KINGDOM FUNGI

CHARACTERISTICS of FUNGI The Kingdom Fungi includes eukaryotic, sessile heterotrophs that include a wide variety of organisms from unicellular yeasts to mushrooms and molds.

FUNGAL STRUCTURE & FUNCTION Except for yeasts, all fungi are multicellular Fungi have cell walls made of a carbohydrate substance called chitin (this is the same material that insects are made of!) Multicellular fungi are composed of thin filaments called hyphae, each of which is about one cell thick and has 1-2 nuclei. Many hyphae strung together form a mycelium.

FUNGAL STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

FUNGAL STRUCTURE & FUNCTION The mycelium is well-suited to absorb food because it allows a large surface area to come in contact with its food source What we recognize as a mushroom is actually the reproductive structure (fruiting body) of the mycelium that is growing below ground, kind of like the roots of a plant.

FUNGAL REPRODUCTION Most fungi reproduce both sexually or asexually. Asexual reproduction takes place when hyphae break off from the fungus and begin to grow on their own.

FUNGAL REPRODUCTION Some fungi (like this puffball) produce spores, which can scatter and form new organisms because spores are reproductive cells that are capable of undergoing mitosis.

FUNGAL REPRODUCTION

FUNGAL REPRODUCTION Sexual reproduction in fungus usually involves the hyphae of two organisms fusing together in the same cell.

FUNGAL NUTRITION Unlike animals, fungi do not ingest their food. Instead they secrete powerful digestive enzymes into their food & digest it outside of their bodies and then absorb it.

FUNGAL NUTRITION Many fungi are decomposers, which means they feed by absorbing nutrients from decaying matter in the soil.

FUNGAL NUTRITION Other fungi live as parasites, absorbing nutrients from the bodies of their hosts.

HOW FUNGI SPREAD Fungal spores are found in almost every environment. This is why molds seem to spring up in any location that has the right combination of moisture and food.

HOW FUNGI SPREAD The dry, almost weightless, spores that many fungi produce can scatter easily in the wind.

HOW FUNGI SPREAD Other fungi are specialized to lure animals, which they use to disperse their spores over large distances. The stinkhorn is a fungus that smells like rotting meat, which attracts flies, who eat a sticky fluid substance found on the fungus and distribute fungal spores in their excrement.

DIVISIONS of KINGDOM FUNGI Kingdom Fungi is divided into 4 major divisions (phyla). The divisions are based on the structures that the fungi in each phylum uses for reproduction.

DIVISIONS of KINGDOM FUNGI The 4 phyla of Kingdom Fungi: Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Deuteromycota

ZYGOMYCOTA Common molds Ex. bread mold Use zygospores to reproduce Black bread mold

ASCOMYCOTA Sac fungi Ex. truffles, yeasts, cup fungi Use ascus for reproduction Can cause Ergot poisoning (humans) and chestnut blight (trees)

BASIDIOMYCOTA Club fungi Ex. Mushrooms, puffballs & rusts Use basidia for reproduction Some are harmful & parasitic and destroy crops.

DEUTEROMYCOTA Imperfect fungi Ex. Penicillium Have never been observed undergoing sexual reproduction

FUNGI AS DECOMPOSERS Fungi play an essential role in maintaining equilibrium in nearly every ecosystem, where they recycle nutrients by breaking down the bodies of wastes and other organisms.

FUNGI AS DECOMPOSERS Without decomposition, the energy-rich compounds that living things acquire while they are alive would never be recycled into the Earth. If these important minerals were not recycled back into the Earth, our soil would become depleted and the Earth would become lifeless and barren.

FUNGAL PLANT DISEASES WHEAT RUST: Caused by a club fungus that infects wheat crops

FUNGAL PLANT DISEASES CORN SMUT: Fungus that destroys corn crops

HUMAN FUNGAL DISEASES ATHLETE’S FOOT & JOCK ITCH: Caused by an imperfect fungi that makes an inflamed sore from which the spores spread easily from person to person

HUMAN FUNGAL DISEASES RING WORM: Same fungus that causes Athlete’s foot

HUMAN FUNGAL DISEASES YEAST INFECTION: Grows in moist regions of the body

HUMAN FUNGAL DISEASES THRUSH: A painful fungal infection of the mouth

ANIMAL FUNGAL DISEASES Cordyceps: A fungus that infects insects & ingests their body tissues until the insect dies, then they feed off the dead matter.

FUNGAL ASSOCIATIONS Fungi form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. A symbiotic relationship is one in which organisms live closely together and usually benefit from their association. For example: Lichens & mycorrhizae

FUNGAL ASSOCIATIONS Lichens are a mutualistic relationship between a fungus & algae. They benefit each other because the algae is photosynthetic and provide the fungus with a source of energy and the fungus, in turn, provides the algae with water and minerals.

FUNGAL ASSOCIATIONS Mycorrhizae are a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and plant roots. The hyphae of the fungus help plants absorb water and minerals, while the roots provide an energy source via photosynthesis.

THE END THERE’S A FUNGUS AMONG US!