Download Fungi Notes 2006

Fungi Notes
Pages 88 – 95
What are Fungi?
 Heterotroph
 Eukaryote
 Cell walls
 Has its own kingdom
 Absorbs food through hyphae
 Uses spores to reproduce
 Fungi needs a warm, moist places to grow. They thrive on moist foods, damp tree
barks, and wet bathroom tiles.
 ****The largest known organism on Earth is actually underground fungus that
covers an area as large as 1000 football fields!!!*****
 Fuzzy molds are loosely packed vs. mushrooms with caps and stalks where the
hyphae are so tightly packed that they look solid.
 Hyphae attaches to food source and releases ooze to decompose food. Then the
hyphae acts like a straw and transports the food to the fungus.
Reproduction in Fungi
 Most fungi can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
 Use spores to reproduce. Fruiting bodies create the spores. (pg. 90)
 Classification of Fungi (pg.91)
o 18 major groups but there are three phylum
 Sac fungi
 Club fungi
 Zygote fungi
 Asexual
o Offspring identical to parent
o Unicellular fungi reproduce through a process called budding – no spores
are produced.
 Sexual
o Two fungi have hyphae intertwine and genetic material is exchanged
o Offspring is dispersed through spores
The Role of Fungi in Nature
 Environmental Recycling
o Compost
 Food and Fungi
o Bakers’ yeast
o Cheeses
o Mushrooms
 Disease Fighting Fungi
o 1928 – Fleming and his discovery of Penicillin (pg.93)
 Disease Causing Fungi
o Yeast infections
o Athlete’s foot
o Corn smut
o Wheat rust
o Treated with fungicide or anti-fungal medicine
 Fungus – Plant Root Association
o Symbiotic relationship
o Brings water and minerals to plant
o Plant provides food source for fungus
o Orchid seeds
 Lichens
o Pioneer organisms (pg.95)
o Algae + Fungus
o Bacteria + Fungus