Kingdom Fungi: General Characteristics (Key points

with PPT)

Fungi- Definition, Examples, Structure, Classification &

Reproduction
What are fungi? How fungi differ from other plants?
Ø Fungi (fungus) in Latin literally means mushrooms
Ø Fungi are eukaryotic organisms with true nucleus and membrane bounded organelles
Ø They are non-vascular Cryptogams included in Thallophyta along with algae due to
their undifferentiated plant body.
Ø Study of fungi is called mycology and the one who study fungi is called Mycologist
Ø The word in Latin ‘mykes’ means fungus
Ø Kingdom fungi includes about 5100 genera and 50,000 species
Ø Fungi are heterotrophs since they lack chlorophyll
Ø Fungi cannot synthesize their own carbohydrates using, carbohydrates, water and
sunlight.

Fungal Mycelium (source wikipedia)

Ø Plant body of fungi consists of thallus make up of hyphae which together constitute
the mycelium
Ø Fungi show much diversity in form, structure of plant body and method of
reproduction
Ø Fungi are cosmopolitan in distribution, occurs in any habitat where life is possible
Ø Some fungi are aquatic, which may be fresh water or marine
Ø Most of the fungi are terrestrial forms
Ø Many species of fungi are parasite to plants, animals and human
Ø Majority of the diseases of cultivated plants are caused by fungi and thereby they
have immense economic importance
What is mycelium and hyphae?

Plant body of fungi

typically consists of branched and filamentous hyphae
Ø Hyphae forms a net like structure called mycelium
Ø Hyphae may be aseptate (without septa) or septate (with septa)
Ø In aseptate forms, the hyphae will be coenocytic (multinucleate condition)
Ø In septate forms, the hyphae may be uninucleate or binucleate or rarely multinucleate
The septal pore is surrounded by a barrel-shaped flange of thickened wall material.
Ø Septa usually have simple pore (hole) at the centre for the cell to cell communication
What is dolipore septum? After late Dolium= large jar
Ø In Basidiomycetes (a division of fungi) the septa is highly advanced, here dolipore
septa occurs
Ø Overarching the septal pore on each side of the septum is a specialized portion of endoplasmic
reticulum known as the septal pore cap or parenthesome (parenthesis =round bracket,
Ø Parenthosomes of dolipore septa act as valves which can regulate the passage of cell
contents between cells
How fungal cell wall is different from the cell wall of other plants?
Ø Protoplast of fungi is surrounded by distinct cell wall
Ø In slime molds (lower fungi, closely related to Protistis) the cell wall is absent
Ø Main component of cell wall is chitin (a major difference of fungal cell wall from plant
cell wall)

