1. Ice Breaker Are fungi-like protists prokaryotic or eukaryotic?
Are fungi-like protists autotrophic or heterotrophic?
Thinking back to our nitrogen cycle, why are fungi important?

2. Microscope Images of the Day
Hint: The Drink of the Gods
Hint: A Girl’s Best Friend
Diamond
Wine

3. Miss Charney Northville Central School
Section Four: Fungi
Miss Charney
Northville Central School

4. What Exactly is Fungi?
Fungi- eukaryotes that have cell walls, are heterotrophs, both unicellular and multicellular, and reproduce by spores
They need warm, moist places to grow
Example of places: trees, bathroom tiles, moist foods, even human bodies

5. Cell Structure of Fungi
Unicellular and Multicellular
Cell Wall- a rigid structure that surrounds fungal cells
Hyphae- branch-like tubes that are nothing more than cytoplasm with a lot of nuclei
Hyphae can be either loosely packed (i.e. fuzzy looking bread molds), or tightly packed (i.e. the mushrooms that you find in your salad)

6. Nutrition in Fungi
Hyphae grow into food sources (i.e. logs, bread, etc)
Hyphae secrete digestive chemicals
Digestive chemicals break materials down to small particles
Small particles get absorbed by the hyphae

7. Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by making spores
Spores- lightweight, covered by a protective coating, and can be easily carried through the air or water to new areas
Spores are produced in fruiting bodies
Fruiting bodies- reproductive structures
Fungi undergo both asexual and sexual reproduction

8. Reproduction in Fungi Asexual Reproduction Sexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction happens when there is enough food and moisture
Budding- spores are not produced…a little cell grows out of a parent
Similar to a way in which a bud comes out of a tree branch
Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction happens when there is little food and moisture
Two hyphae from other fungi grow together

9. Classification of Fungi
Club Fungi- mushrooms, puffballs
Sac Fungi- yeast
Zygote Fungi- bread molds

10. The Role of Fungi in Nature
Food and Fungi
Yeast is added to bread
Sugar and yeast added…yeast feeds on the sugar and produces carbon dioxide
Those are the holes that you see in bread
The blue color in blue cheese is a mold
Mushrooms on pizza, in soups, etc.
Environmental Recycling
Fungi are decomposers and break down dead animals and wastes

11. The Role of Fungi in Nature
Disease-Fighting Fungi
Penicillin is made from a mold called Penicillium, which kills bacterial infections
Fungus-Plant Root Associations
Hyphae from a fungus grows onto the roots of a tree to help get water deep down into the soil for the tree to use
Disease-Causing Fungi
Many diseases caused by fungi…
Dutch Elm Disease
Wheat Rust
Athlete’s Foot
Ringworm

12. Lichens Lichen- a fungus and either
Algae or
Autotrophic bacteria
that live together in a mutualistic relationship
Found on rocks and trees as flat patches
Considered to be pioneer species
Over time, they will break down the rocks into soil
They are also very sensitive to air pollution, so they die off when there are higher levels of pollutants in the air