Kingdom Fungi
• Characteristics similar to all Fungi:
• All eukaryotic
• Heterotrophic
• Multicellular (except yeast)
• Are not motile
Why are Fungi not Plants?
Similarities:
• Do not move
• Grow like plants
• edible
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Differences:
Lack chlorophyll
(chloroplast)
Do not perform
photosynthesis
Reproduce by spores
Fungal cell walls are
made of chitin (like crab
shells); plant cell walls
made of cellulose
Anatomy of Fungi
• Bodies of fungi consist
of long strands called
hyphae
• Hyphae weave together
to form mycelium and
is found underground
• some hyphae have
septa which separate
• Fruiting body is the
reproductive structure
Fungi Nutrition
• Heterotrophic
• Fungi secrete enzymes
that attack carbon
containing organisms,
and digest them
• Fungi can be one of 4:
– Saprophyte: digests
dead organisms
– Decomposer: Feeds on
dead organic material
– Predator: hunts other
organisms
– Parasites: lives in or on a
host feeding off its
nutrients
Fungi Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
• Occurs when one parent
produces offspring without
the genes from another
individual.
• Identical copy
Sexual Reproduction
• Two parents contribute
genetic material to the
offspring
• Genetically unique offspring
Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually!
Four Main Types of Asexual
Reproduction
1. Some undergo mitosis
2. Some yeast fungi reproduce by
“budding”
3. Some fungi grow from mycelium
4. Most by spores
Asexual Reproduction
• Spores contain a nucleus and dehydrated
cytoplasm
• Spores are released from the fruiting body
– Dispersed via wind, animals, insects, water
• Cytoplasm will absorb water to rehydrate and
forms hyphae
• Hyphae will twine to form mycelium
Sexual Reproduction
• Divided into 4 main groups
• Similarity between groups: there are no male
or female
• “+” mating type and “-” mating type
• Fertilization occurs when hyphae from a plus
meet hyphae from a minus
Four Groups of Fungi
1. Primitive Fungi:
• Phylum Chytridiomycota
2. Sac Fungi:
• Phylum Ascomycota
3. Bread Molds:
• Phylum Zygomycota
4. Club Fungi:
• Phylum Basidiomycota
Impacts of Fungi
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Recycle nutrients
Form associations with lichens
Food
Produce antibiotics (Penicillian)
Some cause disease
Lichens
• Symbiotic relationship between algae and
fungi
• Lichens absorb chemical nutrients from the air
• Can grow anywhere
Mycorrhizae
• Mutualistic
• Between fungi and plant roots
• Fungal hyphae act as a root extension which
increases the plants surface area
• Increases water uptake
• More disease resistant
Diseases Caused by Fungi
Dutch Elm Disease:
Human Diseases:
• Kills an elm in as little as 3
weeks
• Clogs its water conducting
vessels
• Spread in SK by the elm
bark beetle during its
breeding period
• Athlete’s foot
• Ring worm
• Yeast infections
Beneficial Fungi
• Yeast for baking bread
– Digests sugar in bread and produces CO2
– This causes the bread to rise
• Adds flavors to cheese
• Edible mushrooms found in the grocery stores
Penicillin
• Alexander Fleming 1928
• He was trying treat syphilis
• Active ingredients in mold turned out to be an
infection-fighting agent
• Found that the Staphylococcus bacteria grew
everywhere except for the area surrounding
the moldy contaminant