Ø Chitin is a polymer of an
N-acetylglucosamine, a derivative of glucose
Ø In some lower fungi (Oomycetes) cell wall is composed of cellulose and glucan
How mitosis in fungi is different from other eukaryotes?
Ø The nucleus of fungi is very small
Ø Fungi have special type of mitosis called nuclear mitosis
Ø Mitosis in fungi is different from that in other eukaryotes
Ø In fungi, during mitotic cell division, the nuclear envelope does not break down and
re-form. Instead, mitosis takes place within the nucleus
Ø Spindle apparatus is formed within the nucleus, which drag the chromosomes to two
opposite poles of nucleus (not the cell as in most other eukaryotes)
What is meant by dikaryotization?
Ø Fungal hyphae may be homo-karyotic (only one strain of nuclei) or hetero karyotic
(different strains of nuclei)
Ø Hyphae may be haploid, diploid or dikaryotic
Ø Dikaryotic condition is seed in higher fungi only (members of Ascomycetes and
Basidiomycetes)
Ø In dikaryotic mycelium, two different strains of nuclei (+ and -) stay separately in the
cell and they simultaneously divide when the cell divides
Ø The process of formation of dikaryotic mycelium is called dikaryotization
What are the hyphal modifications in fungi?
Ø In majority of fungi, hyphae are simple
Ø In some advanced fungi, hyphae may undergo certain modification in response to
functional needs
Ø Important hyphal modifications in fungi are: Prosenchyma, Pseudoparenchyma,
Rhizomorphs, Sclerotia, Appressorium, Haustoria, Stroma and Hyphal traps (snares)
Learn more: Hyphal Modifications in Fungi
What is the type of nutrition in fungi?
Ø Fungi are heterotrophic in nutrition (they do not manufacture food)
Ø Fungi are entirely devoid of chlorophyll, however carotenoids and other colour
pigments are present
Ø On the basis of mode of nutrition, fungi are classified into three groups:
1. Parasites: grow and feed on other living plants or animals (hosts)
2. Saprophytes: grown and feed on dead organic matters
3. Symbionts: mutual association between algae or roots of higher plants (lichens and
mycorrhiza are examples)
Ø Fungi digest food first and then ingest (absorb) the food into cells, to accomplish this
the fungi produce exoenzymes (enzymes which acts outside the cell)
Ø The food reserve of fungi is glycogen (similar to animals cells)
Learn more: Nutrition in Fungi
How fungi reproduce?
Ø Fungi reproduce by vegetative, asexual and sexual methods
Ø Sexual state of fungi is called teleomorph
Ø Asexual state of fungi is called anamorph
Ø Vegetative reproduction in fungi takes place by Fragmentation (Eg. Rhizopus,
Aspergillus), Fission (Eg. Yeast) and Budding (Eg. Yeast)
Ø About 20% fungi (mostly members of Deuteromycetes) propagate only by asexual
means, they completely lack sexual reproduction
Ø Asexual reproduction takes place during favorable condition by the formation of a
variety of conidia or spores
Ø Fungal spores may be unicellular (Aspergillus, Penicillium) or multicellular
(Alternaria, Cercospora)
Ø Spores may be endogenous when enveloped in pycnidia or sporangia (Mucor,
Rhizopus) or they may be exogenous when developed on sporophores or conidiophores
(Aspergillus, Penicillium)
Ø Common asexual spores of fungi are: Zoospores, Conidiospores
(conidia), Clamydospores and Oidia:
Learn more: Different types of Spores in Fungi
Ø In lower fungi reproductive cells are flagellated and motile
Ø Flagella are of two types in fungi
1. Whiplash (Acronematic): smooth flagella with 9+2 organization
2. Tinsel (Pantonematic): Flagella with numerous minute hair like projections called
mastigonemes, originate from the axial filament
Ø Motile reproductive structures are completely absent in higher fungi (Ascomycets,
Basidiomycets and Deuteromyces)
Holocarpic vs Eucarpic fungi
Ø In some unicellular forms the whole vegetative cell is transformed to a reproductive
unit and such a fungi is called holocarpic fungi
Ø In most fungi only a part of the vegetative mycelium forms the reproductive unit and
the rest remain vegetative, such a fungi is called eukarpic fungi
Zygomycetes eg Mucor . Rhizopus, Pilobolus
Hyphomycetes eg Aspergillus penicillium
Ascomycetes eg Neurospora, Sordaria
Basidiomycets eg Mushrooms, rust and smuts
Asexual reproduction of ascomycetes is very diverse from both structural and
functional points of view. The most important and general is production of conidia,
but chlamydospores are also frequently produced. The diverse conidia and
conidiophores sometimes develop in asexual sporocarps with different characteristics
(e.g. aecervulus, pycnidium, sporodochium).

Asexual reproduction, especially asexual spore production is less important in

Basidiomycota than in Ascomycota. However, the various spore types excluding
basidiospores of rust and smut fungi could be considered as asexual spores which
have great importance in the effective spread of those pathogens.
Life cycle of Zygomycota

Zygomycota: The Conjugated Fungi

The zygomycetes are a relatively small group of fungi belonging to the
Phylum Zygomycota. They include the familiar bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, which
rapidly propagates on the surfaces of breads, fruits, and vegetables. Most species are
saprobes, living off decaying organic material; a few are parasites, particularly of
insects. Zygomycetes play a considerable commercial role. The metabolic products of
other species of Rhizopus are intermediates in the synthesis of semi-synthetic steroid
hormones.

