Kingdom Fungi

Characteristics of Fungi –Fungi are eukaryotic heterotrophs that have cell walls. –Their cell walls contain chitin, a complex carbohydrate. –Except for yeasts, all fungi are multicellular –Fungi are made up of thin filaments called hyphae –Each hypha is only one cell thick.

Characteristics of Fungi –The bodies of multicellular fungi are composed of many hyphae tangled together into a thick mass called a mycelium.

How do Fungi get their food? Saprobes – secrete enzymes into dead organic matter and then absorb the nutrients from the decomposition Ex. Mushrooms/ bread mold Parasites – secrete enzymes onto things that are alive and absorb nutrients from the host Ex. Ringworm/ “Athlete’s Foot”

How do Fungi Reproduce? –Most fungi reproduce both asexually and sexually. –Asexually by spore formation –Sexually by the fusion of primitive gametes

Structure and Function of Bread Mold Black bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, is a zygomycete. (Division Zygomycota) Black bread mold has three types of hyphae: Rhizoids are rootlike hyphae that penetrate the bread's surface. Stolons are stemlike hyphae that run along the surface of the bread. Sporangiophores are strands of hyphae that support the spore case

Rhizopus

Asexual Reproduction Sexual Reproduction FERTILIZATION MEIOSIS Life Cycle of a Black Bread Mold

Rhizoids = root-like hyphae The zhizoids meet underground and mating occurs between hyphae of different molds (SEXUAL REPRODUCTION)

Lifecycle of a Zygomycete Fungi – Asexual then Sexual

Rhizopus

Anatomy of Rhizopus Rhizoids – primitive roots Stolon – hyphae “runners” Sporangiophore – support hyphae Sporangium – spore case Spores – reproductive cells (asexual) + and – hyphae – function in conjugation Zygote – results from +/- gamtes fusing Zygospore – protective covering

Rhizopus Hyphae from different mating types fuse and produce gamete-forming structures called + or – gametes They fuse to form a zygote, which becomes protected by a zygospore.