FUNGUS

Fungus – Structure and Function Fungus have body structures and modes of reproduction unlike other eukaryotic organisms

Fungus – Structure and Function Fungus have body structures and modes of reproduction unlike other eukaryotic organisms The bodies of most fungi are made of structures called Hyphae

Fungus – Structure and Function Fungus have body structures and modes of reproduction unlike other eukaryotic organisms The bodies of most fungi are made of structures called Hyphae Hyphae are tiny threads of cytoplasm surrounded by a plasma membrane and encased in a cell wall made of chitin

Fungus – Structure and Function The hyphae of a single fungus typically branch as they grow forming a woven mat called a mycelium

Fungus – Structure and Function The hyphae of a single fungus typically branch as they grow forming a woven mat called a mycelium The mycelium serves as a feeding structure for the fungus

Fungus – Structure and Function The hyphae of a single fungus typically branch as they grow forming a woven mat called a mycelium The mycelium serves as a feeding structure for the fungus The mycelium makes up for the fungi’s lack of mobility by rapidly growing through the food source

Fungus – Structure and Function Mycelium may be huge. One mycelium in Oregon covers over 9 square kilometers (1600 football fields) and is estimated to be over 2400 years old making it the Earth’s oldest and largest living organism

Fungus – Structure and Function The mycelium is efficient at absorptive nutrition. This means that the fungus digests food outside of its body and then draws the nutrients in

Fungus – Structure and Function

Fungus - Diversity There are more than 100,000 known species of fungus All play a role as decomposers Fungus recycle carbon and nitrogen by breaking down organic matter Some species of fungus are parasites, though most live on dead material Parasitic fungi cause more than 80% of all plant diseases and are therefore important from an economic sense

Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by releasing large numbers of reproductive spores

Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by releasing large numbers of reproductive spores Spores are haploid single cells with thick cell walls that serve to disperse the fungi

Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by releasing large numbers of reproductive spores Spores are haploid single cells with thick cell walls that serve to disperse the fungi Most fungi produce spores asexually by mitosis at the tips of specialized hyphae

Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by releasing large numbers of reproductive spores Spores are haploid single cells with thick cell walls that serve to disperse the fungi Most fungi produce spores asexually by mitosis at the tips of specialized hyphae Some fungi reproduce sexually where haploid hyphae from different mycelium fuse together to mix their genetic material into diploid cells

Fungus – Structure and Function Some fungus such as puffballs can produce as many as a trillion spores. Thay travel tremendous distances and have been found as far as 200km above the Earth’s surface

Symbiotic Fungi Lichens represent a symbiotic relationship between algae (protist) and a fungus Mycorrhizae – Are symbiotic relationships between fungal hyphae and plant roots. The fungus absorbs water and minerals from the soil and provides it to the plant, in turn the sugars produced by the plant nourish the fungus – almost all plants have mycorrhizae

Yeasts and Mold Yeast is a single-celled fungus

Yeasts and Mold Yeast is a single-celled fungus Yeast reproduce asexually by budding

Yeasts and Mold Yeast is a single-celled fungus Yeast reproduce asexually by budding Yeast with no known sexual stage are called imperfect fungi

Yeasts and Mold Yeast is a single-celled fungus Yeast reproduce asexually by budding Yeast with no known sexual stage are called imperfect fungi Brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been used for thousands of years to raise bread and ferment alcoholic beverages

Yeasts and Mold Any fungus that grows rapidly across a surface is generally referred to as mold

Yeasts and Mold Any fungus that grows rapidly across a surface is generally referred to as mold Penicillium is a very common mold that often grows on fruit. One species of Penicillium is the source of the antibiotic Penicillin

Yeasts and Mold Any fungus that grows rapidly across a surface is generally referred to as mold Penicillium is a very common mold that often grows on fruit. One species of Penicillium is the source of the antibiotic Penicillin The fungus keeps bacteria from growing to close to it and competing for food

Yeasts and Mold Penicillinwas discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming though its importance was not truly realized until the early 1940’s. It was the first antibiotic and is still among the most widely prescribed of all antibiotics available