Lecture 2: Introduction to Fungi Flashcards
what is a hypha?
singular unit of a fungi multicellular organism
what is a mycelium?
a network of hyphae joined together at the tips
what were the earliest fungi?
Prototaxites 400MYA that were a dominant life form for 40MY
what types of fungi are unicellular?
yeast
what types of fungi are multicellular?
fruitbodies, jellies, and corals
what is the cross-branch of a hyphae called?
anastomosis
what is the junction at which a hyphal tip attaches the another hypha?
septum
what are the 3 spore methods of sexual reproduction?
zygospores, ascospores, and basidiospores
what is the 1 method of asexual reproduction?
conidia
what are the functions of the fungal cell wall?
protection from physical damage, morphology, virulence, interaction with immune cells
what is the structure of the fungal cell wall?
chitin and glucan layer
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membrane
what is a saprotroph?
fungi that get nutrients from decomposing dead matter
what are necrotrophs?
fungi that gain nutrients from invading and killing host tissue rapidly then decomposing the dead remains
what are biotrophs?
fungi that get nutrients from a parasitic relationship with their hosts but don’t kill them
what are 3 benefits of fungi?
decomposition, pest and pathogen control, can grow in harsh conditions
what are 6 biogeochemical reactions that fungi perform?
- rock and mineral transformation
- bioweathering
- mineral formation
- metal-fungi interactions
- bioremediation
- control insect pathogens
what are lichen?
mutualistic symbiont with fungi (mycobiont) and a photosynthetic agal partner (photobiont/phycobiont)
what are mycorrhizae?
fungi-root connections where fungi provide plants with nutrients & water and plants provide fungi with sugars
what are 3 negative of fungi?
cause (6000+) diseases, cause damage to man made materials, fungal metabolites may be toxic or carcinogenic
what can ONLY fungi degrade?
lignin (major cell wall component)
what are fungi important for?
food, drink and drugs production
