Asci

Words to know: Reproductive sacs of certain fungi.

Edible
Fit to be eaten as food.

Frigid
Very cold

Biology 7 | 1103
 Gourmet
Words to know: Referring to the food of a person who is dedicated to good eating.

Hyphae
Strands of cytoplasm that form the body of a fungus.

Mildew
A plant disease caused by fungi.

Biology 7 | 1103
 Mycology
Words to know: The study of fungi.

Rhyzopus
A very common type of mold.

Saprophyte
An organism that feeds off dead or decaying organisms.

Biology 7 | 1103
 BIOLOGY 1103

KINGDOM FUNGI
Presented by: Teacher France
PLANTS VS FUNGI
Mycology
The study of fungi

It is a very fascinating science. Over 100,000 species

of fungi have been found in almost every type of
environment including arid deserts, steaming tropics,
and frigid polar regions. Fungus in the form of the
form of mold appears mysteriously on foods. Some
fungi, such as mushrooms and toadstools, seem to
spring up overnight on lawns. Other fungi grow on
rocks, rotten logs, or living trees.
Saphrophites
Fungi that obtain their food from dead or decaying plants
and animals are Saprophytes.

The word saprophyte comes from the Greek word saprós,

meaning "rotten" or "decayed."

Saprophytic fungi are decomposers and are beneficial to

man and animals because they are beneficial to plants.
When a saprophytic fungus attaches itself to a dead
organism, it secretes digestive enzymes that decompose
the organism into smaller molecules of organic matter.
Some of these molecules are then absorbed as food into
the cells of the fungus, but most of them remain in the
soil. This decomposed organic matter provides the soil
with the minerals and nutrients necessary for plant
growth.
Many fungi are parasitic and very harmful to plants,
animals, and humans. When a parasitic fungus attaches
to a living organism, it extends into the living tissues of
that organism. The digestive enzymes of the parasite
break down the host tissues to provide the parasitic
fungus with nutrients, but this harms the host organism.

Parasitic fungi that cause serious diseases in plants,

animals, and man are called Pathogenic Fungi. Some
diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are difficult to treat
and may last for many years.
Pathogenic Fungi
Pathogenic fungi such as corn smut (smut) and wheat rust
cost farmers millions of dollars each year. Shade trees,
such as the oak and elm, and rose bushes have become
hosts to powdery mildew.

When their young buds and leaves become covered with

the white mildew fungus, further growth is halted and the
plant dies.
Pathogenic Fungi
Sometimes athletes develop uncomfortable itchy
conditions on their feet. This condition, known as athlete's
foot, is caused by a fungus. About fifty types of fungi are
pathogenic to man and animals. Some cause infections
such as athlete's foot and ringworm on the skin and
around toenails. Babies are sometimes born with a milky
lining of fungi in their mouths and throats. This disease is
known as thrush and, if not treated, will spread to the
intestinal tract and throughout the body.
Pathogenic Fungi
Since all fungi produce spores, diseases caused by
pathogenic fungi are highly contagious. The slightest
contact with an infected organism can spread the disease.
Because of this, some locker rooms are equipped with
pans containing a fungicide (fun'je-sid') that kills fungi.
Athletes can step into the fungicide to prevent the spread
of athlete's foot.
Hyphae
The body of a fungus consists of threadlike
strands of cytoplasm called hyphae. Hyphae
branch out and twist together to form the
mycelium (mi se li em), or the body of the
fungus.
 Fungi
Ascomycota Basidiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota

Fungi: Fungi: Fungi: Fungi:

yeasts, molds, mushrooms, rusts, imperfect fungi black molds,

mildews smuts shotgun fungus

50,000 Species 25,000 Species 25,000 Species 600 Species

 FUNGI:
ZYGOMYCOTA
ZYGOMYCOTA
ZYGOMYCOTA
Zygomycota
Black molds, among the most common fungi, are
often found growing on moist, stale bread. Black
molds and shotgun fungi are among the 600 species
of fungi in the phylum Zygomycota (zi'go-mi-kō'te).

Members of this phylum, called zygomycetes (zi-gō-

mi'sētz), are named for their thick-walled spores that
develop from a zygote. Most zygomycetes are
terrestrial saprophytes.
Zygomycota
Rhizopus
A bread mold, called rhizopus, is one of the most
common zygomycetes.

Rhizopus grows as a mass of hairlike filaments on the

surfaces of bread and fruit. Rhizopus molds have three
special types of hyphae.

