The Fungus Kingdom

Flashcards about the fungus kingdom, covering their characteristics, structure, nutrition, ecological importance, reproduction, and human impacts.

What is a Fungus?

Stationary, heterotrophic eukaryotic organism whose cell walls contain chitin.

What are the main components of a fungus?

Hyphae, mycelium, and fruiting body.

What are hyphae?

The basic structural units that form the body of a multicellular fungus.

What is mycelium?

A branching structure making up most of an organism; lives in soil or other nutritious matter.

What is a fruiting body?

The reproductive structure of fungi, the visible part above ground.

What mechanisms do fungi use for motility and dispersal?

Hyphal tip growth (extension towards nutrients), cytoplasmic streaming (internal movement), and spore dispersal.

How do fungi obtain nutrients?

Fungi release digestive enzymes to break down food externally, then absorb the nutrients.

What are the four main types of fungal nutrition?

Parasitic, predatory, mutualistic, and saprobial.

What is parasitic fungal nutrition?

Absorbs nutrients from the living cells of a host organism.

What is predatory fungal nutrition?

Traps and eats prey, such as nematodes.

What is mutualistic fungal nutrition?

Forms partnerships with other organisms, often plants, to exchange nutrients.

What is saprobial fungal nutrition?

Feeds off dead organisms/organic waste; acts as a decomposer.

What are the ecological importances of fungi?

Recycling nutrients and carbon, soil stability, and mutual relationships with plants.

What is fragmentation in fungal reproduction?

A piece of mycelium breaks off and grows into an identical cell.

What is budding in fungal reproduction?

A smaller cell grows whilst attached to parent cell, it eventually breaks off and becomes its own entity.

What are the five phyla of fungi?

Chytrids, Zygospore fungi, Sac fungi, Club fungi and Fungi Imperfecti.

What are Fungi Imperfecti?

Asexually reproducing fungi with uncertainty regarding similarity due to lack of sexual structures.

What is the phylum of Fungi Imperfecti?

Deuteromycota.

What are Chytrids?

Mostly unicellular, aquatic species with flagella; can be parasitic or inhabit decaying matter.

What is the phylum of Chytrids?

Chytridomycota.

What are Zygospore Fungi?

Multicellular, mostly terrestrial fungi that usually reproduce asexually, but can reproduce sexually under specific circumstances forming spores.

What is the phylum of Zygospore Fungi?

Zygomycota.

What are zygospores?

Formed during unfavourable conditions; a diploid structure that develops after two haploid hyphae of opposite types combine and fuse their nuclei.

What are Sac Fungi?

Largest group of fungi; form tiny finger resembling sacs known as asci during sexual reproduction.

What is the phylum of Sac Fungi?

Ascomycota.

What is ascus?

A small finger-like structure in which sac fungi develop into spores

What are Club Fungi?

Fungi whose fruiting bodies release spores from club-shaped hyphae called basidia.

What is the phylum of Club Fungi?

Basidiomycota.

What is basidia?

A club-shaped hyphae found in members of the Basidiomycotes; they bear spores called basidiospores

How does human disturbance impact fungi?

Disruptions may result in a long term reduction in genetic diversity of a species. Removal of plants interrupts mutual relationships between fungi and plants

What is a lichen?

An organism that results from a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic plant or alga.

What is the lichen structure?

Have a protective upper cortex, an algal layer for photosynthesis, and a loose medulla of hyphae.

Why are lichens important?

Help cycle nutrients, protect ecosystems, and serve as food or shelter for small animals.