Kingdom Fungi
Outline
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Protists versus Fungi
Phylum Chytridomycota
Phylum Zygomycota
Phylum Ascomycota
Phylum Basidiomycota
Phylum Deuteromycota
Lichens
Distinctions Between Protista and Fungi
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All true fungi are filamentous or unicellular
heterotrophs, most of which absorb their food
in solution through cell walls (saprobes).
Members of Kingdom Fungi are placed in five
phyla.
 With the exception of some chytrids
(pronounced kitt-ridds) and all yeasts, all are
filamentous.
 Most lack motile cells.
Kingdom Fungi
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Phylum Chytridomycota (The Chytrids)
 Simple, mostly one-celled organisms.
 Some parasitize pollen grains, and other are
saprobic.
 Some are in the form of a spherical cell with
branching threads called rhizoids which are used
for anchoring the chytrid to its food source.
 Many reproduce only asexually through the
production of zoospores within a spherical cell.
 Sexual reproduction by fusion of motile haploid
gametes.
Fig. 19.2
Kingdom Fungi
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Phylum Zygomycota (Coenocytic True Fungi)
 Black bread molds are the best-known
members of this phylum.
- Rhizopus is a well-known representative.
Reproduction in Rhizopus (bread mold)
Asexual
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Sporangiophores grow upright and produce sporangia at
their tips
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Numerous spores produced in each sporangium
Sexual
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Conjugation of different mating strains
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Formation of progametangia
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Gametangia merge, becoming large multinucleate cell
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Wall develops around cell, forming the zygospore
Fig. 19.5
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Human and Ecological Relevance of
Zygomycetes
- A few species used as food sources.
- tempeh and sufu (Chinese cheese).
- Industrial Uses
 Pharmaceuticals
 Yellow pigment for coloring margarine
 Meat tenderizer
Kingdom Fungi
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Phylum Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Truffles are reproductive bodies of
representatives of the phylum ascomycetes.
 Most produce mycelia with hyphae
partitioned into individual cylindrical cells
(non coenocytic).
 Asexual Reproduction
- By means of spores produced outside of
a sporangium (conidia) on conidiophores.
- Yeasts - Budding
Fig. 19.6
Sexual Reproduction of Ascomycetes
• Involves formation of an ascus
• Male antheridia produced on one hypha, female
ascogonia on other
• Male nuclei migrate into ascogonium
• Ascogenous hyphae formed
• At maturity, pairs of nuclei unite forming 2n nuclei
• Diploid nuclei undergo meiosis; these nuclei
become nuclei of ascospores
• Ascospores (n) released into air
Phylum Ascomycota
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Human and Ecological Relevance
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Truffles and morels have been prized food for
centuries
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Ergot fungus may infect rye and other grains.
- Ergotism may occur in those who eat the
contaminated bread.
- Ergot drugs are medicinally useful in small
amounts.
 Initial source for the manufacture of LSD.
Fig. 19.10
Fig. 19.11
Phylum Ascomycota
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Human and Ecological Relevance
 Yeast enzymes aid in preparation of baked
goods.
- Fermentation
 Yeasts used in production of glycerol.
- Explosives
 Plant Diseases
- Dutch Elm Disease
- Chestnut Blight
Phylum Basidiomycota
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The Basidiomycetes (Club Fungi)
- Habitat:
-i- Saprophytes
- Mushrooms (toadstools)
- Puffballs, earth stars, jelly fungi, stinkhorns
-ii- Parasites
- Shelf or bracket fungi
- Rusts, smuts
- Shape:
- Mycelium septate with pores
- Uninucleate or binucleate stages of mycelium
Sexual Reproduction
a) Hyphae of mycelium are monokaryotic
b) Hyphal cells of compatible mating types may unite, initiating
a new dikaryotic mycelium
c) Formation of clamp connection, with one nucleus migrating
into clamp
d) Mitosis and formation of crosswalls
e) Dikaryotic mycelium may become very dense, forming the
button, which may penetrate the surface and expand into the
basidiocarp (mushroom)
f) Gill of mushroom has numerous basidia
g) As each basidium matures, the two nuclei unite, and then
undergo meiosis; the four nuclei become the nuclei of the four
basidiospores
Asexual Reproduction
Infrequent mainly through conidia
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Phylum Basidiomycota
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Sexual Reproduction in Basidiomycota
Sexual Reproduction in Basidiomycota
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Sexual Reproduction in Basidiomycota
Fairy Rings
 Boletes
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Sexual Reproduction in Basidiomycota
Shelf Fungi
 Bird’s Nest Fungi
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Sexual Reproduction in Basidiomycota
Smuts
 Rusts
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Phylum Basidiomycota
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Human and Ecological Relevance
 Poisonous
- Fewer than 75 of the approximately 25,000
described species are poisonous.
- Death Angel mushrooms are very poisonous.
Thioctic acid used as antidote.
 Shiitake (Black Forest) Mushrooms
- High in protein, calcium, phosphorous, and iron.
- Lentinacin extract lowers blood cholesterol and
exhibits antiviral activity by inducing the
formation of interferon.
 Nutrient Recycling
 Cultivation for food: Agaricus bisporus
Phylum Deuteromycota
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The Deuteromycetes (Imperfect Fungi)
Examples: parasites of protozoans and small animals,
nematode trappers, forms cultivated by ants and termites,
and mycorrhizal fungi.
 Fungi for which a sexual stage has not been observed.
- Grouped together in an artificial phylum.
 All reproduce by conidia.
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Phylum Deuteromycota
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Human and Ecological Relevance
 Penicillium Molds
- Antibiotics
- Gourmet Cheese
 Aspergillus
- Citric Acid
- Soy Sauce
- Aspergilloses (Respiratory Disease)
- Aflatoxin (Carcinogen)
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Lichens
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Consists of a fungus and an alga intimately
associated in a spongy thallus.
 Photosynthetic component supplies the
food while the fungus protects the
photosynthetic organisms from harmful
light intensities and absorbs and retains
water and minerals.
- Three genera of green algae and one
genus of cyanobacterium are involved in
90% of all lichen species.
Lichens
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Lichen species are identified according to
their fungus.
Grow very slowly, and are capable of living
extremely long periods of time.
 Gelatinous substance in thallus allows
them to withstand alternating wet and dry
periods.
Lichens
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Usually consist of three or four layers:
 Upper Cortex - Protective layer
 Algal Layer - Contain algal cells.
 Medulla - Hyphae
 Lower Cortex - Covered with Rhizines.
Lichens
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Usually grouped into three major growth
forms:
 Crustose - Attached to or embedded in
their substrate over their entire lower
surface.
 Foliose - Contain leaf-like thalli which often
overlap.
 Fruticose - May resemble miniature upright
shrubs, or hang down in festoons from
branches.
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Lichens
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Fungal component of all lichens are of the
sac fungi and usually reproduces sexually,
but lichens are naturally dispersed in nature
asexually.
Sexual reproduction in lichens is similar to
that of the sac fungi except ascomata
produce spores continuously for many years.
Lichens
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Human and Ecological Relevance
 Exceptionally sensitive to pollution.
- Sulfur Dioxide
- Nuclear Radiation
 Degradation of historic structures.
 Food Supplements
 Antibiotic Properties
Review
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Protists versus Fungi
Phylum Chytridomycota
Phylum Zygomycota
Phylum Ascomycota
Phylum Basidiomycota
Phylum Deuteromycota
Lichens
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