Water Molds and Simple Fungi Oomycota, Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota

1. Water Molds and Simple FungiOomycota, Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota EKU General Botany Lab

2. Saprolegnia (Oomycota) antheridial hyphae oogonium with eggs inside vegetative hyphae (2n and coenocytic)

3. Saprolegnia reproduction Asexual Sexual (resistant zygote) (Antheridia and antheridial hyphae are basically interchangeable terms.) Zoosporangium

4. Phlyctochytrium a ‘holocarpic’ chytrid mycelia rhizoidal hyphae

5. Allomyces a filamentous chytrid coenocytic hyphae resistant sporangia (meiosporangia) mitosporangia The true colors of this organism have been greatly distorted by the technique used to make the permanent slide from which this photo was taken. (See the next slide.) Is this the sporophyte (2n) phase, or the gametophyte (n) phase?

6. The last slide was of preserved material.Here is a better slide--of living material. photo by Ross Clark This is the diploid (2n) phase of Allomyces. All of the sporangia in this photo are resistant meiosporangia. No thin-walled mitosporangia are visible. These resistant sporangia eventually will detach and float to the bottom. As spring arrives, meiosis will occur inside the sporangia and they will release haploid (n) meiozoospores.

7. Allomyces gametangia photo by Ross Clark In Allomyces, the male and female gametangia usually occur in pairs, with one sex above the other. In the picture above, you can see the brownish male gametangia above the clear female gametangia. The female gametangia have already released their gametes. The bright white spots are the exit papillae where the female gametes left the gametangia.

8. Rhizopus nigricans (Zygomycota) Black Bread Mold Sporangium Sporangiophores Spores Columella Rhizoids Mycelium (coenocytic)

9. Rhizopus nigricans reproduction(Zygomycota) suspensor asexual phase sexual phase diploid suspensor

10. Some chytrid pictures chytrid on diatom a holcentric chytrid More chytrids! chytrids on spirogyra cell Diagram of chytrid zoospore; one posterior whiplash flagellum Polymyxa, a chytrid-like organism, but not a chytrid (has 2 anterior whiplash flagella) Don’t forget – some chytrids, such as Allomyces, have filamentous hyphae.