fermentation which helps make bread and alcohol

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

• Most multicellular but a few unicellular
• Eukaryotic
• Have a cell wall surrounding the cell membrane, these walls are made up of a polysaccharide called ‘chitin’ (like insect shells)
• Bodies made up of hyphae (like roots) which search out and absorb food
• As hyphae grow, they branch, forming a tangled mass of filaments called a mycelium

Question 5

Feeding Patterns

Answer 5

• Heterotrophic, they digest food externally using the enzymes secreted by hyphae
• Fungi can be mutualistic

Question 6

Saprophytes

Answer 6

• Most fungi are
• Decomposers that break down decaying mater

Question 7

Parasites

Answer 7

• Some fungi are parasites since they feed on living host organism
• Can cause diseases like athlete’s foot and ringworm

Question 8

Symbiotic relationship

Answer 8

Relationships where two organisms benefit from each other

Question 9

Lichen

Answer 9

• Symbiotic relationship
• fungi associated with algae or Cyanobacteria
• Lichens can be used to monitor air pollution

Question 10

How do fungi and algae or cyanobacteria benefit each other?

Answer 10

• Fungus provides CO2 & H2O to the algae/bacteria and the algae/cyanobacteria provide sugar for the fungus

Question 11

Micorrhizae

Answer 11

• Symbiotic relationship
• Fungi that are associated (grow with) with the roots of plants

Question 12

How do fungi and roots of plants benefit each other?

Answer 12

• Fungus helps the plant get nutrients from the soil, and the plant provides sugars for the fungi to grow

Question 13

Importance of Fungi to humans

Answer 13

• yeast fungi are used to make bread, wine, beer using process of fermentation
• Penicillium fungi produce the antibiotic penicillin
• Aspergillus fungi produce flavours that are used in soft drinks
• Club-like mushrooms and truffles are used as food

Question 14

Case-like fungi (phylum: zygomycetes)

Answer 14

• Produce case-like sacs containing spores
• ie. bread mould

Question 15

Sac-like fungi (phylum: ascomycetes)

Answer 15

• Produce small finger-like sacs containing spores
• ie. mildew, truffles, yeast, penicillium, athlete’s foot fungus, yeast infections

Question 16

Club-like fungi (phylum: basidiomycetes)

Answer 16

• hyphae producing spores that are club shaped
• ie. mushrooms

Question 17

Chytrids (phylum: chytridomycetes)

Answer 17

• types of water fungi
• ie. parasites to amphibians & plants

Question 18

Glomeromycota (glomeromycetes)

Answer 18

• fungus that grow symbiotically with plants

Question 19

Reproduction

Answer 19

• spores, may be sexual or asexual
• both types have cells that can be dispersed by wind/insects and produce in large numbers
• can be asexual if produced by mitosis but sexual if produced by meiosis
• fragmentation (asexual), pieces of hyphae break off and grow in new mycelium

Question 20

Basidiospores

Answer 20

a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi

Question 21

button

Answer 21

immature form of edible fungus

Question 22

gill

Answer 22

Thin gills on the underside of the mushroom cap

Question 23

cap

Answer 23

top part of the mushroom

Question 24

stalk

Answer 24

stem on mushroom supporting the cap