Ice Breaker Are fungi-like protists prokaryotic or eukaryotic? Are fungi-like protists autotrophic or heterotrophic? Thinking back to our nitrogen cycle, why are fungi important?

Microscope Images of the Day Hint: The Drink of the Gods Hint: A Girl’s Best Friend Diamond Wine

Miss Charney Northville Central School Section Four: Fungi Miss Charney Northville Central School

What Exactly is Fungi? Fungi- eukaryotes that have cell walls, are heterotrophs, both unicellular and multicellular, and reproduce by spores They need warm, moist places to grow Example of places: trees, bathroom tiles, moist foods, even human bodies

Cell Structure of Fungi Unicellular and Multicellular Cell Wall- a rigid structure that surrounds fungal cells Hyphae- branch-like tubes that are nothing more than cytoplasm with a lot of nuclei Hyphae can be either loosely packed (i.e. fuzzy looking bread molds), or tightly packed (i.e. the mushrooms that you find in your salad)

Nutrition in Fungi Hyphae grow into food sources (i.e. logs, bread, etc) Hyphae secrete digestive chemicals Digestive chemicals break materials down to small particles Small particles get absorbed by the hyphae

Reproduction in Fungi Fungi reproduce by making spores Spores- lightweight, covered by a protective coating, and can be easily carried through the air or water to new areas Spores are produced in fruiting bodies Fruiting bodies- reproductive structures Fungi undergo both asexual and sexual reproduction

Reproduction in Fungi Asexual Reproduction Sexual Reproduction Asexual reproduction happens when there is enough food and moisture Budding- spores are not produced…a little cell grows out of a parent Similar to a way in which a bud comes out of a tree branch Sexual Reproduction Sexual reproduction happens when there is little food and moisture Two hyphae from other fungi grow together

Classification of Fungi Club Fungi- mushrooms, puffballs Sac Fungi- yeast Zygote Fungi- bread molds

The Role of Fungi in Nature Food and Fungi Yeast is added to bread Sugar and yeast added…yeast feeds on the sugar and produces carbon dioxide Those are the holes that you see in bread The blue color in blue cheese is a mold Mushrooms on pizza, in soups, etc. Environmental Recycling Fungi are decomposers and break down dead animals and wastes

The Role of Fungi in Nature Disease-Fighting Fungi Penicillin is made from a mold called Penicillium, which kills bacterial infections Fungus-Plant Root Associations Hyphae from a fungus grows onto the roots of a tree to help get water deep down into the soil for the tree to use Disease-Causing Fungi Many diseases caused by fungi… Dutch Elm Disease Wheat Rust Athlete’s Foot Ringworm

Lichens Lichen- a fungus and either Algae or Autotrophic bacteria that live together in a mutualistic relationship Found on rocks and trees as flat patches Considered to be pioneer species Over time, they will break down the rocks into soil They are also very sensitive to air pollution, so they die off when there are higher levels of pollutants in the air