Fungi Overview

Key Questions

  • Answer:

    They pretty much just consume everything around them that they can.

    Explanation:

    A human (or almost any other animal) would eat a cup of yogurt by ingesting it through their mouth. However, fungi don't have mouths, nor do they have arms or legs to move around or get the yogurt to them. So what do they do?

    Wherever the fungi is, they simply absorb everything around them that they can. Instead of reaching for the yogurt, a fungi spore would end up in the yogurt cup randomly, and just absorb all the nutrients from the yogurt passively.

    Fungi cells have an extremely efficient surface area to volume ratio, which means that each cell has a ton of surface area with which to absorb nutrients. Once they absorb it through a process not unlike endocytosis, they break down most of the nutrients they absorb using various enzymes. Hydrolytic enzymes break down polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids, cellulase breaks down cellulose.

    The part that gets complex is that there are millions of types of fungi. Some are parasites and leech nutrients off of their hosts, others are symbionts that help provide nutrients to their hosts (for example, some fungi actually live in the roots of a plant and help break down nutrients for the plant to absorb), and others are decomposers (like mushrooms). Each one has a slightly different method of absorbing nutrients and a different source, but the basic enzymes and processes are the same.

  • Answer:

    Myecilium is a filamentous structure that constitutes the main body of a fungus

    Explanation:

    It can be septate or aseptate(ceanocitic), monokaryotic(each cell has a single nucleus), dikaryotic(each cell has two nuclei) depending upon the class.

    For example, all memebers of phycomycetes have aseptate ceanocitic mycelium.All members of deuteromycetes have septate mycelium which are monokaryotic(before fertilization) or dikaryotic(After fertilization).

  • Answer:

    Fungi is a taxonomic kingdom which contains saprophytic organisms which resembles plants as well as animals, yet are neither plant nor animals.

    Explanation:

    Fungi are multicellular saprophytic organisms. These organisms together with bacteria are the main force for decomposition on earth.

    Fungi are eukaryotic organism having various cell organelles specialized to perform specific functions. they have many similarities with animals as well as plants, yet are different than animals and plants. example include fungi have cell wall (similar to plant cells) made up of chitin (similar to chitin found in exoskeleton of arthopods of animal kingdom), which makes the fungi different than plants and animals as it does not completely resembles to plant or animal.

    Fungi is a very wide group which includes molds, mushrooms, yeasts, etc. most of the organisms are saprophytic and some lives in a symbiotic relationship with other organism. example include Mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi.

    Fungi have following characteristics

    • they obtain nutrients from the host using hyphae which can be either uninucleate and septate or multicellular and unseptate.
    • lead a heterotrophic life style living on dead remains or derive nutrients from host by symbiosis.
    • have a cell wall lacking cellulose and made up of chitin.
    • fungi can reproduce both ways either by sexual or asexual ways.
    • produces zoospores by forming spores.
    • unicellular fungi divide asexually by binary fission.

    ![https://useruploads.socratic.org/U0jNS4qTXOZy1jUCMNkK_Morelasci.jpg)

Questions