BSC 1011L — General Biology II Lab 7: Fungi and Animal Development

Vocabulary flashcards covering fungal biology, phylogeny, morphology, reproduction, and animal embryology based on BSC 1011L Lab 7 review questions.

Absorptive Heterotrophs

The nutritional mode characteristic of fungi, in which they digest organic matter externally and absorb the resulting nutrients.

Chitin

The primary structural polysaccharide found in fungal cell walls that provides mechanical strength.

Hyphae

Microscopic, filamentous structures that assemble together to form the bodies of multicellular fungi.

Septate Hyphae

Hyphae that are partitioned into individual cells by cross-walls (septa) containing pores.

Mycelium

An interwoven, branching network of microscopic hyphae that forms the main vegetative feeding body of a fungus.

Plasmogamy

The fusion of cytoplasm from two parent mycelia without the immediate fusion of their nuclei.

Heterokaryotic Stage

The stage in the fungal sexual life cycle in which cells harbor two separate, unfused haploid nuclei ($n + n$) derived from different parents.

Karyogamy

The fusion of two haploid parent nuclei during fungal sexual reproduction to form a diploid ($2n$) zygote.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

A species of chytrid fungus identified as the primary driver behind the global decline of amphibian populations.

Mucoromycetes

The major fungal lineage to which common black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer) belongs.

Glomeromycetes

A group of fungi that form arbuscular mycorrhizae with plant roots, assisting them in the absorption of phosphorus.

Asci

Microscopic, sac-like sexual reproductive structures in Ascomycetes (sac fungi) that contain and produce ascospores.

Cephalization

The evolutionary concentration of nervous tissue and sensory organs at the anterior (head) end of a bilaterally symmetrical animal.

Totipotent

A stem cell property characterized by the ability to differentiate into any cell type within the body as well as extraembryonic and placental tissues.

Blastula

A hollow, fluid-filled sphere of cells produced immediately following the cleavage stage of embryonic development.

Gastrulation

The developmental stage during which cell movements reorganize the blastula into a multilayered gastrula to establish primary germ layers.

Ectoderm

The outermost embryonic germ layer that develops into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the epidermis.

Mesoderm

The middle embryonic germ layer that gives rise to muscle tissues, skeletal structures, blood cells, and kidney tubules.

Diploblastic

Describing animals that develop from only two primary embryonic germ layers: ectoderm and endoderm.

Acoelomate

A triploblastic animal (such as a flatworm) that lacks a fluid-filled body cavity between its digestive canal and outer body wall.

Coelom

A true body cavity completely enclosed and lined by tissue derived from mesoderm (the peritoneum).

Protostomes

A major lineage of bilateral animals in which the embryonic blastopore develops into the mouth.

Deuterostomes

A major lineage of bilateral animals (including chordates and humans) in which the embryonic blastopore develops into the anus.

Conidiophores

Specialized fungal hyphae that produce chains of asexual spores called conidia.

Lichen

A symbiotic composite unit consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner (photobiont), occurring in crustose, foliose, or fruticose growth forms.

Obligate Mutualists

Organisms engaged in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship who are dependent on each other and cannot survive independently.

Ventral

An anatomical directional term referring to the lower, abdominal, or belly side of an animal.

Endoderm

The innermost embryonic germ layer that lines the archenteron and gives rise to the epithelial lining of the digestive tract.

Rhizoids

Root-like, penetrating fungal hyphae that anchor mycelia and absorb nutrients from the substrate.

Stolons

Horizontal, surface-creeping hyphae that spread across a growth medium to connect fungal clusters.

Basidia

Club-shaped microscopic cells on which Basidiomycetes (club fungi) sexually produce and bear basidiospores.

Commensalism

A symbiotic interaction in which one organism derives benefit while the other organism is unaffected.

Cleavage

A series of rapid early mitotic cell divisions following fertilization that divide the zygote into smaller cells without overall embryonic growth.

Blastocoel

The fluid-filled central cavity enclosed by the cell layer of a blastula.

Blastopore

The opening into the primitive embryonic digestive cavity (archenteron) established during gastrulation.

Organogenesis

The embryonic developmental phase during which the three primary germ layers differentiate and specialize into distinct tissues, organs, and organ systems.

Mycology

The scientific discipline and biological study dedicated to fungi.

Haustorium

A specialized, invasive hyphal branch that penetrates living host cell walls to absorb nutrients without killing the host cell immediately.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizae

Symbiotic fungal associations formed by Glomeromycetes in which hyphal branches penetrate plant root cortical cell walls to facilitate nutrient exchange.