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Fungi
a. Chytridiomycota- Chytrids
b. Zygomycota- Molds
c. Glomeromycota- Arbuscular Mycorrhizae
Alma Khan and Shannon Hayes
Basic Structure of Fungi
• Most species of fungi are multicellular
• Most common body structures are multicellular
filaments and single cells (yeasts)
• Multicellular fungi are made up of hyphae
• Hyphae may contain septa (divide hyphae into
different cells, but contain pores)
• Cells walls composed of chitin (some also include
polysaccharides)
• Fungi are composed of Eukaryotic cells.
• Some fungi can maintain 2 different nuclei per
cell, and some don’t have mitochondria.
Structure
Chytridiomycota:
• Cells walls made mostly of
chitin (but some are made of
polysaccharide)
• Only type of fungi to have
flagella
• Ribosomes are around a
nuclei (not enclosed in a
nuclear cap)
• Smallest and simplest fungi.
• Lack Septa
Glomeromycota:
• Lack Septa
• Some form arbuscular
mycorrhizae
Zygomycota:
• Cell walls composed mostly of
chitin (sometimes polysaccharide)
• Have a continuous mycelium
containing hundreds or thousands
of nuclei.
• Lack Septa
Diversity
Chytridiomycota:
• Sexual and asexual reproduction
• Motile with Flagellated spores
Zygomycota:
• Sexual spores are thick, therefore resisting
zygospores
• Long multinucleate haploid hyphae
Glomeromycota:
• Form arbuscular mycorrhizae with plants
Basics of Nutrition
• Heterotrophs
• Gain food by secreting powerful hydrolytic
enzymes into their surroundings which brake
down complex molecules into smaller organic
compounds that the fungi can absorb and
store.
• Can act as decomposers, parasites or have a
mutualistic relationship.
Mode of Nutrition
Chyridiomycota:
• They derive nutrients from
decaying in water and damp
organic enriched habitats.
Zygomycota:
• Derives nutrients from the organic
material it molds on.
Glomeromycota:
• Get nutrients from their mutualistic
relationship with the plant they’ve
pushed their hyphae into.
Basics of Reproduction
• Fungi reproduce by producing spores, either sexually or
asexually.
• Fungal nuclei are normally haploid, except for when they’re
diploid during sexual reproduction.
• Sexual reproduction requires the fusion of hyphae from
different mating types (communicated through pheromones)
• Process of asexual reproduction varies widely among fungi
(some grow filamentous fungi that produces haploid spores
by mitosis while in others, theirs is ordinary cell division or by
the pinching of small “bud cells” of a parent cell.
Reproduction of Zygomycota
Reproduction
Chytridiomycota
Glomeromycota
Ecological Significance
Chytridiomycota:
• Causing a global decline in amphibian
species that inhabit freshwater
ecosystems by causing fatal fungal
infections.
• Beneficial forms include the fungi
found in the intestines of cattle that
help them process the plant matter
they eat.
Glomeromycota:
• Form a mutualistic relationship with
almost 90% of all plant species
through Arbuscular Mycorrhizae
(supplies minerals and other
nutrients to the roots of the plant,
and “food” the fungus.)
Zygomycota:
• Live close to plants, usually in
soil or decaying matter.
• Contribute to the carbon cycle
by decomposing soil, plant
matter, and waste.
• Cause serious infections in
humans (specifically harmful
for diabetics and those with
weakened immune systems),
such as Zygomycosis.
Uniqueness
Chytridiomycota:
• Smallest and simplest fungi.
• First found in northern
Russia.
• Believed to be the earliest
fungal group to diverge
from other fungi.
• Only fungal group to have
flagellum present.
• Spores called zoospores
Zygomycota:
• Make up about 1% of
fungi.
• Most primitive terrestrial
fungi.
• Named for their sexually
produced zygosporangia.
• Some have structures that
can withstand excessive
droughts or extreme
temperatures.
Glomeromycetes:
• Once considered Zygomycetes
• Form arbuscular mycorrhizae
Examples
Chytridiomycota:
• Orpinomyces joyoniifound in the intestines of
cattle.
• Allomyces anomalus- can
withstand extreme
temperatures.
• Synchytrium
endobioticum- a species
that causes the “potato
wart”.
Examples
Zygomycota:
• Molds that are on
strawberries and
other fruits
• Black Bread Mold
Examples
Glomeromycota:
1. Mycorrhizae formed by
Glomeromycota are found in the
majority of plants found on land.
2. Not as diverse as other types of fungi.
Name
Motile (move
with flagella/
undulipodia)
Habitat
Chytridiomycota
Yes
Zygomycota
Glomeromycota
Cell Organization
Reproductive
Structures
# of Species
Known
Septa
Between
Cells?
Mostly Aquatic
Unicellular or
Filamentous
Microscopic
Sporangium
1,000
No
No
Mostly Terrestrial
Filamentous
Zygospores
1,000
No
No
Mostly Terrestrial
(Plants)
Filamentous
Spores that
resemble
Zygospores
160
No
References
Bibliography
Campbell, N. A., & Reece, J. B. (2008). Biology 8th Edition. New York:
Benjamin-Cummings Pub Co.
Chytridiomycota. (2010, August 7). Retrieved Febuary 21, 2012, from
MicrobeWiki: http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Chytridiomycota
Farabee, M. (2010, May 18). Biological Diversity: Fungi. Retrieved Febuary 21,
2012, from Biological Diversity 4:
www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobookdiversity_4.html
Slot, J. (2005, August 31). Mushrooms, Molds, and Much More: an
introduction to fungal biology. Retrieved Febuary 21, 2012, from Teaching
the Fungal Tree of Life:
http://www.clarku.edu/faculty/dhibbett/TFTOL/content/1introprogress.ht
ml#chytridiomycota
Zygomycota. (2010, August 7). Retrieved Febuary 21, 2012, from
MicrobeWiki: http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Zygomycota