The Fungi Kingdom Mycology the study of fungi

The Fungi Kingdom Mycology - the study of 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.