Fungi

When you think of fungus, what do you think of?

• Mold on your fruits?

• Mushrooms on your Pizza?

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Importance of Kingdom Fungi1. many pathogenic species ex. Ringworm ex. athlete’s foot ex. potato blight

2. decomposers i.e. saprophytes recycle dead organisms (fertilize soil) break down toxic waste

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Importance of Kingdom Fungi3. some species produce antibiotics ex. Penicillium

4. food source * mushrooms (vitamin D) * make blue cheeses

5. yeast: used commercially to make: bread

beer & wine

chicken of the woods

edible mushrooms

beefsteak

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Similarities Between Plants & Fungi

Plants Fungi

eukaryotic cells

numerous organelles

multicellular (*except yeast)

have cell walls

anchored in soil

stationary

reproduce asexually or

sexually

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Differences Between Plants & Fungi

Plants Fungi

one nucleus per cell many nuclei per cell

autotrophs (make own food)

Heterotrophs (must eat to get nutrition)

have roots no roots (filaments instead!)

cellulose in cell wallschitin in cell walls

(like insects)

reproduce by seedsno seeds, they have

spores

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Generalized Structure

made of thin filaments called hyphae

A

cell wall

nuclei

Under a microscope, hyphae look like a tangled mass of threads or tiny plant roots

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Generalized Structure

Mycelium: formed by many intertwining threads of

cells called hyphae- Very much like a “colony”- Usually forms on or below surface of soil

Cmycelium showing many interlocking

hyphae

Anatomy of Fungus

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Mycelium

Fruiting Body

(Mushroom)

Hyphae

The dividers between fungal cells often have openings that allow proteins,

fluids and even nuclei to flow from one cell to another. Some fungal species have no cell dividers:

just a long, continuous cell dotted by multiple nuclei spread throughout.

Oregon Honey Mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae)

• Nicknamed the “Humungous Fungus”

• Started as a single microscopic spore

• Has grown for 2,400 years and is now 8.9 km

across• The only above-ground

signs of the humongous fungus are patches of

dead trees and the mushrooms that form at

the base of infected trees.

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• The Humungous Fungus is the Largest living organism on Planet Earth

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Life Cycle – Asexual Reproduction

spores: unicellular reproductive

cells (ie. made of one cell)

formed in specialized spore cases called sporangia (um)

when mature, sporangia break open releasing 1000’s of spores to be carried by the wind

Sporangiophore

each spore forms a new mycelium (identical to parent)

ex. Rhizopus stoloniferous- bread mould

Spore Dispersal• Fungus generally don’t grow tall enough, or in high enough areas to simply release their

spores into the wind• Spores must “burst” from the fruiting body• This increases the chances of their spores being picked up by drafts or landing on an

animal

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Life Cycle – Sexual Reproduction

2 Haploid (one set of chromosomes) hyphae cells fuse together

grow into a mushroom (fruiting body) sexually produced spores form on the inside of the gills

as spores mature, mushroom opens up & releases its spores to the wind

(up to 2 billion/mushroom) each spore grows into a

genetically different mycelium

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Life Cycle – Sexual Reproduction

cap

gills

stalk

Label the following diagram of a mushroom.

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Yeast different from other fungi because:

unicellular reproduce asexually by budding

1. nucleus doubles

2. one nucleus moves into the bud

3. bud grows & falls off to become a new yeast cell identical to parent

Scary Fungus • Coryceps: A parasitic fungus that “takes over”

the body of its host, eventually killing it

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Mucormycosis is a fungal infection of the sinuses, brain, or lungs that occurs primarily in people with

immune disorders.

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