BOT3015L

Fungi

Presentation created by Danielle Sherdan

All photos from Raven et al. Biology of Plants except when otherwise noted

Tree of Life
Plants (embryophytes)
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms, seedless, and non-vascular

Endosymbiosis

Animals

Molecular evidence that

both animals and fungi
diverged from a common
ancestor, likely a colonial
protist

Fungi (today)

Protists
Choanoflagellate, colonial protist

www.tolweb.org

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Fungi are important

Cooking and baking
Beer and wine production
Cheese production
Antibiotics
Toxic waste cleanup
Antibiotic production (cyclosporin, penicillin)
Medical benefits (anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory)
Parasites and diseases in animals (ringworm, aflatoxins)
Parasites and diseases in plants (powdery mildew, smuts, rot)
Decomposition and nutrient cycling
Mycorrhizal associations

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Fungus Theme Slide

BOT 3015

Ascomycetes

Basidiomycetes
Notice that, based on
molecular data, fungi are
more closely related to
animals than plants

From Outlaw lecture

Zygomycetes

Classification
using sexual reproduction
(more later)

* Formation of spores within

zygosporangium.
* No cross walls between cells.

Similar

Ascomycete

Modified from Outlaw lecture

Zygomycete

Formation of spores in
ascus.

Formation of spores on
basidium.
Basidiomycete

Some important characteristics of fungi

Eukaryotes
Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
Heterotrophic absorption
Secretion of digestive enzymes
Active transport

Absorption is the Fungal Mode of Nutrition

MEMBRANE

Fungi secrete enzymes (red

symbol), which break complex
molecules into smaller building
blocks, such as simple sugars and
amino acids (yellow symbols). The
simple molecules are absorbed by the
fungus.

Secondary active transport

Nutrients dilute relative to inside
INSIDE

OUTSIDE
Thanks to Robert Hebert for assistance in the preparation of this slide.

Modified from Outlaw lecture

Some important characteristics of fungi

Eukaryotes
Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
Heterotrophic absorption
Secretion of digestive enzymes
Active transport
Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)

Filamentous hyphae
Mycelium - mass of hyphae
Growth occurs at tips of hyphae
Some have partitions called septa

May be specialized
e.g. rhizoids anchor to
substrate and haustoria
absorb from living cells

Rhizopus (zygomycete) on strawberries

Some important characteristics of fungi

Eukaryotes
Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
Heterotrophic absorption
Secretion of digestive enzymes
Active transport
Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)
Spores produced sexually and asexually
Sexual reproduction by zygotic meiosis

Characteristics of phyla of fungi

Phylum

Type of sexual
spores

Representatives

Zygomycota

Zygospore in
zygosporangium

Bread mold,
endomycorrhizal Soft rot
fungi

Ascomycota

Ascospore in
ascus as part of
ascocarp

Powdery
mildews,
morels, truffles

Powdery
mildew, chestnut
blight, Dutch
elm disease

Basidiospore in
basidium as part
of basidiocarp

Mushrooms,
stinkhorns,
puffballs, shelf
fungi, rusts,
smuts

Black stem rust

of cereals, corn
smut, root rot

Basidiomycota

Common plant
diseases

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Zygomycete life cycle

Modified from Outlaw lecture

Zygospore, distinguishing characteristic, is only diploid cell

Example of the asexual sporangiophore

Pilobolus (zygomycete)

Zygospores of Rhizopus nigricans

Gametangia

Zygospores

Thanks to Robert Hebert and Kim Riddle for this image.

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Ascomycete life cycle

Distinguishing characteristics

Karyogamy

Conidia of Nomuraea

Plasmogamy

Asci lining the fruiting body of Peziza

Ascospores

Modified from Outlaw lecture

Appearance of prototypical ascomycete

From Outlaw lecture

Xylaria sp.

From Outlaw lecture

Common edible morel, Morchella esculenta (ascomycete)

Truffles

Worlds most expensive truffle

White Alba
Almost 3 pounds
$112, 000
Photo from Wikipedia

Black truffle
(Tuber melanosporum)

ascocarp (pictured) found beneath the soil surface

Botryosphaeria dothidea on Adina apple

Thanks to Robert Hebert and Kim Riddle for this image.

From Outlaw lecture

Today
Importance of fungi
Kingdom Fungi
Classification
Characteristics
Zygomycetes
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes

Basidiomycete life cycle

From Outlaw lecture

Basidia and basidiospores

~50m
~200m

~100m

Cross section of
basidiocarp showing gills
Coprinus (basidiomycete) with vital stain

Basidia of Coprinus pileus

From Outlaw lecture

Basidia and basidiospores

Basidia at time of
basidospore release

~25m

SEM inky cap mushroom, Coprinus cinereus (basidiomycete)

4 basidiospores atop ~10m

a single basidium

Polypore example
Polyporus arcularius

Shelf fungus example

Ganoderma applanatum

Puffball
Calostoma cinnabarina

Netted stinkhorn
Dictyophora duplicata

White-egg birds-nest
Crucibulum laeve

Earthstar
Geastrum saccatum

Corn smut
Ustilago maydis

For a local collection go to Outlaws collection in the

lecture series

The yeast growth form

Present in ascomycetes, zygomycetes, and basidiosmycetes
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ascomycete)
Filamentous form

Single-cell form

~25m

~2.5m
Budding, a form of asexual reproduction