Rootlike hyphae called rhizoids (ri'zoidz) anchor the

fungus, secrete digestive enzymes, and absorb nutrients.

Other hyphae, called stolons (sto lonz), grow in a network

over the surface of the food. The third group of hyphae,
called sporangiophores (spô răn’jia forz), form stalks that
contain the spore cases, or sporangia.
Zygomycota
Rhizopus
usually reproduces asexually by means of spores formed in the sporangia at the tip of the
sporangiophores. When the spores mature, the sporangia split open to release the spores. One
sporangium (spō-răn'jiem) may produce as many as 50,000 spores, which are carried away by the wind. If
a spore lands in a suitable location, and if conditions are favorable for growth, the spore germinates and
forms a new rhizopus.
Zygomycota
Rhizopus
A rhizopus may also reproduce sexually by conjugation. Rhizopus molds exist as genetic strains that
appear identical, but differ in their genetic structure. Since these strains are not truly male and female, we
will refer to them as positive (+) and negative (-). Conjugation occurs when a hypha (hi'fe; singular) of of a a
positive strain comes in contact with a hypha of a negative strain. The hyphae form a bridge between the
two strains. Nuclear material from each strain fuses in the bridge and forms a zygospore that is capable of
remaining dormant for months, if necessary, until conditions for growth become favorable. Then the
zygospore splits open and produces several sporangiophores that release spores and begin the asexual
part of the life cycle.
 FUNGI:
ASCOMYCOTA
ASCOMYCOTA
ASCOMYCOTA
Ascomycota
The phylum Ascomycota (ǎs'ke mi kō'te), the largest
phylum in the Kingdom Fungi, includes about 50,000
species of fungi.

All ascomycetes (as ke mi sētz') have reproductive

structures called asci. Asci are spore-containing sacs
that form at the tips of certain hyphae.

The asci of some ascomycetes are contained in

structures called fruiting bodies.
Ascomycota
A fruiting body is a mass of hyphae (mycelia) twisted
together. Many ascomycetes called cup fungi form a
cup- shaped fruiting body.
Ascomycota
An edible ascomycete, the morel (me rěl'), produces a
spongelike fruiting body. Morels and truffles (truf'elz),
another edible sac- fungus, are considered gourmet
foods.

The fruiting body of a truffle is prune-shaped and may

grow to a diameter of 4 inches (10 cm).

Truffles may be black, brown, or white in color, but

you may never see one growing since they grow from
3 to 12 inches (8 to 30 cm) underground, usually near
an oak tree.
Ascomycota
When hyphae of different mating strains come into
contact with each other, positive and negative nuclei
are formed. These nuclei fuse into zygotes and pass
into the asci. Inside the asci the zygotes divide into
ascospores (as'ke spôrz'), which are released to
germinate into new cup fungi.
Ascomycota
Yeast
Yeasts are also ascomycetes even though they are
somewhat different from other fungi in the same phylum.
Microscopic, unicellular yeast fungi do not form hyphae
like other ascomycetes. They are placed in the phylum
Ascomycota because, like other ascomycetes, they
produce an ascus (singular of asci) that contains spores.

Usually yeasts reproduce asexually by Budding.

Budding begins when the cell membrane of a yeast cell

forms a bulge, or bud. The nucleus of the cell divides and
the new nucleus moves into the bud. The bud continues
to grow until it is about the same size as the original cell.
At this time a new cell membrane forms and the bud
separates from the original cell.
Ascomycota
Yeast
A yeast obtains its food by breaking down carbohydrates.
The breakdown of carbo-hydrates produces alcohol and
carbon dioxide in a chemical process called Fermentation.

Alcohol produced during fermentation has commercial

value as a germ killer, a pre- servative, and a solution that
will easily dissolve many other substances. When yeast is
used in baking, it ferments carbohydrates in the dough
and releases bubbles of carbon dioxide. The bubbles of
carbon dioxide cause the bread dough to "rise." During
baking, the high temperature evaporates the alcohol and
kills the yeast.
Ascomycota
Yeast
Truffles, morels, and yeast are examples of beneficial sac-
fungi. Other beneficial ascomycetes grow around the
roots of plants and help them absorb nutrients.

Still others form loops that trap and kill harmful

nematodes (roundworms) in the soil. Some ascomycetes
are parasitic and cause much damage. One sac-fungus
causes Dutch elm disease, which has destroyed most of
the elm trees that once lined the streets of many U.S. and
European cities. Other ascomycetes that have caused
damage to American and European agriculture are ergot
(ûr'get) of rye, chestnut blight, and powdery mildews.