Fungi

Characteristics of Fungi• All fungi are eukaryotic heterotrophs.• They are saprobes – absorbing their food

from decaying matter around them. They release enzymes in the immediate area that breakdown organic material and then it is absorbed using endocytosis.

• The bodies of most fungi are made of threadlike filaments called hyphae.

• As more and more hyphae grow together, they form a mass called a mycelium.

• The cell walls of fungi are made of chitin rather than cellulose.

Reproduction in Fungi• Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually by

means of spores – a reproductive cell that can grow into an adult form.

• The adult fungi release spores which drop to the ground and begin to grow the hyphae strands.

• These strands grow and grow and form the mycelium – the mushroom tissue which can go on to form the adult body.

• To gain variation within the population the hyphae from different spores of different parents will fuse together and form an adult with DNA from two parents.

Fungi Lifecycle

Fungi Classification• The fungi are classified according to the

structures that carry/produce their spores.• The three phyla/divisions of fungi we will

examine are the:– Caselike Fungi (Division Zygomycota)– Saclike Fungi (Division Ascomycota)– Clublike Fungi (Division Basidiomycota)

• There are also “imperfect” fungi that have no known sexual phases. Many of the imperfect fungi cause disease in plants and animals.

Interesting Fungi• Penicillium• Trichophyton• Lichens• Bracket Fungus• Mushrooms

That’s All I Got…