Kingdom Fungi
Study of Fungi = Mycology
Common Characteristics:
• Eukaryotic
• No chlorophyll and are heterotrophs
• Cell walls of cells are made of chitin
• Most are multicellular. Only unicellular fungus is
yeast.
• Digest food outside their bodies and absorb
the nutrients through their cell walls.
• Most are saprophytes, others are parasites.
• Reproduction – asexually (cells or hyphae break off
and begin to grow on their own, forming of spores or
budding as in yeast) or sexually through gametes
that combine to form a zygote
Structure and Function of Fungi:
All fungi are multicellular except for yeasts.
The part of the mushroom that we
see is called the fruiting body.
This is the reproductive structure
growing from the mycelium in the
soil beneath.
Multicellular fungi
are composed of
thin filaments
called hyphae.
Many hyphae tangled together into a thick mass is called
the mycelium
mycelium
fruiting body
Classification of Fungi
Classified according to their structure and the
method of reproduction.
4 Main phyla:
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Zygomycota (Common molds)
Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Deuteromycota (Imperfect Fungi)
1. Chytridiomycota – Phylum of
Primitive Fungi/ aka: Chytrids
• Smallest fungi
• Mostly aquatic
• Produces spores with flagella
• Some are decomposers
• Others are parasites of protists, plants or
animals
Example: Allomyces
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2. Zygomycota
(Common molds or bread molds)
Terrestrial
Have 2 kinds of hyphae: Rhizoids and Stolons
Reproduce sexually through zygospores
Examples: Bread mold and Black mold
3. Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
• Largest phylum
• Named after the reproductive
structure (ascus) which contains the spores.
Examples
Truffles
Morels
Cup fungi
Yeast
Ringworm
Athlete’s foot
4. Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
• Named after the spore producing structure
which is the basidium found in the cap. It looks
like a club.
• Complex life cycle
• They have a part above ground and a part below
ground.
• Mushroom is the fruiting body.
• When the cap opens, billions of spores are released.
Examples:
Bracket or Shelf fungi
Mushrooms
Smuts fungi
Rusts fungi
Cause disease in
plants
5. Deuterymycota – Imperfect fungi
• Fungi that cannot be placed in
other phyla because researchers
have never been able to observe
a sexual phase in their life cycles.
Example:
Penicillium
Ecological Importance of Fungi
• Decomposers: Fungi recycle nutrients in
ecosystems by breaking down the bodies and
wastes of other organisms.
• Parasites: Parasitic fungi can cause serious
plant and animal diseases such as corn smuts, mildew
on fruits, athlete’s foot in humans, Cordyceps in
grasshoppers and ants.
http://www.blueswami.com/fungi_videos.html
• Symbiotic relationships:
Lichens – Fungus + green alga. Resistant to
drought and cold and can grow anywhere.
Sensitive to pollution – can be used as
indicators of air quality.
Mycorrhizae: Fungi + plant roots. Fungi helps
plant roots to absorb water from the soil, plant
gives glucose to fungi.
Food: Mushrooms, yeast to make bread, make citric acid
used in soft drinks and candy.
Medicine: Antibiotic penicillin