Biology Chapter 21 Fungi
21-1 The Kingdom Fungi
I. More Like Plants and Animals Than People Think
A. Diverged from Protists
1. 1.5 M Species of Fungi on Earth
a. we know about 100,000 of them
b. weird and sometimes deadly
i. all about death
c. athletes foot and spelunkers lung
2. Saccharomyces (yeast)
a. single celled
b. causes bread to rise; beer
3. Claviceps Purpurea
a. casues gang green, nervous spasms, burning sensations,
hallucinations, temporary insanity
b. raw material of drug LSD
4. White Nose Syndrome
a. kills bats; 6 M since 2007
5. Caused extinctions or threatens existence of many amphibians
a. 1/3 of all
B. Feast on remains of almost all organisms on the planet
1. Convert organic matter back into soil
a. new life can grow
C. Lois Pasteur
1. 1857 Study of Yeast
a. they are living organisms
b. w/o O2 they get energy by decomposing substances that
contained O2
c. anaerobic respiration (fermentation)
i. breaking down sugars in grains
ii. convert into alcohol, CO2 and flavor
2. Pasteurization
a. heating liquid between 55-60 degrees Celsius for a short time
b. kills microorganisms
D. Most Fungi spend most of their lives decomposing
1. Most of the time, its dead when fungi gets there
a. breaks things down to allow new life
i. returns elements to nature
2. Fungi are heterotrophs
a. don’t eat; break things down with enzymes to get smaller particles
i. absorb them
ii. use to grow feed and reproduce
b. hyphae
i. made and supported by chitin
ii. tubular filaments
c. mycelium
i. interwoven mass of hyphae
ii. helps to maximize surface area for absorbing nutrients
iii. extremely densely packed
3. Fungi can continuously grow
a. single Honey Mushroom Blue Mountains in Oregon 2,386 acres
i. largest organism on the planet by area
21-2 Organizing Fungi
I. Organizing by how they interact with other organisms
A. Decomposers – Break down dead stuff
1. Secrete enzymes that help break down and absorb nutrients from nonliving
organic material
a. fallen trees; can break down lignin
i. crucial for cycle of life
B. Mutualists – form beneficial relationships with other organisms (esp. plants)
1. Many have haustoria
a. tangle themselves with plant roots
i. benefits both organisms
b. help plants absorb nutrients; esp phosphates
i. break them down better than the roots can
c. fungi extract energy rich sugars (energy)
2. Mycorrhizae – name for these mutualistic relationships
a. almost all vascular plants rely on fungi for some nutrients
C. Predators and Parasites – actively capture prey with their hyphae
1. Predators - Arthrobotrys
a. uses modified hoops on its filaments; snares nematoads
i. absorbs their inner tissue
2. Parasitic fungi - Zombie Ant Fungus (Ophiocordyceps)
a. shoots spores into an ant, hyphae grow
b. absorbs nonessential nutrients from ant organs
c. when its time to reproduce fungus invades ant’s brain
i. tells it to go to a cool, moist location
ii. fruiting spores erupt through ant’s head; spreads more spores
d. even this parasitic fungi has a predator
i. prevents it from reproducing
21-3 Fungi Reproduction
I. Reproduce any way they can; Sexually or Asexually; some both
A. Asexual
1. Most propagate themselves with huge numbers of spores
a. spores combine
b. rules of male/female do not apply
c. mate with selves; anyone else around or by mating type
2. Molds can grow filamentous structures that produce spores; self-mating
through mitosis
3. Yeast can use budding
B. Sexual - Starts with a beautiful chemical mating dance
1. Mating type
a. different molecular makeups that make them compatible or not
i. + and -; 1 and 2
b. considered sexual
i. both parents contribute genetic information
2. Mycelium from one fungus sends out pheromones that are picked
up/bound to receptors by another willing and able partner
a. compels each mycelium to send their hyphae towards each other
i. meet/fuse cytoplasm of their cells – plasmogamy
b. between hours and centuries later, union leads to production
of spores
i. each fungus can then disperse
2. Morels
a. produce spores in saclike asci contained in fruiting body known as
ascocarps
3. Dispersal
a. some shoot spores into the breeze
b. others float away on the water; hitch rides on passing critters
i. dropped in a area with nutrients (hopefully)