Fungi and fungirl that joke never gets old

Fungi (…and fungirl – that joke never gets old…)

Characteristics • Fungi are eukaryotic, nonphotosynthetic organisms that can be unicellular or multicellular in form. • Fungi are divided into four groups depending on their characteristics • Deuteromycota • Zygomycota • Ascomycota • Basidiomycota

Obtaining Nutrients • Fungi are among the most important decomposers of organic matter. • Fungi are saprobes, they obtain nutrients by secreting enzymes and absorbing simple organic molecules from their environment.

Structure of Fungi • Fungi are made up of short filaments called hyphae. – Mats of hyphae are called mycelium. – Some species have partitions called septa in their hyphae, making individual cells. • Fungal cell walls contain chitin rather than cellulose, which is found in plant cell walls.

From The Fungi Name Trail by Liz Holden & Kath Hamper

Decomposers! Yay! • They grow on organic matter then secrete enzymes outside of their bodies that digest this organic matter. • Without saprobes and heterotrophic bacteria, communities would be buried in their own garbage. • Next they absorb the digested organic matter. • Without nutrient recycling life could not go on. • This decomposition releases nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Reproduction • Most fungi reproduce both asexually and sexually. • Spores are the reproductive cells

Asexual Reproduction • Asexually, fungi produce thousands of genetically identical haploid spores, usually on modified cells of the hyphae. • When these spores are placed in favorable environmental conditions, they germinate and grow new hyphae, each of which can form a mycelium and produce thousands of new asexual spores.

Sexual Reproduction • Fungi occur in mating types that are sometimes called minus and plus. • When two different mating types of the same species encounter one another, the hyphae of one mating type fuse with the hyphae of the opposite mating type. • These fused hyphae give rise to a specialized structure, which produces and scatters genetically diverse spores.

Types of Fungi The four major groups of fungi are: 1. Common molds (Zygomycota) 2. Sac fungi (Ascomycota) 3. Club Fungi (Basidiomycota) 4. Imperfect fungi (Deuteromycota) The classification is made according to their structures and method of reproduction.

Common Molds (Zygomycota) • Phylum includes the familiar molds that grow on meat, cheese, fruit, and bread. • They produce spores in round spore cases called sporangia. When the sporangia split open hundreds of spores are released into the air. Each spore will develop into a new mold if there is enough moisture, food, and warmth. Mold on an orange

Sac Fungi (Ascomycota) • Examples of these fungi are yeast, molds, morels, and truffles (yum). Truffles (about $1000 worth) • The phylum Ascomycota is named for the ascus, a tough sac that contains spores.

Club Fungi (Basidiomycota) • The phylum Basidiomycota gets its name from a specialized reproductive structure that resembles a club. • The spore-bearing structure is called basidudium

Club Fungi Examples Mushrooms Shelf fungi Coral fungi Puffballs

Imperfect Fungi (Deuteromycota) • Fungi that do not have a sexual stage are classified in a group called fungi imperfecti, or deuteromycota. They can’t reproduce sexually. • Deuteromycota examples are Penicillium, ringworm, athlete's foot fungus, tomato blight fungus, and cucumber scab fungus.

Some “Fun”gi Facts

World's Largest Organism • Armillaria ostoyae – honey mushroom • Ascomycete • 3. 5 miles across and takes up 1, 665 football fields. • Located in Malheur National Forest in Eastern Oregon • 2400 -7200 years old

Fairy Rings • Clusters of mushrooms are often part of the same mycelium. • Some mycelium live for many years. As time goes by the soil nutrients at the center of the mycelium become depleted. • New mushrooms sprout on the edges producing a ring.

Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 saw the arrest of some 250 persons suspected of witchcraft. Ergot is a fungus of rye grass. It grows best in wet conditions. Ingestion of infected rye can cause feelings of numbness, or suffocation – symptoms which in the past might have been interpreted as bewitchment or possession by the devil.

Could ergotism have contributed to the Salem Witch Trials? • Rye was grown in Essex county in the late seventeenth century. • 1692 was a high moisture year, necessary for the growth of ergot. • 24 of the 30 victims experienced fits and hallucinations along with the sensation of being pricked or bitten • Others reported feeling a burning sensation in their fingers, lameness or temporary blindness. • All of these could be symptoms of ergotism.