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:ZygomycotaAscomycotaBasidiomycotaDeuteromycota

ZYGOMYCOTA

Common moldsEx. bread moldUse 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 fungiEx. Mushrooms,

puffballs & rustsUse basidia for

reproductionSome are harmful

& parasitic and destroy crops.

DEUTEROMYCOTA

Imperfect fungiEx. 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!