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Chapter 31 FUNGI (Part 1). Introduction, Ecological Impacts and Phylogenetic Relationships Wesley Jensen, Andrew Kam, Frank Zhang, Jeff Zhang. Introduction. Fungi are mostly eukaryotic, and multicellular.
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Chapter 31FUNGI (Part 1) Introduction, Ecological Impacts and Phylogenetic Relationships Wesley Jensen, Andrew Kam, Frank Zhang, Jeff Zhang
Introduction • Fungi are mostly eukaryotic, and multicellular. • Fungi are unique organisms that differ from other eukaryotes in nutritional mode, structural organization, growth, and reproduction. • Fungi and Animals rose from the same ancestor.
Absorptive Nutrition • Fungi acquire their nutrients by absorptive nutrition. • Small organic molecules are absorbed from surrounding medium. • Fungi digest food outside its body by secreting powerful hydrolytic enzymes into the food.
Absorptive Nutrition cont. • The absorptive mode of nutrition specializes fungi into three types: • Saprobic (decomposers): absorb nutrients from nonliving organisms. • Parasitic: Absorb nutrients from cells of living hosts. Some are pathogenic. • Mutualistic: Absorb nutrients from host, yet reciprocate with functions that aid partners. (aid with uptake of minerals from soil)
Fungi Growth • Bodies of fungi are constructed of units called hyphae. • Hyphae: minute threads composed of tubular walls surrounding plasma membranes and cytoplasm. • Hyphae form a network called mycelium, which is the “feeding” network of the fungus.
Fungi Growth cont. • Most fungi are multi-cellular with hyphae divided into cells by cross-walls (septa). • The septa have pores large enough to allow ribosomes, mitochondria, and nuclei to flow from cell to cell. • The hyphae are built from chitin (polypeptide similar to chitin found in external skeletons of insects)
Fungi Growth cont. • Some fungi are aseptate, meaning their hyphae are not divided into walls. • They are known as coenocytic fungi. • Instead, they consist of a continuous cytoplasmic mass with hundreds or thousands of nuclei. • Fungi usually have modified hyphae called haustoria which penetrate tissues of a host cell.
Fungal Reproduction (Asexual) • They reproduce by releasing spores which are produced from specialized hyphal structures. • Spores are created asexually, and are carried by wind or water. • They germinate if they are in a moist area.
Fungal Reproduction (Sexual) • Sex is a contingency mode of reproduction that occurs when there has been a change in the environment. • Sexual reproduction results in greater genetic diversity among offspring.
Fungal Sex Cycle • Syngamy is the sexual union of cells that form two individuals. • There are two stages: • Plasmogamy: Fusion of Cytoplasm • Karyogamy: Fusion of nuclei.
Plasmogamy • In plasmogamy, the nuclei from each parent cell pair up but do not fuse, this forms a dikaryon (two nuclei) • Instead they coexist, providing advantages in the cell’s life. • One haploid genome compensates for harmful mutations in the other nucleus.
Karyogamy • In karyogamy, the nuclei fuse, forming a diploid cell that undergoes immediate meiosis.
Ecosystems Depend on Fungi as Decomposers and Symbionts • Breakdown of wood, which makes nutrients available to living organism, became a dominant group of organisms about 250 million years ago • Without fungi and bacteria, plants and animals would starve because elements taken from soil wouldn’t be returned
Continued • Fungi’s invasive hyphae enter the tissues and cells of dead organic matter and hydrolyze polymers. • Fungi can decompose anything from fruits/dung/forest litter to shower curtains and wooden boats. • We lose 10% to 50% of the world’s fruit harvest due to fungal attack. • Ethylene, a plant hormone that causes fruit to ripen also stimulates fungal spores on the fruit surface to germinate, causing the invasion of the fungi.
Some Fungi are Pathogens • Plant diseases caused by fungi: • Ascomycete that causes Dutch elm disease has drastically changed the landscape of NE United States • Aspergillus which is a species of mold which could contaminate improperly stored grain secretes aflatoxins which is a carcinogenic • Ergots, caused by one type of ascomycete, that are ground with rye could cause humans to have hallucinations, temporary insanity, nervous spasms, gangrene
Phylogenetic Relationships of Fungi • Fungal ancestors were aquatic flagellated organisms. • Flagellated cells were lost as they became adapted for life on land. • The differences between the Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota are focused on their solutions to reproducing and dispersing on land. • Comparisons of RNA show that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.
Many Animals, including humans, eat fungi • A variety of mushrooms are consumed in various cultures. • Only an expert can determine safe to consume mushrooms. • There is no simple rule to determine poisonous and nonpoisonous. • Truffles are the most commonly consumed mushroom.