A mushroom goes into a bar. The bartender

looks at him and says, “get out of here, we

don’t serve your kind.” The

mushroom says to the bartender,

“Why not, I’m a FUN GUY!”

• We will study four phyla of fungi classified by their structure and method of reproduction

• Zygomycota• Ascomycota• Basidiomycota• Deuteromycota

(not pictured)Slime molds

Characteristics of all fungi

• Heterotrophs• Eukaryotic• Multicellular (except yeast)• Cell wall made of chitin• External digestion of food• Main body is haploid

Fungi can be• Decomposers (saprobes)• Parasites• Carnivores• Mutualistic (beneficial)

Did you know that each year the Mycological Society of San Francisco hosts one or two mushroom shows (traditionally called 'fungus fairs'). At the show you can see hundreds of species of fungi on display along with exhibits on ecology, mycophagy, toxicology, and cultivation. There is a fungus fair!http://www.mssf.org/FungusFair/index.html

What is there to like about

Fungi?

A LOT!

DecomposersSymbiosis

Food

Edible fungi

Giant puff ball Wild mushroomsTo prevent mushroom poisoning, mushroom gatherers need to be very familiar with the mushrooms they intend to collect, including knowledge of the toxic species that look similar to these edible species. Mushroom poisoning (toxins) initially cause severe abdominal cramping, vomiting, and watery diarrhea, and then lead to liver and kidney failure. Therapy is aimed at decreasing the amount of toxin in the body.

Structure of fungi• Filaments = hyphae• All hyphae together =

mycellium• Reproductive

structure = fruiting body

Reproduction in fungi

• Asexual = hyphae breaking off or production of spores

• Sexual = + and – mating types meet. Each forms a gametangium. The haploid nuclei fuse and form a diploid zygote. Meiosis then forms haploid nuclei.

+ and – mating types come together

Nuclei fuse to form diploid zygote

Haploid nuclei formed in gametangia

Phylum Zygomycota

• Common molds• Includes black bread

mold

Zygospores = sporesformed in sexualreproduction

Stolon = stem like hyphae

Sporangiumproducesspores

Sporangiophore holds upsporangium

ASEXUAL

SEXUAL

Rhizoid = root like hyphae

Phylum Ascomycota

• Sac fungi• Multicellular (morels,

truffles)• Unicellular (yeast)

World’s largest truffle

Sexual reproduction – formation of ascospores in ascus (cup shaped fruiting body)

Asexual reproduction

• Yeast budding

• Formation of conidia (asexual spores) on conidiophores

Phylum Basidiomycota = Club fungi

Mushroom Shelf fungus Puff ball

Jelly fungus Plant parasite known as rust

Sexual reproduction

Fruiting body (n + n)

+ and – hyphae fuse

Basidia (n + n)

Zygote (2n)

Fertilization

Phylum deuteromycota = imperfect fungi (no sexual reproduction observed)

Antibiotic penicillin

Penicillium reproduces with conidia so may have evolved from ascomycetes

Ecology of fungi• Decomposers – recycle nutrients• Parasites

Human diseases Athletes foot and ringworm (deuteromycete) Thrush and vaginal yeast infections (Candida)

Plant diseases Corn smut Mildew Wheat rust

Animal diseases

Mutualistic relationshipsLichens = algae + fungiFungus provides “home”Alga provides food

Mutualistic relationship

• Mycorrhizae = relationship with plant roots

• Fungal hyphae increase surface area of root

• Plant gets more water and minerals

• Fungus gets food from plant (from photosynthesis)