Fungus Among-us

Why is the mushroom more

popular than the flower?

Characteristics of Fungi

• Kingdom: Fungi

• Eukaryotic (have a nucleus)

• Some single-celled; most

are multi-cellular

• Rigid cell walls (like plants)

• No chlorophyll

• Come in a variety of

shapes, sizes and colors

Fungi Food

• Fungi can’t travel - must live on or

near their food supply.

• All are heterotrophs (get food from

others)

– Consumers: get food by secreting

digestive juices onto a food source

then absorbing the dissolved food

– Decomposers: feed on dead plant or

animal matter

– Others are Parasites

Fungus Parts

• Multicellular fungi: made up

of chains of cells called

hyphae (singular = hypha)

• Hyphae grow together to

form a twisted mass called

the mycelium.

• Mycelium makes up most of

the fungus, but is under

ground.

Making More FungiSexual or asexual reproduction

• 2 Asexual Processes:– Hyphae break apart; each new piece is a new

fungus

– Produce spores

Spores: small reproductive cells protected by a thick wallAdvantages of Spores:

1. Light and easily spread by the wind

2. Lands and grows into a new fungus

Making More Fungi (part 2)

• Sexual process:

Step 1: Special structures form to make sex cells

Step 2: Then sex cells join to produce sexual spores

that grow a new fungus

Fungus Life Cycle

Fungi Review

• What is a fungus?

• How do fungi eat?

• What are hyphae?

• What is a mycelium?

• How do fungi reproduce?

4 Kinds of Fungi

1. Threadlike Fungi

2. Sac Fungi

3. Club Fungi

4. Imperfect Fungi (misfits!)

Threadlike Fungi

• Mold

– shapeless, fuzzy fungus

• Live in the soil

• Decomposers

• Reproduce sexually or asexually

Sac Fungi

• Largest group of fungi

• Examples: yeasts, mildews, truffles

• Reproduce sexually and asexually

• Single celled (yeasts) or multicelluar (truffles)

• Some are useful to humans! – Yeasts for bread; others are antibiotics and

vitamins

• Some are parasites :(– Dutch Elm disease - kills plants

Club Fungi

• Look like umbrellas

• Reproduce sexually

• Many have “gills” underneath

Non-mushroom Club Fungi

• Puffballs - go puff!

• Rusts - plant parasites (turn corn black)

• Bracket fungi look like shelves on trees

Imperfect Fungi

• Fungi that don’t fit in the other groups -misfits!

• Most are parasites (cause disease)

Ex: athlete’s foot

• Some are good!– Penicillium is where we get our antibiotic penicillin!

– Others are used to make cheeses, soy sauce, and citric acid in soda

Lichens…oooh, Special!

• Lichens - a combination of a fungus and an alga (protist) that grow together

• Mutualistic relationship: both organisms benefit from living together

• Producers

• Found in almost every land environment

• Can grow on rocks

• Absorb nutrients from the air– good air = lots of lichens