1. The Study of Fungi is called Mycology
Kingdom Fungi
The Study of Fungi is called Mycology
What is probably the largest living organism on earth has been discovered in the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon. A fungus living three feet underground is estimated to cover 2,200 acres. After testing samples from various locations, scientists say it is all one organism. Officially known as Armillaria ostoyae, or the honey mushroom, the fungus is 3.5 miles across and takes up 1,665 football fields. The small mushrooms visible above ground are only the tip of the iceberg.
Experts estimate that the giant mushroom is at least 2,400 years old, but could be 7,200 years old.

2. Characteristics of Kingdom Fungi
In order to belong to the Kingdom Fungi, organisms must:
Be Multicellular
Have Eukaryotic cells
Be Heterotrophs
Must have cell walls
Most fungi are sedentary..(they don’t move around, they live their lives anchored somewhere)

3. Cell Walls
The cell walls of Fungi are made of Chitin (Chitin is a sugar… the same substance which makes up the exoskeleton of insects)
Some fungi have cross walls, or septa, which divide the filaments into compartments having a single nucleus.
septum

4. Some cells lack septa and are multi-nucleated, or coenocytic (have many nuclei)

5. Digestion takes place outside the body (extra-cellular)
Fungi are Absorptive Feeders …they simply ingest (absorb) digested foods thru their cell walls

6. only seen when the fruiting bodies emerge…. By then it’s too late
Facts
Fungi live and grow in their food
only seen when the fruiting bodies emerge…. By then it’s too late

7. Facts
Cell Walls are either partial or absent………. The cytosol is circulated through simple cyclosis.

8. Ecological Role
The major role of Fungi is as Decomposers (they are the great recyclers)…. They are Saprophytes

9. Fairy Ring

10. Fairy Ring

11. The Primary Structures of a Fungi
Spores Hypha Mycelium Fruiting Body
(haploid reproductive cell) (a single filament) (a mass of hyphae) (reproductive and dispersion)

12. Spores: Haploid Reproductive Cells

13. Spore with Developing Hypha
Spore with Developing Hypha **(some fungi have haustoria, hyphae that can penetrate their host)
Spore
Hypha

14. The Hypha begins to branch as it digests its way through the food.

15. A Mass of Hyphae form the Mycelium

16. The Mycelium growth in a Petri Dish

17. Fungi spend most of their time as haploid (n) organisms
Fungi spend most of their time as haploid (n) organisms. However, most form a temporary diploid structure for reproduction. The three following stages occur during sexual reproduction…. plasmogamy, karyogamy and meiosis.

18. Plasmogamy is the fusion of two haploid cells from two separate fungi strains. The fusion forms a dikaryon (a cell with the two haploid nuclei). A hypha containing a dikaryon is called a dikaryotic hypha.

19. Karyogamy is the fusing of the two haploid nuclei of a dikaryon to form a single diploid nucleus.

20. Meiosis of the diploid nucleus restores the haploid number.

21. Fungi Reproduction Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Asexual reproduction includes:
1. fragmentation: the breaking up of hypha
2. budding: the pinching off of a small hypha outgrowth
3. asexual spores: there’s two kinds of asexual spores
a. Sporangiospores are produced by sporangia which are
located on top of a filament called a sporangiophore.
b. Conidia are formed at the tips of specialized hyphae
called conidiophores.

22. Asexual Spores Sporangium: Produces the sporangiospores
Sporangiophore:
Holds up the
sporangium

23. Asexual Spores
The Conidiophores look like tubes… the conidia look like small black dots inside the tubes.

24. Classification of Fungi mostly classified by the shape of the “Fruiting Bodies” The “Fruiting Bodies” are the reproductive structures.
Phylum Zygomycota (bread mold)
Phylum Basidiomycota (mushrooms, puff balls, bracket fungi)
Phylum Ascomycota (cup fungi)
Phylum Deuteromycota (Imperfect fungi)

25. Phylum Zygomycota A common Zygomycota is Bread Mold
Hyphae lack septa
Sexual reproduction is by conjugation (fusing) hyphae from two different strains, followed by plasmogamy, karyogamy and meiosis and the production of Zygospores.

26. Zygomycota Sporangium: Produces the spores Sporangiophore:
Holds up the
sporangium

27. A nice bowl of mold

28. Want an orange ? Zygomycota does !!

30. Have Septa and reproduce sexually
Phylum Basidiomycota
Mushrooms
Puffballs
Shelf (Bracket) Fungi
Have Septa and reproduce sexually
Underground hyphae intertwine and grow upward to produce a reproductive structure called a basidiocarp. This basidiocarp is what we call a mushroom.
Basidiospores are produced on the basidia, reproductive structures, which are found on the edges of the gills.

31. Agaricus (gills) Amanita phalloides “Death Cap”

33. Boletes: tubes instead of gills

34. Chanterelles: vase-shaped

35. Morels

36. Puff Balls

37. Shelf Fungi

38. The largest group of fungi
Phylum Ascomycota
Cup Fungi
Yeast
Mildews
The largest group of fungi
Named for the reproductive sacs or Asci that form near the tips of the hyphae. Ascospores are formed here and released into the air when the ascus ruptures. These spores germinate to form new hyphae.

40. Cup Fungi

42. Phylum Deuteromycota Athlete’s Foot Ringworm Penicillium
Called “imperfect because a sexual reproductive stage has not been observed.

43. Penicillium: source of penicillin

44. Athlete’s Foot

45. Athlete’s Foot

46. Athlete’s Foot

48. Ringworm

49. Ringworm

50. Ringworm

51. Lichens • symbiotic association held in a hyphae mesh
alga provides food, fungus provides physical environment
•air pollution detection

52. Many Fungi are involved in Mycorhizzae relationships…Over 90% of plants have fungi associated with their roots. The fungus absorbs and concentrates phosphates for delivery to the plant roots. In return, the fungus receive sugars synthesized by the plant.

53. The End