The Fungi Kingdom

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The Fungi Kingdom
Mycology -
the study of fungi
fungi - plural
fungus - singular
4 Main Characteristics of Fungi
1) fungi are eukaryotic

• they have a nuclei mitochondria

2) they are heterotrophs

• they depend on other organisms for food

3) they are multicellular
4) they cannot move on their own
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The Fungi Kingdom
4 Reasons Fungi Are Different From Plants
1) fungi lack chlorophyll
2) fungi are not photosynthetic
Saprophyte-feeds on dead/decaying organisms

• cannot produce their own food

• most are saprophytes

• some are parasites

3) they never reproduce by seeds
4) most fungi have cell walls made of chitin

• Plant cell walls are made of

cellulose
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The Fungi Kingdom
Parts of fungi
network of thin thread-like structures
(filaments) that form the body of fungus
Hyphae

• hyphae contain cytoplasm

• hyphae grow and branch until they cover and
  digest the food source (upon which the fungi is
  growing).

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The Fungi Kingdom
Mycelium -
a mass of hyphae

• The mycelium is usually hidden in the soil, in
  wood, or another food source
• Some hyphae may be divided by septa.

• A mycelium may fill a single ant, or cover many
  acres

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The Fungi Kingdom
What are we looking at when we see a
fungus-among-us?
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The Fungi Kingdom
Fungi Reproduction
1. Most fungi reproduce both sexually and
asexually.
2. Most fungi reproduce by using spores (asexual)
3. Fungi spores are microscopic.
EX Mushrooms puffballs release large clouds
of spores. Each cloud contains millions of spores
Reproduction is classified according to
1) the way they form the spores
2) the shape of the structure in which spores are
made
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Asexual reproduction production of various
types of spores Sporangiophores- upright stalk
with an enclosed sac ( bread mold) Conidia -
upright stalk with no enclosed sac
(penicillin) Fragmentation hyphae dry out and
shatter releasing individual cells that act like
spores (athletes foot) Budding part of a
yeast cell pinches itself off to produce small
offspring
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Sexual reproduction Hyphae of different mating
types fuse and give rise to a specialized
structure that produces spores (diploid) Most
fungi are haploid throughout most of their life
cycle When environmental conditions are
favorable, asexual reproduction occurs rapidly.
When unfavorable conditions stress the organism,
sexual reproduction occurs and the offspring have
an increased likelihood that they will be better
suited for the environment.