2. Fungus Chapter 19 COOL FUNGUS FACTS
The oldest fossil fungi are at least 545 million years old. These microscopic, aquatic forms were found in northern Russia.
According to archaeologists, people have been enjoying the products of fungal fermentation—wine and beer—for at least 25,000 years.
Ever seen a mushroom glow in the dark? You're not imagining it. Several Nova Scotian species, such as the Honey Mushroom, produce light by a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. People once used glowing pieces of fungus-infested wood to light their way in the woods. Foxfire is due to the luminescing mycelia of other fungi.
Fungi use antibiotics to fend off other microorganisms that compete with them for food.
The first hard evidence that diseases are caused by germs was provided when a fungus, Beauveria bassiana, was found to be killing silkworms in Europe in the early 1800s.
Throughout history people have used various mouldy concoctions to heal disease. Species of Penicillium were almost certainly the active ingredient.
If the scientists who developed penicillin had tested it on guinea pigs instead of mice, they might have given up their quest. Penicillin is toxic to guinea pigs and would have killed them.
The bracket fungus Ganoderma lucidum has been used in Chinese medicine for about 4,500 years. It is said to promote long life.
In 1993, Chinese women athletes set a number of new world track records. Their success was partly attributed to a tonic prepared from the fruiting bodies of a fungus that invades moth caterpillars.
When other decomposers such as bacteria shut down for the winter, fungi remain active. Their metabolic processes generate heat. Some moulds carry on growing at temperatures as low as -7 degrees C. This of course is why even refrigerated bread turns furry eventually. We need to freeze foods at temperatures of -18 degrees C or less to preserve them from fungal decay.
Spontaneous combustion! Moulds and bacteria growing together in sawdust can generate so much heat the sawdust catches fire.
It can take years for fungi to reduce a hardwood trunk to dust.
One of the first organisms to have its genome decoded was—you've guessed it—a fungus: baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in It has about 6,000 genes.
Ever wonder why air-conditioned rooms sometimes smell mouldy? Poorly maintained air-conditioners can house massive colonies of mould. Noxious gases emitted by these moulds may be the cause of "sick building syndrome."
A gourmet vole? The California red-backed vole feeds almost exclusively on false truffles. The truffles may depend on the vole to disperse their spores.
Under the Volcano? After Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, fungi were among the first organisms to recolonize the volcano.
In Europe, the practice of deliberately burning woodland to encourage growth of the delicious Morel mushroom had to be banned!
No one has yet found a reliable way of cultivating morel mushrooms. The New York Botanical Gardens tried for 40 years, but it is not economically practical.
The active ingredient in Beano®-the wind-reducing standby of the flatulent-is an enzyme derived from the mould Aspergillus niger.
The dried powder of old puffballs has been used as an astringent by First Nations.
Footnote: the fungal disease, athlete's foot only spread outside the tropics when international travel became commonplace about 100 years ago.
Chapter 19

