Bio 102 Lab 3: Fungi

Saprotrophic feeding

Fungi that excrete digestive enzymes to absorb nutrients from the environment?

Opisthokonta

A major monophyletic supergroup of Eukarya that unites the kingdoms Animalia and Fungi.

Chitin

The polysaccharide that is the primary component of fungal cell walls?

Fungi feeding behaviors

They excrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients directly from the environment.

Animal feeding behaviors

They ingest solid food and digest it internally within specialized organs like the gut

Chytrids (Phylum Chytridiomycota).

Flagellated fungi that swim through water that either decompose decaying material or, on occasion, are parasitic.

Mycelium

The collective network of hyphae responsible for absorbing nutrients from the environment.

Hyphae.

Individual thread-like filamentous structures, strands of cells that grow into a mycelium?

Sporangia.

The fungal structures that generate and produce spores?

How is a fungal fruiting body defined in terms of its reproductive role?

A macroscopic structure containing groups of sporangia designed for spore distribution.

How do Chytrid fungi move through their required aquatic environments?

They use a single posterior flagellum to swim through water.

Plasmogamy

The fusion of two haploid cell cytoplasms without the immediate fusion of their nuclei.

Karyogamy

The fusion of two haploid nuclei within a dikaryotic cell to create a diploid nucleus.

Dikaryotic stage

An intermediate stage where a single cytoplasm contains two distinct haploid nuclei (n+n).

Diploid stage

The life cycle stage where two sets of nuclei have fused into a single 2n nucleus.

Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.

Fungal groups primarily exhibit a prominent dikaryotic (n+n) stage?

Primary naming characteristic of Phylum Zygomycota

The formation of a thick-walled zygospore surrounding the diploid zygote.

Zygospore

Unique sporangium name for Phylum Zygomycota

Stolon

A type of hyphae that grows horizontally across the surface of a substrate.

Rhizoid

Root-like hyphae that anchor the mycelium and burrow through the substrate.

Sporangiophore

A vertical hypha that grows upward to bear and support haploid sporangia.

Rhizopus.

The scientific name for the common black bread mold?

Zygospore

A thick-walled capsule that surrounds the diploid zygote after sexual reproduction in Zygomycota.

Primary naming characteristic of Phylum Ascomycota

The presence of a sac-like sporangium called an ascus.

Ascus.

Unique sporangium name for Phylum Ascomycota

Septate hyphae

Hyphae that possess internal partitions or separations called septae.

Ascocarp

Fruiting body of Phylum Ascomycota

Yeast.

A unicellular member of Ascomycota lacks hyphae and reproduces by budding?

Budding.

The asexual reproduction method in yeast, where a new cell distends from a mother cell

Morels and truffles.

Two examples of bell-shaped or bowl-shaped fruiting bodies found in Cup Fungi?

Conidia

Asexual spores produced in tufts or strings at the ends of specialized hyphae.

Conidiophore

A specialized hypha that mitotically produces numerous conidia spores at its tip.

Penicillium.

A conidiospore fungus known for producing an important antibacterial compound

How does the conidiophore of Aspergillus differ in shape from Penicillium?

The end of the Aspergillus hypha swells to become almost circular.

Primary naming characteristic of Phylum Basidiomycota

The presence of club-shaped sporangia called basidia.

Basidium.

Unique sporangium name for Phylum Basidiomycota

Basidiocarp.

Fruiting body of Phylum Basidiomycota

The dikaryotic (n+n) stage.

The dominant life cycle stage for club fungi like Coprinus?

Where are the basidia located on a typical mushroom basidiocarp?

On the surface of the gills or within pores underneath the cap.

How many basidiospores are typically contained within a single basidium?

Four.

Mutualistic symbiotic relationship

When both organisms in the relationship benefit from one another.

Parasitic symbiotic relationship

When one organism benefits while the other organism is damaged or harmed.

How does commensalism differ from mutualism?

In commensalism, one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Lichen

A mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a microscopic autotroph like algae or cyanobacteria.

What is the primary benefit the autotroph provides to the fungus in a lichen relationship?

Organic molecules produced through photosynthesis.

Crustose lichen growth form

Compact and often pressed tightly against a surface like rock.

Foliose lichen growth form

Leaf-like in appearance.

Fruticose lichen growth form

Shrub-like or branching in appearance.

Mycorrhizae

A mutualistic relationship between a fungus and the root system of a plant.

What are the two mutualistic partner types involved in mycorrhizae?

Fungi and plant roots.

Ectomycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae where fungal hyphae enter the plant tissue but remain outside the individual cells.

Endomycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae where hyphae burrow beneath the plant cell walls and form branching arbuscules.

What benefit do fungi provide to plants in a mycorrhizal relationship?

Increased absorption of water and nutrients due to high hyphal surface area.

What is the primary effect of the plant hormone Gibberellic Acid (GA) on plant stems?

It promotes the elongation of cells within the stems.

How does Gibberellic Acid (GA) influence the life span of leaves and fruits?

It delays aging or senescence.

Which developmental process in seeds is facilitated by Gibberellic Acid (GA)?

Seed germination.

Why do dwarf varieties of Brassica rapa fail to grow tall?

They have a suppressed gene that prevents the production of Gibberellic Acid (GA) in their stems.