Number 5 bio Chapter 31: Fungi Lecture Notes Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering fungal characteristics, structure, reproduction, taxonomic divisions, symbiosis, and human fungal diseases based on Chapter 31 lecture notes.

Saprophytic

Organisms that acquire nutrients by breaking down dead material and recycling vital nutrients in ecosystems.

Chitin

The material present in fungal cell walls instead of cellulose.

Hyphae

A mass of individual, branched filaments that make up the body of a fungus.

Mycelium

An interwoven mass of hyphae that enhances the fungal body's ability to absorb nutrients.

Septa

Cross-walls that divide fungal hyphae into cells, featuring pores that allow cell-to-cell movement of organelles.

Coenocytic fungi

Fungi that lack septa and consist of a continuous cytoplasmic mass with hundreds or thousands of nuclei; also called non-septate hyphae.

Pheromones

Sexual signaling molecules used by fungi to communicate their mating type for sexual reproduction.

Plasmogamy

The union of cytoplasm from two parent mycelia during fungal sexual reproduction.

Heterokaryon

A fungal mycelium containing coexisting, genetically distinct parent nuclei that have not yet fused.

Dikaryotic

A stage in fungal sexual reproduction where haploid nuclei pair off two to a cell in the mycelium.

Karyogamy

The fusion of parent nuclei in fungi, producing a diploid stage followed by nuclear division to produce spores.

Molds

Filamentous fungi that form visible mycelia and produce asexual spores known as conidia.

Conidia

Asexual spores produced by filamentous molds.

Zygomycota

Fungi named for spherical spores called zygosporangia produced during sexual reproduction; also known as conjugated fungi, including common bread molds.

Ascomycota

Sac fungi, the largest fungal group, which includes Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Candida albicans.

Basidiomycota

Fungi named for the basidium used in reproduction, including common mushrooms, shelf fungi, toadstools, rusts, and smuts.

Lichens

Symbiotic associations between fungi and photosynthetic microorganisms where the fungus provides protection and water, and the photosynthetic partner delivers nutrients.

Haustoria

Specialized fungal hyphae that penetrate the tissues of a host plant to exchange nutrients in mycorrhizal relationships.

Mycorrhizae

A mutualistic relationship formed between fungal hyphae and plant roots.

Tineas

Skin infections caused by dermatophytes, including athlete's foot and ringworm.

Stachybotrys chartarum

A species of black mold associated with sick building syndrome.

Histoplasmosis capsulatum

A fungal pathogen causing histoplasmosis, a human fungal disease that resembles tuberculosis.

Candidiasis

Fungal infections of the vagina or mouth caused by Candida albicans, occurring when normal flora is disturbed.