3. Characteristics Fungi are eukaryotic heterotrophs
Along with bacteria they are major decomposers
Many are saprophytes which means they live off dead material.
Most reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Fungi are found almost everywhere on earth.
Their cells have cell walls made of chitin.
Introduction to the Fungi
In this part of the course, we will be studying the organisms that are referred to as fungi (sing.=fungus). Although you have now studied various groups of plants and algae, as well as other eukaryotic organisms, in other courses, you will find that the fungi are probably the least understood among the eukaryotes. Looking back at my undergraduate career, prior to taking my first mycology class, I had a very negative concept of the fungi. My impression of fungi was that they were disease-causing organisms that were found in unsanitary conditions.  Although this impression was not entirely wrong, fungi are so much more than that. They are also very beneficial organisms. We have derived a number of useful antibiotics from them, including the "wonder drug" penicillin. Without fungi, we would not have leavened bread, Roquefort and Camembert cheeses, beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages and some mushrooms, morels and truffles are considered to be delicacies among gourmands. While these aspects of fungi are of interest, they will not be the emphasis on our discussions of fungi. If you are interested in learning about these aspects of fungi, you may go to the Botany 135 home page. The emphasis here, instead, will be to study the relationships of the various groups of fungi and attempt to make sense of their phylogeny.
Classification of Fungi
Once upon a time biologist only recognized two kingdoms: Plant and Animal (this was how organisms were classified when I was an undergraduate). Fungi, as well as bacteria and algae were classified in the plant kingdom under this system and that is the reason that these organisms are traditionally studied in botany. In the case of fungi, MYCOLOGY is that part of botany that studies fungi. Although fungi are no longer classified as plants, there is still good reason to study them in botany. Fungi are most often associated with plants, commonly as decomposers, and pathogens, and as their benefactors, e.g. mycorrhiza, but "What is a fungus?" Based on what your studies on plants, in this course, you know that plants are known to be derived from a single algal ancestor from the algal division: Chlorophyta, i.e. they are monophyletic. Once upon a time, the fungi were also believed to be monophyletic and to be derived from an algal ancestor that lost its ability to photosynthesize. However, over time, with the discovery of new techniques in determining relationships between organisms, it was discovered that the fungi are made up of a polyphyletic group of organisms that, in some cases, are very distantly related to one another. Thus, organisms that we call fungi are not grouped together because they are closely related, but rather because they share a combination of characteristics that we will now go over:
Characteristics of "fung" in the broad sense
Achlorophyllous: Fungi cannot make their own food like plants. They are heterotrophs and depend upon other organism for their carbon source. Heterotrophs can further be divided into the following categories:
Parasites: Organisms that derives their nutrition from the protoplasm of another organism (=host).
Saprobes: Organisms that obtains their carbon source (=food) from the by-products of organisms or dead organisms. However, if the opportunity arises, some saprobes may become parasitic. Such organisms are said to be facultative parasites.
Symbiosis: In the strict sense, this term refers to the habitual "living together" of different species. As such, there are a number of different categories of relationships that may fit under this term. However, we will define it in its most common usage: "The intimate association of two dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship, e.g. lichens and mycorrhizae." This type of symbiosis is specifically referred to as a mutualistic symbiosis.
Eukaryotic: Fungi have membrane bound organelles, i.e. nucleus, mitochondrion, E.R., etc. Once upon a time filamentous bacteria called Actinomycetes were classified with fungi, but this is no longer the case.
The the body or assimilative part of the fungus (=thallus) usually takes the following forms:
Yeast: Unicellular fungi that reproduce, asexually, by budding or fission (terms to be defined later).
Mycelium: The collective, filamentous strands that make up the fungal thallus. Strands of mycelium is referred to as hyphae (sing.=hypha). Mycelium may be of two types:
Septate: Mycelium that is divided into discreet cells by cell walls that are laid down at regular intervals along the length of the mycelium. These cell walls are called septa (sing.= septum).
Coenocytic: Mycelium that is not divided up by septa and forms a continuous tubular network. Septa, however, are present occasionally, especially where reproductive structures occur and where the cell wall of the mycelium has been compromised.
Some species may have have thalli that are mycelium and yeast. Such fungi are said to be dimorphic (=two forms).
The assimilative stage of the fungal body, i.e. mycelium or yeast, has a cell wall. In the strict sense organisms classified as fungi have cell walls composed primarily of chitin. However, we will be also be covering "fungi" that do not have chitin in their cell walls.
