The Fungi Kingdom Mycology - the study of fungi fungi - singular fungus - plural 4 Main Characteristics of Fungi 1) fungi are eukaryotic •they have a nuclei & mitochondria 2) they are heterotrophs •they depend on other organisms for food 3) they are multicellular 4) they cannot move on their own The Fungi Kingdom 4 Reasons Fungi Are Different From Plants 1) fungi lack chlorophyll 2) fungi are not photosynthetic •cannot produce their own food •most are saprophytes •some are parasites 3) they never reproduce by seeds Saprophytefeeds on dead/decaying organisms 4) most fungi have cell walls made of chitin… •Plant cell walls are made of what? cellulose The Fungi Kingdom Parts of fungi: Hyphae - network of thin thread-like structures that form the “body” of a fungus hypha - singular hyphae - plural • hyphae contain cytoplasm • hyphae grow and branch until they cover and digest the food source (upon which the fungi is growing) The Fungi Kingdom Parts of fungi: Mycelium - a mass of hyphae mycelia - plural •The mycelium is usually hidden in the soil, in wood, or another food source •A mycelium may fill a single ant, or cover many acres The Fungi Kingdom Main Types of Fungi: 1.Zygomycota/Common molds Sporangium fungi reproduces by spores in the sporangia •Sporangia- structures found on the tips of hyphae that make spores Spraying with blue •Eg: Bread Mold,Peronospore •Bread mold produces spores in sporangia that stick up above the bread vitriol The Fungi Kingdom Types of Fungi 2. Sac Fungi - produce spores in sac-like structures Eg: yeasts,cup fungi,powdery mildews,Penicillinum Unicellular, reproduces by budding 2. Sac fungi (Ascomycotes) Ergot Morels Sir Alexander Flemming-penicillin 3. Phylum Basidiomycota – Club Fungi • Gets name from specialized reproduction structure resembling a club, called basidium – found on the underside of mushroom cap in the gills • One mushroom may produce 1 billion spores • Some are edible, some are toxic • Examples: Mushrooms, toadstools • Most elaborate life cycle of all the fungi /or cup button The Fungi Kingdom What are we looking at when we see a… fungus-among-us? The part of the fungus that we see is only the “fruit” of the organism The ‘living’ body of the fungus is a mycelium The Fungi Kingdom Fungi Reproduction: •the structure of the fungi that you can see, is the part that carries out reproduction •most fungi reproduce by using spores •fungi spores are microscopic EX: Mushrooms & puffballs release large clouds of spores. Each cloud contains millions of spores Reproduction is classified according to: 1) the way they form the spores 2) the shape of the structure in which spores are made 3. Club fungi (Basidiomycetes) Jack-o’-lantern Earth stars Puffballs Brackets 3. Club fungi (Basidiomycetes) Toadstool Champignon Eg: Death cap Importance of fungi -many of them live in mutualism with the roots of trees. They can substitute root hairs as in the case of pine trees. -they can be decomposers -they can cause diseases to plants, to animals or even humans -they can be edible or poisonous -they can be useful for alimentary,distilling and pharmaceutical industry Lichens Where do lichens belong in the classification of living organisms? * Lichens are dual organisms, so they are difficult to place in a classification * They represent symbiotic (mutualistic) relationships between fungi and green algae, fungi and cyanobacteria, or fungi and both * The fungus is the dominant physical component of the lichen thallus, and lichens are usually classified with the fungi * Nevertheless, the association appears to have originated through fungi parasitizing algae and/or cyanobacteria Human Uses of Lichens •Brown, purple and red fabric dyes (e.g. Scottish tweeds and tartans) * Part of the daily diet, e.g. Lecanora esculenta (“manna”?) in Iran, flour from Cetraria islandica (Iceland moss) in Scandinavian ship’s biscuits, Inuit “nirukkaq” - partly digested lichens from caribou & muskox stomachs in winter * Commercial production of sugar in Russia, WWII * ‘Iwatake (Umbilicaria esculanta) as delicacy in Japan •More uses of lichens - medicine, embalming and perfumery Many lichen extracts are inhibitory to the growth of Gram-positive bacteria * Some are also effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosus * Oakmoss (Evernia prunastri) and Treemoss (Pseudoevernia furfuracea) are used in Europe to make fixatives for perfumes and soaps. * The antibiotic properties of lichens were exploited by the ancient Egyptians in their embalming procedures Lichens Special characteristics of lichens -they are pioneers -they produce acid to dissolve rocks -they don’t tolerate sulphur-dioxide in the air -as they die massively in case of air pollution, they are indicators of it.