Topics Ecological and economical significance What are fungi? Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi pp. 597-621. Topics Ecological and economical significance What are fungi? Structure of fungal body plan Fungal reproduction – life cycles Fungal phyla - cladogram

Fungi - Ecological Importance Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi pp. 611-615. Fungi - Ecological Importance Most fungi are saprotrophs – i.e. decomposers – release CO2, water, mineral nutrients – nutrient recycling Degrade difficult materials such as cellulose and lignin Many fungi are symbionts (e.g. lichens, mycorrhizae, grazing animals) Many are parasites Parasitic chytrids - may have caused amphibian decline in recent years Mycorrhizae - mutualism between fungi and plant roots - seen in ~90% of all plant spp. Fungus increases surface area of roots, enables greater water, nutrient uptake (mainly P) Roots supply fungus with complex food material

Lichens Fungus – Mostly Ascomycota, rarely Basidiomycota Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 611-615. Lichens Fungus – Mostly Ascomycota, rarely Basidiomycota Photosynthesizer – Chlorophyta or Cyanobacteria

with neither P, nor mycorrhiza No P with mycorrhiza Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 611-615. Red cedar seedlings with neither P, nor mycorrhiza No P with mycorrhiza

Economic - biological - medical importance Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi pp. 615-619. Economic - biological - medical importance Fungal enzymes – reduce wood, waste Some fungi - plant/human/animal diseases, some attack grains, aflatoxins Yeast – model organism – yeast and other fungi - wine, beer, other fermented beverages, bread and cheeses Aspergillus tamarii used to make soy sauce Some basidiomycota are directly edible, as are ascomycota such as morels and truffles Alexander Fleming - discovered penicillin - from mold Penicillium sp. Many drugs are fungal-derived – e.g. Lovastatin (cholesterol drug) Insulin, HGH, immunosuppresants

Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi pp. 597-599. Who/what are Fungi? Eukaryotic, ~100,000 species, varied in shape, mostly terrestrial Chitin + complex carbohydrates in cell wall Not photosynthetic Heterotrophs - saprobic, some parasitic Important decomposers Spores to weather difficult conditions Very hardy organisms Resistant to wide ranges of osmotic and pH conditions, and temperature

Fungal Body Mycelium - threadlike structures - hyphae Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi pp. 598-599. Mycelium - threadlike structures - hyphae Many hyphae - coenocytic; multicellular without frequent cross walls (c) Others - septa - contain one or more nuclei (c or d)

Fungal Reproduction Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 599-601. By spores - reproductive cells usually haploid, microscopic, spread by wind/water/animals - mostly asexual – sporangia – fruiting bodies – conidia – budding Sexual reproduction/cycle – pheromones – fusion of haploid hyphae – plasmogamy – dikaryotic stage – karyogamy resulting in zygote nucleus  sexual sporangia

Typical fungal life cycle Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 600.

Six Phyla Fruiting bodies, sexual spores, molecular data Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 601-602. Six Phyla Fruiting bodies, sexual spores, molecular data – used for classification Table 29-1 Deuteromycota – Polyphyletic

Zygomycota Rhizopus sp. bread mold No septa Bread mold – heterothallic Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 603-605. Rhizopus sp. bread mold No septa Bread mold – heterothallic Opportunistic pathogen, unicellular Microsporidia

Glomeromycota – AVM Fungi help in plant nutrition, defense and sharing Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 605-607. Glomeromycota – AVM Fungi help in plant nutrition, defense and sharing info/resources with other plants

Ascomycota Sac/cup fungi: Most yeasts (including Saccharomyces sp.) Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 607-609. Ascomycota Sac/cup fungi: Most yeasts (including Saccharomyces sp.) Powdery mildew Blue-green, pink, and brown molds on food Edible morels and truffles Dutch elm, chestnut blight

Basidiomycota Club fungi Common mushrooms (include Agaricus sp.), Ch. 29, Kingdom Fungi p. 608-611. Basidiomycota Club fungi Common mushrooms (include Agaricus sp.), bracket fungi Basidiocarp = stalk and cup (of mushroom)