Fungi have a common nutritional mode: Absorption: The transport of food from their substrate into their cell walls. The following events occur in this mode of nutrition:
If the available food that the fungus is using is soluble, i.e. a simple organic compound, such as simple sugars and amino acids, the mycelium or yeast cells can transport the food directly through their cell wall.
If the available food is insoluble, i.e. a large, complex, organic compound, such as lignin, cellulose and pectin, then production the food must first be digested. Digestion is carried out by the production of various enzymes that are substrate specific and will break down insoluble food material to soluble compounds that can be transported through the cell wall. Although this appears to be very different from the way in which we (animals) digest food, it differs only in the sequence of events that takes place. Where we ingest food and then digest it, fungi first digest their food before ingestion.
Either sexual or asexual reproduction or both may occur by spores. Spores and/or gametes can be motile or not. However, in the strict sense as fungi are currently defined, only those organisms that produce nonmotile spores and gametes are classified as fungi. Nevertheless, we will be going over organisms that have motile spores, called zoospores, and motile gametes.
In summary then, the organisms that we call fungi represent a heterogenous group, i.e., they are polyphyletic, that are not closely related as you will soon see.
When I was an undergraduate, organisms that were defined as fungi were heterotrophs, with cell walls, that have filamentous or yeast thalli. Today, fungi that are classified in the Kingdom Mycetae (=true fungi), have a more restrictive set of characteristics: Eukaryotes with cell wall material composed primarily of chitin and derive their nutrition by absorption.  Why the change? As with any science discipline, knowledge in mycology is dynamic and we have accumulated a great deal of knowledge about the fungi since I first took mycology 30 years ago. The additional knowledge has led us to change our concepts as to the relationship of those organisms that were classified as fungi. Much of the knowledge that led to these changes began in the early 1960’s, when a great deal of research was carried out in fungal ultrastructure. This was later followed by comparative studies on cell wall biochemistry (Barnicki-Garcia, 1970) and more recently molecular approaches, utilized in studying relationships of organisms, has led to further changes in our concepts as to how we define fungi.
Another change that occurred during this period of time that affected not only fungi, but also "plants" and "animals" as well. When I was an undergraduate, the classification for plants and animals were very broadly defined. As I mentioned, above, organisms in those days were classified as either plants or animals. Fungi, as well as bacteria and algae were classified in the plant kingdom, based mainly on the presence of a cell wall and the lack of ingestion of food material. However, *Whittaker (1969) erected the five-kingdom system, which is currently still the accepted system of classification of organisms. As a result, the fungi, algae and bacteria were placed in different kingdoms. While, the concepts of the five kingdoms have changed since Whittaker (1969), the classification of organisms into five kingdoms have persisted.
Although, our definition of a fungus has changed a great deal, by tradition, mycology classes have continued to study the same organisms that have been studied since the 1960’s and earlier. While mycologists have learned a great deal about the fungi in these last years, there is still not agreement as to how best to classify the fungi, nor will there likely be any agreement at a later time. Some examples of the more popular classification schemes are reproduced below:
Ainsworth and Bisby (1971)Bessey (1950)Alexopoulos (1962)Kingdom Fungi Kingdom Plantae Division Mycota
Myxomycota
Acrasiomycetes
Hydromyxomycetes
Myxomycetes
Plasmodiophoromycetes
  Mycetozoa
Myxomycotina
Eumycotina
Plasmodiophormycetes
Eumycota  Mastigiomycotina
Chytridiomycetes
Hyphochytridiomycetes
Oomycetes
Phycomyceteae
Zygomycotina
Zygomycetes
Trichomycetes   
 Carpomycetae Ascomycotina
Hemiascomycetes
Plectomycetes
Pyrenomycetes
Discomycetes
Laboulbenomycetes
Loculoascomycetes
Ascomyceteae  
PyrenomycetesAscomycetes
Hemiascomycetidae
Euascomycetidae
Laboulbeniomycetes
Loculoascomycetidae
Basidiomycotina
Teliomycetes
Hymenomycetes
Phragmobasidiomycetidae
Holobaasidiomycetidae
Gastromycetes
Class: Basidiomyceteae Teliosporeae
HeterobasidiaeHymenomyceteaeGasteromyceteaeBasidiomycetes Heterobasidiomycetidae
HomobasidiomycetidaeGasteromycetesDeuteromycotina
Blastomycetes
Hyphomycetes
Coelomycetes
The Imperfect Fungi
Moniliales
Sphaeropsidales
Melanconiales
Deteromycetes   
Over the last ten years, there have a great deal of changes in the concepts of the relationships of the various groups of fungi. The classification below represents one of the more recent systems and is based, in part, on molecular research that has been carried out in recent years. Because of time constraints, not all of the different taxa of "fungi" will be listed below or covered in this course. 

