Kingdom Fungi

• Kingdom Fungi characteristics:

  • Eukaryotic
  • Primarily multicellular and Heterotrophic (saprobes)
  • Cell wall contains chitin
  • Body of multicellular fungi composed of hyphae
• Hyphae grows into a mass called a mycelium, which absorbs nutrients from food
• Fungi are grouped into divisions based on their pattern of sexual reproduction:

  • Division Zygomycota: spores in a case-like structure called sporangium
  • Division Ascomycota: spores in a sac-like structure called ascus
  • Division Basidiomycota: spores in a club-like structure called basidium
  • Spores are the haploid reproductive cells
• Bread Mould (Rhizopus) in Division Zygomycota:

  • Asexual reproduction: hyphae extend along surface and into food, absorb water and sugar, black sporangia form containing thousands of spores dispersed via wind
  • Sexual reproduction: occurs under less favorable conditions, two genetically different hyphae produce a zygospore that remains dormant until conditions improve
• Penicillium in Division Ascomycota:

  • Alexander Fleming discovered that a chemical released by Penicillium inhibited bacterial growth, leading to the first antibiotic, penicillin
• Yeasts in Division Ascomycota:

  • Unicellular
  • Under favorable conditions, asexual reproduction occurs rapidly via budding
  • Under less favorable conditions, sexual reproduction forms ascospores that remain dormant until conditions improve
  • Applications: used in anaerobic respiration (fermentation) releasing carbon dioxide and ethanol, utilized in the bread and alcohol industry
• Gilled Mushrooms in Division Basidiomycota:

  • Umbrella-shaped cap with gills (lamellae) on the underside, each gill contains thousands of basidia, each basidium contains thousands of spores dispersed by wind