Fungi

Fungi
Fleshy fungi Yeasts Molds
Hyphae (long filaments of joined cells) Mycelium (intertwined mass of hyphae)

Fungi
Are diverse and widespread
Are essential for the well-being of most terrestrial ecosystems because they break down organic material and recycle vital nutrients

Mushrooms

Nutrition and Fungal Lifestyles

Fungi are heterotrophs
But do not ingest their food

Fungi secrete into their surroundings exoenzymes that break down complex molecules
And then absorb the remaining smaller compounds

A General Look at Fungi - Flash Animation

Note to self: may need to right chick to get to play or rewind. May need to advance slide using arrows at bottom left.

Fungal lifestyles
Decomposers Parasites Mutualistic symbionts

Body Structure
Reproductive structure. The mushroom produces tiny cells called spores.
Hyphae. The mushroom and its subterranean mycelium are a network of hyphae.

The morphology of multicellular fungi

Enhances their ability to absorb nutrients from their surroundings

Spore-producing structures

20 m

Mycelium

Structure
Fungi consist of
Mycelia, networks of branched hyphae adapted for absorption

Most fungi
Have cell walls made of chitin

Structure
Some fungi
Have hyphae divided into cells by septa, with pores allowing cell-to-cell movement of materials

Coenocytic fungi
Lack septa
Cell wall Cell wall Nuclei Pore

Septate
Septum Nuclei

Coenocytic

(a) Septate hypha

(b) Coenocytic hypha

Structure
Some unique fungi
Have specialized hyphae that allow them to penetrate the tissues of their host
Nematode
Hyphae 25 m

(a) Hyphae adapted for trapping and killing prey

Fungal hypha

Plant cell wall

Haustorium

(b) Haustoria specialized hyphae that can penetrate the cell walls of plants

Plant cell Plant cell plasma membrane

Mycorrhizae
Are mutually beneficial relationships between fungi and plant roots
Ectomycorrhizal fungi (surface) Endomycorrhizal fungi (penetrate plant cell wall)

Reproduction/propagation
Fungi produce spores through sexual or asexual life cycles (Some fungi do both, some are either sexual or asexual)
Haploid (n)

The generalized life cycle of fungi

Key Heterokaryotic stage PLASMOGAMY (fusion of cytoplasm)

Heterokaryotic (unfused nuclei from different parents)

Diploid (2n) KARYOGAMY (fusion of nuclei)

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION Mycelium Zygote

Spore-producing structures Spores

MEIOSIS GERMINATION GERMINATION Spore-producing structures Spores

Sexual Reproduction
The sexual life cycle involves
Cell fusion, plasmogamy Nuclear fusion, karyogamy

An intervening heterokaryotic stage

Occurs between plasmogamy and karyogamy in which cells have haploid nuclei from two parents

The diploid phase following karyogamy

Is short-lived and undergoes meiosis, producing haploid spores

Asexual Reproduction
Many fungi can reproduce asexually Many fungi that can reproduce asexually
Grow as mold, sometimes on fruit, bread, and other foods
Penicillium
(common saprobe on food)
2.5 m

Conidia (asexual)

Asexual Reproduction
Other asexual fungi are yeasts
That inhabit moist environments Which produce by simple cell division
10 m

Parent cell

Bud

Asexual Reproduction
Many molds and yeasts have no known sexual stage
Mycologists have traditionally called these deuteromycetes, or imperfect fungi

Evolution/Origin of Fungi
Fungi descended from an aquatic, single-celled, flagellated protist Systematists now recognize Fungi and Animalia as sister kingdoms
Because fungi and animals are more closely related to each other than they are to plants or other eukaryotes

Molecular evidence
Supports the hypothesis that fungi and animals diverged from a common ancestor that was unicellular and bore flagella

Fungi probably evolved

Before the colonization of land by multicellular organisms

Origin of Fungi
The oldest undisputed fossils of fungi are only about 460 million years old Fungi were among the earliest colonizers of land. -Probably as symbionts with early land plants

50 m

Fossil hyphae and spores

Phylogeny/Classification
Fungi have radiated into a diverse set of lineages The phylogeny of fungi
Is currently the subject of much research Molecular analysis has helped clarify the evolutionary relationships between fungal groups, although there are still areas of uncertainty
Zygote fungi Chytrids Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Sac fungi Club fungi

Glomeromycota

Chytridiomycota

Basidiomycota

Zygomycota

Ascomycota

Phylogeny/Classification

Five Phyla of Fungi

Chytrids
Fungi classified in the phylum Chytridiomycota, or chytrids
Are found in freshwater and terrestrial habitats Can be saprobic or parasitic

Chytrids
Chytrids are unique among fungi
In having flagellated spores, called zoospores
Hyphae