4. 1. Zygomycota – (common molds) bread, cheese molds & fruit molds
Species within the Zygomycota classification make up only about 1% of true Fungi. There are only about 900 species. However, humans rarely encounter most species. The most familiar is the mold that affects strawberries and other fruits. This phylum encompasses at least seven orders. Zygomycota are commonly thought of as bread molds, but there are many species of fungi within this classification that form symbiotic relationships with plants or infect animal hosts. Two other common names for Zygomycota are pin molds and sugar molds. The term "pin mold" refers to the appearance of certain species, while "sugar molds" refers to the sugar-rich fruit that is often affected by zygomycota. They are thought to be the most primitive terrestrial fungi. It is believed that Zygomycota emerged between 600 and 1,400 million years ago. It is suggested that Zygomycota are either para- or polyphletic, but this has yet to be determine. They share many characteristics with flagellated fungi, and therefore were once thought to be related to acquatic fungi. However, differences in cell-wall structure and a lack of flagellated spores or gamets indicate that there is no relation.
Ecology Zygomycota are arguably the most ecologically diverse group of fungi. Zygomycota are terrestrial organisms. They live close to plants, usually in soil and on decaying plant matter. Because they decompose soil, plant matter, and dung, they have a major role in the carbon cycle. Zygomycota are also pathogens for animals, amebas, plants, and other fungi. They form mutualistic symbiotic relationships with plants. In addition, they form commensalistic relationships with arthropods, inhabiting the gut of the organism and feeding on unused nutrients. However, Zygomycota can also be found in acquatic ecosystems.
While Zygomycota are largely known to humans for the negative economic impact they have on fruit, they also have some practical use. For example, certain species are used in Asian food fermentations. In addition, people have used their pathogenic powers to control insect pests.
Although these are largely considered terrestrial organisms, certain species of Zygomycota also form relationships with animals. Zygomycetes are known to cause serious infections, particularly for diabetics and immunocompromised individuals. These infections can also occur as a result of major burns or other tramatic injury. One such disease is zygomycosis. This is a rare fungal disease that occurs in humans, and can even affect the fetus. It is potentially lethal. Diven et. al. (2004) note three clinical forms: cellulitis, disseminated, and gastrointestinal. The symptoms of the gastrointestinal form mirror those of another disease, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). This often makes diagnosis of the disease difficult. Thammayya (2005) wrote case study on a form of the diesease that is an upper respiratory tract infection with a wide variety of symptoms. Some of these include epistaxis, intranasal tumor, and nasal obstruction. Thammayya's case study noted that it was the first report on this disease due to a species from North-eastern India. One research focus regarding the infections species is on how to control and treat them. The work of Gil-Lamaignaire et. al. (2005) studied the affects of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) on certain species of zygomycetes, and compared these results to those of interferon (IFN)- gamma and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). It was found that while the PMNLs did have some effect, the IFN-gammas and GM-CSFs were more affective in combatting the invasive organisms
Zygomycota are not just restricted to the biological world. The modern dance company Pilobolus, founded in 1971, took its name from the fungus.
Bread mold

