1. Fungus

2. Evolution Diverged 1.5 billion years ago Gymnosperms - 300 mya First land plants – 500 mya 400 mya current phyla emerged After the Permian-Triassic extinction 251.4 mya, fungus ruled the world.... Fossil record is scant because fungus are so mysterious.... And they don’t biomineralize. Est. 1.5 to 5 million species – only 5% have been formally classified!

3. Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota

4. Ecological Importance Decomposition Symbiosis with plants (mycorrhizae)

5. Economic Importance FermentationFood

6. Economic Importance: Antibiotics

7. Characteristcs of fungi Feed by absorption Most are multicellular Thread-like filaments called hyphae Hyphae organized into mycelium Asexual and sexual reproduction Chitin cell walls

10. Fusion of cytoplasm Heterokaryotic stage Fusion of nuclei Diploid stage Haploid stage

11. Ballistospores 30,000 species (at least) have the capability to shoot spores Pilobolus can fire spores at 20,000 Gs. This is only slightly faster than a bullet. Nothing else in biology comes close.

12. Zygomycota Zygote fungi Rhizopus stolonifer Pilobolus crystallinus

14. Ascomycota: Sac fungi Peziza Morels Ergot Penicillium

17. Ergot alkaloids Responsible for Salem witch trials? Ergotamine is a precursor to LSD

18. Basidiomycota: Club fungi

19. Pileus Stipe Gills

20. basidium

22. Fungi imperfecti (once called Deuteromycota) Imperfect or asexual fungi Reproduce only vegetatively (asexually) Many human diseases are imperfect fungi Athlete’s foot, ringworm, candida “yeast” infections A fungi from this group (penicillium) is used to make Roquefort and blue cheeses

23. Lichen a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae or cyanobacteria (commonly Nostoc)

27. Fungi Similarities All are composed of eukaryotic cells (nucleus + organelles) All are heterotrophic (derive energy from other organisms) Absorptive nutrition (they don’t chew. they absorb.) All have cell walls made of chitin.