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Fungi
USC FSH BISC121 Midterm 2 - Fungi
| Question / Term | Answer / Definition |
|---|---|
| Fungi (sg. fungus) | A monophyletic kingdom (Unikonta) of eukaryotic heterotrophic organisms that includes molds, yeasts, as well as fungi in soil, forming mushrooms, puffballs, truffles, etc. |
| Mycology | the science of fungi |
| How diverse is the fungi kingdom? | Very widespread, with 100,000 described species and an estimated > 1.5 million species total |
| Common features of fungi | Can be multicellular or unicellular; require moisture and organic material; most require oxygen, while some are facultative anaerobes such as yeast |
| Which group is fungi more closely related to? | Animals and amoebozoans than to plants |
| Importance of Fungi - decomposers | Decomposers of dead organisms, fallen leaves, other organic materials, can breakdown difficult materials such as cellulose through ingestion, recycle vital materials into forms other organisms can assimilate; some termites and ants grow 'fungus gardens' |
| Importance of Fungi - mutualism | Plants depend on fungi to survive and form mutually beneficial relationships |
| Importance of Fungi - food & medicine | Humans cultivate fungi for food, antibiotics and other drugs; use yeast to make bread rise, ferment beer and wine; model organisms for laboratory studies |
| Multicellular fungi | Form extensive mycelium and fruiting bodies (eg. mushrooms), with spores that appear in reproduction that can be very resistant, eg. during overwintering or drought |
| Hypha (pl. hyphae) | Filamentous tube-like strands |
| Mycelium (pl. mycelia) | Aggregate of hyphae |
| Body structure of fungi | Consists of hyphae (many --> mycelium), fruiting bodies (reproductive structure), and spore-producing structures |
| What is the mode of nutrition for fungi? | Heterotrophs that obtain nutrition by absorption |
| Roles of fungi | Most are decomposers - feed on dead tissues or organic waste; some are parasites - absorb nutrients from a living host, responsible for most plant diseases; mutualistic symbionts with another organism |
| Example of mutualistic symbiosis in fungi | Root tip fungi and plants can have mutualistic relationships where fungi help the plant in nutrient absorption, while the fungi receives energy and nutrients from the plant |
| Chemicals produced by fungi | Power enzymes that break down dead tissues, antibiotics (major importance in medicine), drugs such as hallucinogens, toxins (sometimes highly potent), metabolic byproducts including ethanol (brewing) and CO2 (baking) |
| Toxic properties of fungi | Can destroy the liver and kidneys, eg. death cap, destroying angel |
| Other properties of fungi | Bioluminescence, thought to attract insects that spread spores |
| Hyphae function | Tough cell walls of chitin (polysaccharide) that grows at the tips and branch extensively into mycelium, secrete exoenzymes that break down complex molecules, absorbing nutrients |
| Fungal forms | Groups of analogous fungi that evolved morphological and ecological adaptations for specialized ways of life |
| Molds | Rapidly growing, multicellular, asexually reproducing fungi; with mycelia that grow as decomposers or parasites on a variety of substrates and produce asexual spores |
| Yeasts | Unicellular fungi that inhabit liquid or moist habitats, including plant sap and animals tissues; reproduce asexually by simple cell division or budding off a parent cell, while some also reproduce sexually |
| Lichens | A symbiotic association of photosynthetic microorganisms in a mesh of fungal hyphae; nature's biological monitors of pollution and air quality (sensitive, presence indicators high air quality) |
| Fungal role in lichens | Provides structure, protection, absorption |
| Algal role in lichens | Provides energy via photosynthesis |
| Mycorrhizae | A symbiotic mutualistic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant |
| Fungal role in mycorrhizae | Provides nutrients, such as phosphates and water for the plant |
| Plant role in mycorrhizae | Provides carbohydrates for fungus |
| Ecological role of mycorrhizae | Very important as a majority (~80%) have mycorrhizal fungi, as its absence could result in stunted plant growth |
| Chytrids (chytridiomycota) | A polyphyletic group of fairly primitive fungi that have flagellum on spores, mostly aquatic in lakes or soil, and may cause infectious diseases in animals |
| Mucoromycetes (Zygomycota + Glomeromycetes) | A paraphyletic group of fungi containing many mold species and other soil species, with protective sporangia that sit on long strands of hyphae, many can cause serious disease in humans |
| Zygomycota | A paraphyletic group of fast-growing fungi with primitive aseptate hyphae and asexual spores |
| Glomeromycota | A monophyletic phylum of symbiont fungi with coenocytic mycelium, many nuclei and no cell wall; produce long, multilayered spores attached to connected fungi |
| Ascomycota | A monophyletic phylum of 'sac fungi' with microscopic sacs that produce spores, and are very widespread in land, lakes, and oceans; some species form lichens with algae, including morels, cup fungus, and many yeasts, etc. |
| Truffles | The subterranean fruiting bodies of certain species of ascomycetes; they smell delicious to animals, attracting them to dig and spread spores |
| Basidiomycota | A monophyletic phylum of 'club fungi' with spores on club-like protrusions called 'basidia', includes plant parasites such as rusts; prominent fruiting bodies are mushrooms or puffballs, important in decomposing decaying wood and often form mycorrhiza |
| Dikarya | A subkingdom of fungi including ascomycota and basidiomycota, which produce dikaryons, can be filamentous or unicellular, but always without flagella |
| Main stage of basidiomycetes | Long-lived heterokaryotic dikaryotic stage |
| Dikaryon | Feature of fungi causing some to fuse cytoplasms; two nuclei of two cells pair off and cohabit without fusing, which is maintained for all hyphae cells by synchronously dividing with pairs passed to newer cells |
| Are lichens one or two species? | Classified as a single species, even though there are two organisms in one |
| Who are the photosynthetic partners of fungi in lichens? | Green algae or cyanobacteria |
| What is the role of lichens in environments? | Nature's biological monitors of air quality, as many species are sensitive to pollution; species presence can indicate air quality, while more resistant species can be analyzed for pollutants, eg. bioaccumulation of heavy metals and radioactive isotopes |
| Fungi life cycle stages | Haploid, then diploid and dikaryotic |
| Which step of the fungi life cycle is haploid (1n)? | Spores produced in meiosis by the fruiting body |
| When do mating types arise? | Spores give rise to haploid mycelia, which unite to produce dikaryotic mycelium and fruiting bodies |
| Which stage of the fungi life cycle is longer? | Haploid, as the diploid (2n) stage is usually short |
| Parasitic fungi | About 30% of 100,000 known species of fungi live on other organisms, mostly on or in plants; invasive ascomycetes have had large infestations on forest trees, eg. American elms and chestnuts |
| Bracket fungi (polypores) | A polyphyletic group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores (conks) on trees |
| Rusts | A group of fungi that cause plant fungal diseases, eg. infect grain crops that cause large economic losses each year |
| Human diseases caused by pathogenic fungi | Yeast infections of the vagina, ringworms, athlete's foot, valley fever |
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elephantmonkey66
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