5. Cheese mold

6. Fruit mold

7. 2. Ascomycota (sac fungi) morels, truffles and yeasts.

8. Morels
Gourmet food
Found in woodlands
$20 per pound

9. Sac fungus

10. 3. Basidiomycota (club fungi) mushroom, shelf fungi, and puffballs.
Club fungus
mushrooms shelf fungus puffballs

11. The mushroom is called the fruiting body of the fungus because its purpose is to produce reproductive spores.

12. Turkey Tail Fungus

13. Mushroom Spore Print

14. 4. Deuteromycota (imperfect fungi) penicillium, ringworm, and athletes foot
Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy. His best-known discoveries are the discovery of the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain.[1]
In 1999, Time Magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century for his discovery[2] of penicillin, and stated:
It was a discovery that would change the course of history. The active ingredient in that mould, which Fleming named penicillin, turned out to be an infection-fighting agent of enormous potency. When it was finally recognised for what it was, the most efficacious life-saving drug in the world, penicillin would alter forever the treatment of bacterial infections. By the middle of the century, Fleming's discovery had spawned a huge pharmaceutical industry, churning out synthetic penicillins that would conquer some of mankind's most ancient scourges, including syphilis, gangrene and tuberculosis.[3]
penicilium

15. Ringworm

16. Athletes foot
Imperfect fungus

17. Toenail fungus
35 million infected in US
Can spread from person to person
Also called “onychomycosis”

18. Lichen Lichen: A partnership between a fungus and an algae.
The algae provides food for the fungus.
The fungus provides a place for the algae to live.

19. Lichen There are three forms of lichens:
Crustose: paint-like crusts that are tightly attached to trees and rocks
Ecologist Jayne Belnap examines microbiotic soil crusts on desert soil in Utah. Microbiotic crusts are intimate tangles of lichens, mosses, and cyanobacteria. Where they have survived footprints, hoofprints, and wheel ruts, they stabilize soil against erosion by wind and water. The free-living cyanobacteria and the cyanobacteria that are contained in some of the lichens take nitrogen gas from the air and "fix" it -- making it available as a nutrient for other living things. Microbiotic crusts provide the major share of fixed nitrogen in desert ecosystems.
If a single footprint can bring a local nitrogen cycle almost to a halt, the impact of a century's work of livestock hoofprints can easily be imagined." -- Thomas L. Fleishner , Ecological costs of livestock grazing in western North America Conservation Biology 8 (3): 633.
Squamarina lentigera is a characteristic lichen on the high-gypsum soils of some desert areas. Sometimes individual lichens end up on fragile little pedestals when soil is eroded away around them.
Lobaria oregana, which often grows abundantly in the canopy of old-growth coniferous forests in the Northwest, is a major nitrogen source. Timber-harvest schedules don't always allow Lobaria to return to new trees before they are logged. Ancient forests and other undisturbed ecoysytems are vanishing from the world -- and with them the biological diversity that they sustain.
With more than 3600 species in the United States and Canada, lichens are a major component of biological diversity. Lichens, though, are extremely vulnerable to habitat alteration, so it comes as no surprise that the habitats with the highest lichen species diversity are the remnants of ancient forests and other undisturbed ecosystems.
The association between high diversity of lichens and pristine habitiats is so clear that scientists use lichens as indicators of ecosystem continuity -- to help them identify areas that should be protected.
Certain lichen species grow primarily (or even exclusively) in undisturbed habitats. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, for instance, grows in the old-growth coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Environmental Studies using Lichens
Lichen ecologist Bruce McCune takes inventory of lichens in a specialized habitat -- the tops of standing dead trees in an old-growth forest. The Wind River Canopy Crane in southern Washington "flies" scientists to research sites they cannot reach in any other way. Lichens are like little sponges that take up everything that comes their way, including air pollution.
In a baseline air-quality study, lichen specimens from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska were chemically analysed to see what toxics were in the air. Most lichens are extremely vulnerable to air pollution. When lichens disappear, they give early warning of harmful conditions.
Red alder trees are usually adorned with a mosaic of white lichens (left). Downwind of the smoke plume from the Sitka Pulp Mill in Sitka, Alaska (which has since been closed), no lichens could survive at all (right).
Scientists using lichens to monitor air quality often compare current lichen inventories with past records. Nearly 80% of the original lichen species were found to be missing from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

20. Foliose: leaf-like

21. Fruticose: moss-like, branching, the most three dimensional of all the lichens

23. Parts of a Mushroom Fruiting body: grows above ground
Stalk (Stipe): main support of mushroom
Ring (annulus): skirt of tissue circling stalk
Cap: top of mushroom
Scales: flakey surface of the cap
Gills: underside of cap (produce spores)
Spores: reproductive structures
Mycelial threads: Underground network of hyphae.
Hyphae: long strands of cells; make up the body of the fungi.

