Fungi Vocabulary

Flashcards on Fungi based on lecture notes.

Heterotrophic Organisms

Organisms that obtain nutrients from other sources; both animals and fungi.

Chitin

A polysaccharide that composes fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons, indicating a close relationship between fungi and animals.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

Fungi that form a mutualistic symbiosis with plant roots, aiding in water and nutrient absorption.

Saprobes

Decomposers; fungi that play a crucial role in ecological nutrient cycles.

Mycelium

The main body of a multicellular fungus, typically underground, composed of a network of hyphae.

Hyphae

Thin, interconnected cytoplasmic strands that compose the mycelium of a fungus, providing a large surface area for absorption.

Yeasts

Single-celled fungi.

Dimorphic Fungi

Fungi that can alternate between yeast and mycelial forms; many fungal human pathogens are dimorphic.

Haplontic

A life cycle in which the majority of time is spent in the haploid state; typical of fungal life cycles.

Dikaryon

A unique fungal state (n + n) where two genetically distinct haploid nuclei exist in the same cell.

Plasmogamy

Cytoplasmic fusion between two individuals, preceding nuclear fusion in fungal sexual reproduction.

Karyogamy

Nuclear fusion, often following plasmogamy in fungal sexual reproduction.

Zygomycota

A fungal phylum (likely paraphyletic).

Ascomycota

A fungal phylum (monophyletic).

Basidiomycota

A fungal phylum (monophyletic).

Dikarya

A group including Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, also known as 'higher fungi' or 'crown fungi'.

Molds

Multicellular fungi consisting of tightly compressed hyphae; a descriptive term that includes certain zygomycetes and ascomycetes (polyphyletic).

Coenocytic hyphae

Hyphae lacking septa (cell walls) and thus possessing shared, syncytial cytoplasm.

Aseptate hyphae

Hyphae without cell walls.

Conidia

Asexual spores produced by molds.

Asci

Sac-like structures in ascomycetes where sexual spores (ascospores) are produced.

Basidia

Club-like structures in basidiomycetes where basidiospores are born externally.

Lichens

Symbiotic mutualisms between a Dikarya fungus and autotrophic microbes (cyanobacteria or green algae).