Kingdom Fungi
• Eukaryotic
• Heterotrophs (decomposers)
• Cell walls made of chitin
– Complex carbohydrate
• also found in the external skeletons of insects.
Food
• Digest food outside their bodies and then
absorb it.
– Many feed on decaying matter, others are
parasites.
Body Composition
• Composed of thin filaments called hyphae
that are only one cell thick.
• Bodies composed of many hyphae tangled
together into a thick mass called a
mycelium that grows beneath the soil.
Reproduction
• Fruiting bodies are the reproductive
structures
– we recognize these as a mushroom.
– grow from the mycelium.
• Reproduce both sexually and asexually.
• Produce spores that allow it to spread
easily.
Fungal Structure
Phylum Zygomycota:
The Common Molds
• Molds that grow on meat, cheese, bread, etc.
• Life cycle includes a zygospore – resting spore
that contains zygotes formed during sexual
reproduction.
• Forms two types of hyphae:
– Rhizoids – rootlike hyphae that anchor the fungus to
the host
– Stolons – stem-like hyphae that run along the surface
of the host
Phylum Ascomycota:
The Sac Fungi
• Named for ascus – sac shaped
reproductive structure that contains spores
• Largest phylum of the fungal kingdom
• Contains large fungi (cup fungi) and
microscopic fungi (yeasts)
Phylum Basidiomycota:
The Club Fungi
• Named for the basidium – club-shaped
reproductive structures that contain spores
and are found on the underside of
mushroom caps
• Include mushrooms, shelf fungi, puffballs,
earthstars, jelly fungi, and plant parasites.
Phylum Deuteromycota:
The Imperfect Fungi
• Extremely varied phylum
• Contains organisms that don’t fit in the
other three phyla
• Appear to reproduce asexually only
• Most common imperfect fungi: Penicillium
notatum
• No longer a recognized phylum, but not all
organisms previously classified in this
phylum have been placed in other phyla
Ecology of Fungi
• Considered saprobes – organisms that obtain
food from decaying organic matter
• Can be parasitic:
–
–
–
–
Corn smut
Mildew
Athlete’s foot
Yeast infection
• Can be mutualistic:
– Lichen – relationship between fungus and green
algae or cyanobacterium
– Mychorrizae – relationship between fungus and roots
of a plant