Fungi

(YEAST)
FUNGI
 Fungi can be single celled or very complex multicellular organisms.
 They are found in just about any habitat but most live on the land, mainly in soil or on plant
material rather than in sea or fresh water.
 A group called the decomposers grow in the soil or on dead plant matter where they play an
important role in the cycling of carbon and other elements.
 Some are parasites of plants causing diseases such as mildews, rusts, scabs or canker.
 In crops fungal diseases can lead to significant monetary loss for the farmer. A very small number
of fungi cause diseases in animals.
 In humans these include skin diseases such as athletes’ foot, ringworm and thrush.
 Types of fungi
 Fungi are subdivided on the basis of their life cycles, the presence or structure of their fruiting body and
the arrangement of and type of spores they produce.

 The three major groups of fungi are:

 multicellular filamentous moulds

 macroscopic filamentous fungi that form large  fruiting bodies, referred  to as ‘mushrooms’, but the
mushroom is just the part of the fungus we see above ground which is also known as the fruiting body.
 single celled microscopic yeasts
Multicellular filamentous moulds
 Moulds are made up of very fine threads (hyphae). Hyphae grow at the tip and divide repeatedly along
their length creating long and branching chains. The hyphae keep growing and intertwining until they
form a network of threads called a mycelium. Digestive enzymes are secreted from the hyphal tip. These
enzymes break down the organic matter found in the soil into smaller molecules which are used by the
fungus as food.
 Some of the hyphal branches grow into the air and spores form on these aerial branches. Spores are
specialized structures with a protective coat that shields them from harsh environmental conditions such
as drying out and high temperatures. They are so small that between 500 – 1000 could fit on a pin head.
 Spores are similar to seeds as they enable the fungus to reproduce. Wind, rain or insects spread spores.
They eventually land in new habitats and if conditions are right, they start to grow and produce new
hyphae. As fungi can’t move they use spores to find a new environment where there are fewer competing
organisms.
 Rhizopus nigricans growing on bread left in a moist plastic bag for 7 days. Tangled mycelium are visible
as well as sporangia bearing spores.
 Macroscopic filamentous fungi
 Macroscopic filamentous fungi also grow by producing a mycelium below ground.
 They differ from moulds because they produce visible fruiting bodies (commonly known as
mushrooms) that hold the spores.
 The fruiting body is made up of tightly packed hyphae which divide to produce the different parts of the
fungal structure, for example the cap and the stem.
 Gills underneath the cap are covered with spores and a 10 cm diameter cap can produce up to 100
million spores per hour.
Single celled microscopic yeasts

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Scars yellow can be seen on the surface.

It is used in the production of beer, wine

and bread.
 As fungi, yeasts are eukaryotic organisms.
 These are those fungi which are generally not filamentous but unicellular and ovoid or spheroid. Yeast
cell lacks flagella and other organ of locomotion.
 The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and 1,500 species are currently identified.
 They typically are about 0.075 mm (0.003 inch) in diameter.
 Most yeasts reproduce asexually by budding: a small bump protrudes from a parent cell, enlarges,
matures, and detaches.
 A few yeasts reproduce by fission, the parent cell dividing into two equal cells.
 They may be useful or harmful in foods.
 In food manufacture, yeast is used to cause fermentation and leavening. The fungi feed on sugars,
producing alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide; in beer and wine manufacture the former is the desired
product, in baking it is the latter. In sparkling wines and beer some of the carbon dioxide is retained in
the finished beverage. The alcohol produced in bread making is driven off when the dough is baked.
 Other species of yeast such as Candida are opportunistic pathogens and cause infections in individuals
who do not have a healthy immune system. MAY CAUSE SPOILAGE OF FRUIT JUICE, HONEY,
JELLIES, MEATS.
 The word "yeast" comes from Old English gist, gyst, and from the Indo-European root yes-,
meaning "boil", "foam", or "bubble".

 Yeast microbes are probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms.

 In 1680, Dutch naturalist Anton van Leeuwenhoek first microscopically observed yeast, but at
the time did not consider them to be living organisms, but rather globular structures.
Researchers were doubtful whether yeasts were algae or fungi, but in 1837 Theodor Schwann
recognized them as fungi.

 In 1857, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved that alcoholic fermentation was conducted
by living yeasts and not by a chemical catalyst.
FORM AND STRUCTURE

 SPHERICAL
 PEAR- SHAPED
 CYLINDRICAL
 TRIANGULAR
 ELONGATED
 Reproduction
 Yeasts, like all fungi, may have asexual and sexual reproductive cycles.
 The most common mode of vegetative growth in yeast is asexual reproduction by budding. Here, a small
bud or daughter cell, is formed on the parent cell. The nucleus of the parent cell splits into a daughter
nucleus and migrates into the daughter cell. The bud continues to grow until it separates from the parent
cell, forming a new cell. The daughter cell produced during the budding process is generally smaller than
the mother cell.
 Quite often the daughter cell also starts producing bud before being abstricted from the mother cell and the
process may be repeated giving rise to chains or groups of yeast cells.
 In this way a large number of buds are developed without being detached from one another resulting in the
formation of branched or unbranched chains of cells constituting the pseudomycelium. The cells in chains
for pseudomycelium are loosely joined together. Sooner or later, however, the chains break into their
constituent cells.
 Eg Saccharomyces cerevisiae
 Some yeasts, including Schizosaccharomyces pombe, reproduce by fission instead of budding,
thereby creating two identically sized daughter cells
 During reproduction of fission yeasts the parent cell elongates, the nucleus divides into two
daughter nuclei, and gradually a transverse partition wall is laid down somewhat near the middle
starting from periphery to the centre dividing the mother cell into two daughter cells .
 The two daughter cells so formed may remain together for some time and begin to divide again
or they may separate soon and then divide.
 In some yeasts when the food in the surrounding medium is exhausted, or when there is danger of
desiccation, spores are formed from the mother cells. In the process of spore formation the protoplasm
divides, usually into four portions, each of which becomes surrounded with a comparatively thick wall.
Thus four thick-walled spores known as endospores are formed.

 After some time the spores are liberated. By virtue of their thick walls the spores can remain alive under
adverse conditions. On germi­nation the spores bud and give rise to chains of cells.
Cultural characteristics
 Production of a carotenoid pig