Fungal Characteristics 1)Cell wall made of Chitin 2)Heterotrophs and major Decomposers 3)Body is made of Long filaments of hyphae which form a mycelium(mass of hyphae) 4)Reproduce sexually and asexually Asexually by spores Sexually by mating of hyphae filaments

What is a primary ecological role of fungi?

Mushrooms – “Club Like” Fungi or Basidiomycete Fungi

Bracket Fungi – Basidiomycete Fungi

Bread Mold – a Zygomycete Fungi

Cup Fungi – Ascomycete Fungi Note the cup shapes and orange peel colour

Kingdom Fungi – you must know 5 Major types 1.Phylum Zygomycota = the Bread Molds, Common molds, 2.Oomycota = the Water Molds potato blight, mildew, black mold 3.Phylum Ascomycota = the Sac Fungi Yeast, morels, truffles 4.Phylum Basidiomycota = the Club Fungi Mushrooms, puffballs, toadstools 5.Phylum Deuteromycota = the Fungi Imperfecti(junk drawer)

Hyphae Mycelium- mass of hyphae

-are primarily decomposers Zygomycota (Rhizopus) the Common Molds

Zygomycota – common molds The fungal mass of hyphae, known as the MYCELIUM penetrates the bread and produces the fruiting bodies on top of the stalks Mycelia = a mass of hyphae or filaments

Brewing Yeast converts sugars from grain into alcohol through the process of fermentation.

Truffles are round, warty, fungi that are irregular in shape. They vary from the size of a walnut to that of a man's fist. Since the times of the Greeks and Romans these fungi have been used in Europe as delicacies, as aphrodisiacs, and as medicines. They are among the most expensive of the world's natural foods, often commanding as much as $250 to $450 per pound. Truffles are harvested in Europe with the aid of female pigs or truffle dogs, which are able to detect the strong smell of mature truffles underneath the surface of the ground. The female pig becomes excited when she sniffs a chemical that is similar to the male swine sex attractant. The use of dogs to find truffles is also and option.

Morels are Ascomycete Fungi

Basidiomycete or Club Fungi

Water Molds -- Oomycota The water molds are better known as the MILDEWS. Fish tank fuzz is an example. Protist-like mold because share common characteristics with plant-like protists, such as the cell wall

Irish Potato Famine of 19 th Century Devastated potato crops, causing devastating starvation in Ireland 

Water mold damage in a house.

Black mold dangers Toxic black mold causes serious symptoms and health problems such as mental impairment, breathing problems, damage to internal organs and sometimes even death.

Athlete’s foot and ringworm(parasitic fungi)

Lichens are mutualistic symbiotic organisms. They have an algae and fungus which both benefit. How does each benefit? Lichens

Mycorrhizae Mycorrhizae means “fungus-root”; mutualistic relationship between plant and fungi The plant photosynthesizes while the fungus more efficiently takes up nutrients and water from the rhizosphere than the roots would alone. Plant benefits include: Improved nutrient/water uptake Improved root growth Improved plant growth and yield Improved disease resistance Reduced transplant shock Reduced drought stress