Zygomycetes have a thallus of coenocytic hyphae in which the nuclei are haploid when
the organism is in the vegetative stage. The fungi usually reproduce asexually by
producing sporangiospores (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Zygomycetes have asexual and asexual life cycles. In the sexual life cycle, plus and minus mating
types conjugate to form a zygosporangium.

The black tips of bread mold are the swollen sporangia packed with black spores
(Figure 2). When spores land on a suitable substrate, they germinate and produce a
new mycelium. Sexual reproduction starts when conditions become unfavorable. Two
opposing mating strains (type + and type –) must be in close proximity for gametangia
from the hyphae to be produced and fuse, leading to karyogamy. The developing
diploid zygospores have thick coats that protect them from desiccation and other
hazards. They may remain dormant until environmental conditions are favorable. When
the zygospore germinates, it undergoes meiosis and produces haploid spores, which
will, in turn, grow into a new organism. This form of sexual reproduction in fungi is called
conjugation (although it differs markedly from conjugation in bacteria and protists),
giving rise to the name “conjugated fungi.”
Figure 2. Sporangia grow at the end of stalks, which appear as (a) white fuzz seen on this bread
mold, Rhizopus stolonifer. The (b) tips of bread mold are the spore-containing sporangia. (credit b: modification
of work by “polandeze”/Flickr)

Basidiomycota

Development of a holobasidium and basidiospores. 1: clamp; 2: nuclei; 3

karyogamy; 4: meiosis; 5: vacuole; 6: sterigma; 7: basidiospore

In the general life cycle of hyphal basidiomycetes the monokaryotic phase is relatively
short, the hyphae developing from haploid basidiospores fuse (somatogamy) and
produce dikarytic hyphae. This dikaryotic phase dominates the life cycle of the
basidiomycetes. During the sexual reproductive phase the final cells of generative
hyphae develop into a basidium. The nuclei fuse (karyogamy), and the diploid nucleus
undergoes meiotic division. The four haploid nuclei migrate into the developing
basidiospores across the spore-holding sterigma.

Ascomycota
The name of the Ascomycota refers to the sac-like structure (ascus) in which the
meiospores (ascospores) develop. The reproductive features discussed below. An
ascogonium develops with haploid nuclei and produces a trichogyn, a fertilization
tube to the antheridium developed from a compatible monokaryotic hypha nearby.
The haploid nucleus migrates from the antheridium to the ascogonium, from which
dikaryotic hyphae with two nuclei of different origin will develop in each segment.
The dikaryotic hyphae form crosiers which enable proper segregation of the two
different nuclei after mitotic cell division.

Development of an ascus. 1: ascogonium, 2: ascogenous hyphae; 3: crozier; 4: ascus

initial; 5: ascus with ascospores.

The tip of each ascogenous hypha bends forming a hook and is known as crozier (Fig. 195B).
The nuclei of the crozier divide by conjugate division with spindles parallel to
each other (Fig. 195G). During the division of the nuclei two septa appear
between the two daughter nuclei. These two septa divide the crozier into three
cells which are designated as basal or stall; cell, loop or dome cell or
subterminal cell or the penultimate cell, and ultimate or tip cell (Fig. 195D).

The stalk and tip cells are uninucleate. Whereas, the loop cell is binucleate. The
loop cell or the penultimate cell is the ascus mother cell. The two nuclei fuse to
form a diploid nucleus in the ascus mother cell which elongates into an ascus
(Fig. 195F to J). The diploid nucleus divides three times of which one is
reductional to form eight haploid nuclei (Fig. 195K to N).

Penicillium Alternatia

Rhizopus stolonifer
Asexual reproductive structures of some fungi. A:

Fungi cultured on Nutrient /P DA agar media without biotic factors in the labs.