24. Cap Fruiting body Ring Stalk Mycelial Threads Scale Gills Spores
Hyphae

25. Interesting Fungi
Cyclosporine: An organ transplant drug that is used to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ.
A tradition established as part of a programme set up in 1957 to search for new antibiotic drugs from fungal metabolites was for Sandoz employees on business trips and holidays to take plastic bags with them for collecting soil samples that were catalogued and later screened. In March 1970 in the Microbiology Department at Sandoz Ltd. (Basel), a Swiss pharmaceutical company, the fungus Tolypocladium inflatum Gams (Figure 1) was isolated by B. Thiele from two soil samples, the first from Wisconsin, USA and the second from the Hardanger Vidda in Norway. These soil samples had been collected by Sandoz employees.
Today organ and bone marrow transplants are routinely performed. Cyclosporin is still used to treat the rejection reactions that occur when a foreign organ is attacked by the body’s immune system. Cyclosporin is a fungal peptide, isolated from Tolypocladium inflatum Gams. It was the first immunosuppressant that acted selectively to suppress T-cell immunity.
Cyclosporin is at present (March 2001) approved for use in organ transplantation to prevent graft rejection in kidney, liver, heart, lung and combined heart-lung transplants. It is used to prevent rejection following bone marrow transplantation and in the prophylaxis of host-versus-graft disease. It is also used in the treatment of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis and nephrotic syndrome

26. Cordyceps lloydii: A deadly fungus that infects ants.

27. Predator mushrooms – Oyster mushroom use their mycelium to kill and eat round worms.

28. Truffles: Very expensive fungus that is used to flavor foods
Truffles: Very expensive fungus that is used to flavor foods. Pigs and dogs are used to hunt this fungus that is buried underground.
White Truffles
$800-$1,500
Per pound
Like mold. Garlic. Natural gas. Cheesey. Oniony but not oniony. Cabbagey. Earthy. Heavenly. These are some of the words that have been used to describe the aroma and taste of the white truffle, Tuber magnatum, one of the most expensive foods in the world. More rare and expensive than the French black winter or Périgord truffles, the white, which grows almost exclusively in Italy and northern Croatia, is known as the grand duke of truffles. The best white truffles, it is generally agreed, come from the Piedmont region of Italy, particularly around the town of Alba. They appear only from mid-October to the end of December. They are hard to find (most truffle hunters use trained dogs to sniff them out from where they lie buried next to tree roots) and cannot be cultivated. This partly explains their exorbitant price, which fluctuates from year to year, but usually ranges from $800 to $1,500 per pound. The truffle ranks with caviar, champagne, oysters and foie gras as a food that supremely signifies luxury, with price as much a part of the appeal as taste for some. The rumors of their aphrodisiacal powers also contribute to the truffle's white magic. Often called "white diamonds," like diamonds white truffles are not much to look at before they are cut. White truffles resemble lumpy, dusty potatoes. But when cut open, they have a marbled interior, tan with creamy, ivory veins, and the scent (if it's a good truffle) is intoxicating. Most of the white truffle's flavor lies in its aroma, so it is not usually cooked. Generally it is shaved paper-thin over fresh fettuccine, a delicate risotto, velvety scrambled eggs or a salad. This has been a vintage year for white truffles, experts say. The weather has been favorable, with lots of rain (bad for the vines, good for the truffles), and the prices are slightly lower than average. Top restaurants all over the country have special white-truffle-tasting menus, and tour companies are running truffle-hunting trips to Piedmont. If you've never tried white truffles, this is the year to take the plunge and sample the exalted fungus. But be prepared to pay for it: When the smiling waiter offers you white truffles, bear in mind it could add as much as $100 to your dinner check
Black Truffles – 3 oz $180

29. $763 White Truffle

30. Fairy Rings: Interesting growth pattern of mushrooms.

31. Stinkhorns – smell like rotten meat to attract flies that spread their spores.

32. A Fungus that parasitizes a fungus!

33. A Fungus that parasitizes amoebas!

34. Aspergillus niger
Used to create citric acid, an additive to many foods.

35. Science or Art

36. Wow!!