section 1: fungi characteristics

fungi characteristics:

- unicellular or multicellular heterotrophs
- all are eukaryotic heterotrophs
- kingdom fungi contains the largest and oldest organisms

multicellular fungi:

- consists of most members of fungi
- appears similar to plants but doesn't photosynthesize or have chloroplasts

unicellular fungi:

- this type consists of yeast
- it's found in soils, plant surfaces, and the human body

5 major features of fungi:

1. cell wall
2. hyphae
3. cross walls
4. fruiting body
5. mycelium

hyphae:

long chains of cells, grows at the tips

mycelium:

network of mass that grows below

fruiting body:

part of the organism that grows above ground

cross walls:

divides hyphae into cells, called septa

septa:

has large pores to allow nutrients, cytoplasm, and organelles to flow between cells

what does aseptate mean?

they have no septa

nutrition in fungi:

- all are heterotrophs
- produces enzymes to break down their food before they absorb it
- three different strategies for obtaining nutrients

what are the three different strategies/modes for obtaining nutrients?

saprophytic, parasitic, and mutualistic

saprophytic fungi:

- decomposers, that contribute to the recycling of nutrients in the envionment
- ^some of the most important fungi

what is a saprobe?

an organism that feeds on dead organisms or organic waste

parasitic fungi:

- absorbs nutrients from living organisms
- produces specialized hyphae called haustoria, which grows into the host tissue
- (example, athletes foot)

mutualistic fungi:

- lives in mutual relationship with another organism
- often forms a relationship with plants, trading sugars for water and nutrients uptake
- (most common example is lichens)

reproduction in fungi:

- can reproduce asexually and sexually
- three types of asexual reproduction
- sexual reproduction involves fungi producing spores

what are the three types of asexual reproduction?

budding, fragmentation, and spore reproduction

budding:

- reproduction method of unicellular fungi such as yeasts
- new cell develops while attaches to the parent cell
- the plasma membrane pinches off to partially separate the new cell from the parent cell

fragmentation

- asexual reproduction occurs when the mycelium of a fungus is physically broken apart
- if the fragment lands in a location with suitable growing condition, the hyphae will grow into a new mycelia

spore reproduction:

- a spore is a haploid reproductive cell
- haploid hyphae can fuse with other hyphae to form diploid organisms
- can be reproduced asexually or sexually

asexual spore production:

happens through sporophores and sporangium, where hyphae is modified into a sac or case where spores are produced

sexual spore production:

happens when haploid spore develops into new haploid organism and haploid hyphae fuses with other hyphae, forming a diploid organism

what are sporophores?

fruiting bodies of spore forming fungi

what is sporangium?

a type of primitive sporophore, a hyphae modified into a sac or case in which spores are produced