25 m

Flagellum
4 m

Chytrids
Until recently, systematists thought that
Fungi lost flagella only once in their history

Molecular data
Indicate that some chytrids are closely related to another fungal group, the zygomycetes
Some chytrids Zygomycetes and other chytrids Glomeromycetes, ascomycetes, and basidiomycetes

Key Common ancestor Loss of flagella

Zygomycetes
Fungi in the phylum Zygomycota, the zygomycetes
Exhibit a considerable diversity of life histories Include fast-growing molds, parasites, and commensal symbionts Are named for their sexually produced zygosporangia

Zygomycetes - Life Cycle

The life cycle of Rhizopus stolonifer (fairly typical of
zygomycetes)
Mycelia have various mating types (here designated +, with red nuclei, and ,
1 with blue nuclei). 2

Neighboring mycelia of different mating types form hyphal extensions called gametangia, each walled off around several haploid nuclei by a septum.
Key Haploid (n) Heterokaryotic (n + n) Diploid 3

PLASMOGAMY Rhizopus growing on bread Mating type (+) Mating type () Gametangia with haploid nuclei 100 m 9 Mycelia can also reproduce asexually by forming sporangia that produce genetically identical haploid spores. 8 The spores Young germinate and zygosporangium grow into new (heterokaryotic) mycelia. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION Dispersal and germination 7 The sporangium KARYOGAMY disperses genetically diverse, haploid spores. Sporangium ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION Dispersal and germination 50 m Mycelium 5 6 The zygosporangium then breaks dormancy, germinating into a short sporangium. MEIOSIS Diploid nuclei

A heterokaryotic zygosporangium forms, containing multiple haploid nuclei from the two parents.

Sporangia

Zygosporangium (heterokaryotic)

4 This cell develops a rough, thick-walled coating that can resist dry environments and other harsh conditions for months.

When conditions are favourable, karyogamy occurs, followed by meiosis.

Zygomycetes
Some zygomycetes, such as Pilobolus
Can actually aim their sporangia toward conditions associated with good food sources

This decomposer of animal dung bends toward bright light and shoots its sporangia up to 2 meters
0.5 mm

Spore dispersal movie

Zygomycetes
Zygosporangia, which are resistant to freezing and drying
Are capable of persisting through unfavorable conditions Can undergo meiosis when conditions improve

Microsporidia
Microsporidia
Are unicellular parasites of animals and protists A taxonomic mysteryAre now classified as zygomycetes (But that could change at any time!)

Host cell nucleus Developing microsporidian Spore

10 m

This cell is infected with the parasitic fungus Encephalitozoon intestinalis

Glomeromycetes
Fungi assigned to the phylum Glomeromycota
Were once considered zygomycetes Are now classified in a separate clade

Glomeromycetes
All glomeromycetes
Form a distinct type of endomycorrhizae called arbuscular mycorrhizae
2.5 m

Picture shows cytoplasm removed to show the arbuscule (branched structure) inside plant cell.

Ascomycetes
Fungi in the phylum Ascomycota
Are found in a variety of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats Are defined by the production of sexual spores in saclike asci, which are usually contained in fruiting bodies called ascocarps Have asexual reproduction by producing enormous numbers of asexual spores called conidia

Ascomycetes
Ascomycetes
Vary in size and complexity from unicellular yeasts to elaborate cup fungi and morels

(a) The cup-shaped ascocarps (fruiting bodies) of Aleuria aurantia give this species its common name: orange peel fungus. (b) The edible ascocarp of Morchella esculenta, the succulent morel, is often found under trees in orchards.
10 m

(c) Tuber melanosporum is a truffle, an ascocarp that grows underground and emits strong odors. These ascocarps have been dug up and the middle one sliced open.

(d) Neurospora crassa feeds as a mold on bread and other food (SEM).

Ascomycetes Life Cycle

7

The life cycle of Neurospora crassa

Ascomycete mycelia can also reproduce asexually by producing haploid conidia.
Conidia; mating type ()

Neurospora can reproduce sexually by producing specialized 1 hyphae. Conidia of the opposite mating type fuse to these hyphae.

Key Haploid (n) Dikaryotic (n n) Diploid (2n)

Dispersal

Germination

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Mating type () PLASMOGAMY 2 A dikaryotic ascus develops.

Mycelium

Ascogonium Conidiophore Mycelia

Ascus (dikaryotic) Dikaryotic hyphae

The developing asci are contained in an 6 ascocarp. The ascospores are discharged forcibly from the asci through an opening in the ascocarp. Germinating ascospores give rise to new mycelia.

Germination Dispersal Eight ascospores

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION Diploid nucleus (zygote)

KARYOGAMY 3

Asci

Four haploid nuclei

Karyogamy occurs within the ascus, producing a diploid nucleus.

