Fungus
Fungus may grow on a loaf of bread or on your shower curtain. All fungi are eukaryotic,
which means that they do have a nucleus. Fungi have cell walls, but they do not have
chloroplasts! Fungi do not have chlorophyll and do not make their own food. Fungi do not have
specialized tissues and organs such as leaves and roots. Fungi grow best in warm, damp areas,
such as tropical forests or between toes. Most species of fungi are multicellular. The body of a
fungus usually is made up of chains of cells that form threadlike tubes or fibers called hyphae
(HI fee). The figure to the right shows the inside structure of hyphae. When the hyphae grow into
a large twisted mass, it is referred to as the mycelium. The mycelium is found underground and
is like the “root” of the fungus. Fungi are a type of heterotroph, which is an organism that
cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms. But if a fungus does not have a mouth,
how does it eat? Hyphae produce enzymes that help break down food that the fungus absorbs
from another organism. Most fungi are decomposers or saprophytes, meaning they get food by
absorbing dead or decaying tissues of other organisms. Fungi play a key role in maintaining
equilibrium in nearly every ecosystem because they recycle nutrients by breaking down the
bodies and wastes of other organisms making them decomposers. Types of fungi are….
1.Common Molds (Zygote Fungi)
These familiar threadlike molds grow on meat, cheese and bread are members of the phylum
Zygomycota. Keep bread warm and moist in a covered jar and you will see dark fuzz start to
appear. They have a life cycle that includes a zygospore.
2. Sac Fungi
The largest group of fungi includes yeasts, mildews, and truffles. There are more than 30,000
different species of sac fungi. The spores of sac fungi are produced in a little, saclike structure.
Although most fungi are many-celled but yeasts are unicellular, one-celled organisms. Yeasts
reproduce sexually by forming spores like other fungi. Yeasts reproduce asexually by budding,
in which a new organism forms on the side of the parent organism. The two organisms are
genetically identical. Yeasts are unicellular and we as humans use yeast for baking and brewing
alcoholic beverages like beer.
3. Club Fungi
Mushrooms, bracket fungi, and puffballs are examples of club fungi. The mushroom is the
reproductive structure of the fungus. Most of the fungus grows as hyphae in the soil or on the
surface of its food source. The spores of club fungi are produced in a club-shaped structure
called a basidium. Domestic are tasty and nutritious, like Portobello mushrooms or shiitake
mushrooms but wild mushrooms are poisonous and can cause illness and sometimes death.
4. Imperfect Fungi
The imperfect fungi include fungi that do not fit into the other groups. These fungi never
reproduce sexually. They usually are called imperfect fungi because there is no evidence that
their life cycle has a sexual reproduction stage. Most of these types of fungi are parasites. The
best known imperfect fungus, and the MOST important, is Penicillium, because it is the source
of Penicillin, an antibiotic that stops certain bacteria from growing and reproducing.
5. Not quite a fungus? - Lichens
A lichen (LI kun) is an organism made up of a fungus and a green algae, or a cyanobacterium.
These two organisms have a relationship that benefits both of them, also known as a symbiotic
relationship.
Fungus Questions and Coloring
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Name 3 characteristics of fungi._____________________________________________________
Where do fungi grow best?________________________________________________________
Are fungi unicellular or multicellular and what does it mean?_____________________________
How do fungi eat?_______________________________________________________________
How do fungi help ecosystems?_____________________________________________________
Give 2 examples of Common Molds_________________________________________________
Which group is the largest group of fungi?____________________________________________
Give 2 examples of Sac Fungi_______________________________________________________
What is Yeast and how do humans use it?____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Give 2 examples of Club Fungi?_____________________________________________________
Which mushroom can you eat?_____________________________________________________
Why can’t you eat ANY mushroom?_________________________________________________
Why is Imperfect Fungi very important?______________________________________________
What is a lichen?________________________________________________________________
What is a symbiotic relationship?___________________________________________________
Color and Fill
In the Answers