BOT3015L
Fungi
Presentation created by Danielle Sherdan
All photos from Raven et al. Biology of Plants except when otherwise noted

Plants (embryophytes)
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms, seedless, and non-vascular
Endosymbiosis
Molecular evidence that both animals and fungi diverged from a common ancestor, likely a colonial protist
Animals
Fungi (today)
Choanoflagellate, colonial protist
Protists www.tolweb.org

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Cooking and baking
Beer and wine production
Cheese production
Antibiotics
Toxic waste cleanup
Antibiotic production (cyclosporin, penicillin)
Medical benefits (anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory)
Parasites and diseases in animals (ringworm, aflatoxins)
Parasites and diseases in plants (powdery mildew, smuts, rot)
Decomposition and nutrient cycling
Mycorrhizal associations

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Fungus Theme Slide
BOT 3015
Ascomycetes
Notice that, based on molecular data, fungi are more closely related to animals than plants
Basidiomycetes
Zygomycetes
From Outlaw lecture

Classification using sexual reproduction
(more later)
* Formation of spores within zygosporangium.
* No cross walls between cells.
Zygomycete
Ascomycete
Formation of spores in ascus.
Modified from Outlaw lecture
Basidiomycete
Formation of spores on basidium.

• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport

Absorption is the Fungal Mode of Nutrition
MEMBRANE
Fungi secrete enzymes (red symbol), which break complex molecules into smaller building blocks, such as simple sugars and amino acids (yellow symbols). The simple molecules are absorbed by the fungus.
Secondary active transport
INSIDE
Nutrients dilute relative to inside
OUTSIDE
Thanks to Robert Hebert for assistance in the preparation of this slide.
Modified from Outlaw lecture

• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport
• Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)

Mycelium - mass of hyphae
Growth occurs at tips of hyphae
Some have partitions called septa
May be specialized e.g. rhizoids anchor to substrate and haustoria absorb from living cells
Rhizopus (zygomycete) on strawberries

• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport
• Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)
• Spores produced sexually and asexually
• Sexual reproduction by zygotic meiosis

Phylum
Zygomycota
Ascomycota
Basidiomycota
Type of sexual spores
Zygospore in zygosporangium
Ascospore in ascus as part of ascocarp
Basidiospore in basidium as part of basidiocarp
Representatives
Common plant diseases
Bread mold, endomycorrhizal fungi
Soft rot
Powdery mildews, morels, truffles
Powdery mildew, chestnut blight,
Dutch elm disease
Mushrooms, stinkhorns, puffballs, shelf fungi, rusts, smuts
Black stem rust of cereals, corn smut, root rot

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Zygomycete life cycle
Modified from Outlaw lecture Zygospore, distinguishing characteristic, is only diploid cell

Pilobolus (zygomycete)

Zygospores of Rhizopus nigricans
Gametangia
Zygospores
Thanks to Robert Hebert and Kim Riddle for this image.

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Ascomycete life cycle
Karyogamy
Distinguishing characteristics
Conidia of Nomuraea
Plasmogamy

Asci lining the fruiting body of Peziza
Ascospores
Modified from Outlaw lecture

Appearance of prototypical ascomycete
From Outlaw lecture

Xylaria sp.
From Outlaw lecture

Common edible morel, Morchella esculenta (ascomycete)

World’s most expensive truffle
White Alba
Almost 3 pounds
$112, 000
Photo from Wikipedia
Black truffle
( Tuber melanosporum) ascocarp (pictured) found beneath the soil surface

Botryosphaeria dothidea on Adina apple
Thanks to Robert Hebert and Kim Riddle for this image.
From Outlaw lecture

Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Basidiomycete life cycle
From Outlaw lecture

~200µ m
Cross section of basidiocarp showing gills
~100µ m
Coprinus (basidiomycete) with vital stain
~50µ m

Basidia of Coprinus pileus
From Outlaw lecture

Basidia at time of basidospore release
~25µ m
SEM inky cap mushroom, Coprinus cinereus (basidiomycete)
4 basidiospores atop a single basidium
~10µ m

Polypore example
Polyporus arcularius

Shelf fungus example
Ganoderma applanatum

Puffball
Calostoma cinnabarina

Netted stinkhorn
Dictyophora duplicata

Whiteegg bird’s-nest
Crucibulum laeve

Earthstar
Geastrum saccatum

Corn smut
Ustilago maydis

For a local collection go to Outlaw’s collection in the lecture series

The yeast growth form
Present in ascomycetes, zygomycetes, and basidiosmycetes
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ascomycete)
Filamentous form Single-cell form
~25µ m
~2.5µ m
Budding, a form of asexual reproduction