MEIOSIS

Ascocarp

5 Each haploid nucleus divides once by mitosis, yielding eight nuclei. Cell walls develop around the nuclei, forming ascospores (LM).

The diploid nucleus divides by meiosis, yielding four haploid nuclei.

Basidiomycetes
Fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota
Include mushrooms and shelf fungi Are defined by a clublike structure called a basidium, a transient diploid stage in the life cycle

Basidiomycetes

(b) Maiden veil fungus (Dictyphora), a fungus with an odor like rotting meat

(a) Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), a common species in conifer forests in the northern hemisphere

(d) Puffballs emitting spores (c) Shelf fungi, important decomposers of wood

Basidiomycetes
The life cycle of a basidiomycete
Usually includes a long-lived dikaryotic mycelium, which can erect its fruiting structure, a mushroom, in just a few hours

Fairy rings can appear overnight. A very large mycelium is growing underneath this ring of fruiting structures

Basidiomycetes
The life cycle of a mushroom-forming basidiomycete
2 1

Two haploid mycelia of different mating typesundergo plasmogamy.

A dikaryotic mycelium forms, growing faster then, and ultimately crowding out, the haploid parental mycelia.

PLASMOGAMY

Dikaryotic mycelium

8environment,

In a suitable the basidiospores germinate and grow into short-lived haploid mycelia.

Mating type () Mating type () Haploid mycelia SEXUAL REPRODUCTION Gills lined with basidia

3 Environmental cues such as rain or temperature changes induce the dikaryotic mycelium to form compact masses that develop into basidiocarps (mushrooms, in this case). Basidiocarp (dikaryotic)

When mature, the basidiospores are ejected, fall from the cap, and are dispersed by the wind.
Basidium

Dispersal and germination Basidiospores Basidia (dikaryotic)

Basidium with four appendages Basidium containing four haploid nuclei

4 KARYOGAMY

MEIOSIS

The basidiocarp gills are lined with terminal dikaryotic cells called basidia.

1 m

Basidiospore

6 Each diploid nucleus yields four haploid nuclei. Each basidium grows four appendages, and one haploid nucleus enters each appendage and develops into a basidiospore (SEM).

Key Diploid nuclei 5

Karyogamy in the basidia produces diploid nuclei, which then undergo meiosis.

Haploid (n) Dikaryotic (n n) Diploid (2n)

Fungi have a powerful impact on ecosystems and human welfare

Decomposers
Fungi are well adapted as decomposers of organic material
Performing essential recycling of chemical elements between the living and nonliving world

Symbionts
Fungi form symbiotic relationships with
Plants, algae, and animals

Mycorrhizae
Mycorrhizae
Are enormously important in natural ecosystems and agriculture Increase plant productivity
EXPERIMENT Researchers grew soybean plants in soil treated with fungicide (poison that kills fungi) to prevent the formation of mycorrhizae in the experimental group. A control group was exposed to fungi that formed mycorrhizae in the soybean plants roots. The soybean plant on the left is typical of the experimental group. Its RESULTS RESULTS stunted growth is probably due to a phosphorus deficiency. The taller, healthier plant on the right is typical of the control group and has mycorrhizae.

CONCLUSION These results indicate that the presence of mycorrhizae benefits a soybean plant and support the hypothesis that mycorrhizae enhance the plants ability to take up phosphate and other needed minerals.

Fungus-Animal Symbiosis
Some fungi share their digestive services with animals
Helping break down plant material in the guts of cows and other grazing mammals

Many species of ants and termites

Take advantage of the digestive power of fungi by raising them in farms

Leaf cutter ant movie

Lichens
Lichens
Are a symbiotic association of millions of photosynthetic microorganisms held in a mass of fungal hyphae

(a) A fruticose (shrub-like) lichen

(b) A foliose (leaf-like) lichen

(c) Crustose (crust-like) lichens

Lichen
The fungal component of a lichen
Is most often an ascomycete

Algae or cyanobacteria
Occupy an inner layer below the lichen surface
Ascocarp of fungus Soredia Fungal hyphae Algal layer

Algal cell

Fungal hyphae

10 m

Pathogens

About 30% of known fungal species

Are parasites, mostly on or in plants.

Some of the fungi that attack food crops

Are toxic to humans

(a) Corn smut on corn

(b) Tar spot fungus on maple leaves

(c) Ergots on rye

Practical Uses of Fungi

Humans eat many fungi
And use others to make cheeses, alcoholic beverages, and bread

Genetic research on fungi

Is leading to applications in biotechnology

Antibiotics produced by fungi-treat bacterial infections

Staphylococcus Penicillium

Zone of inhibited growth

Fungi: Wrap-up video clip

The End