Characteristics of Fungi

• Dolipore septum


  Found in most complex fungi where the septum wall near the central pore is swollen and inflated to form a barrel-shaped structure
• Septal pore cap or parenthosome

  A membranous structure present in the cytoplasm on either side of a dolipore septum
• Perforate


  Depending on the species, septal pore cap may be perforate or imperforate
• Stroma


  A compact somatic structure that acts as a cushion in which fruiting bodies are usually formed
• Sclerotia


  Hard resting bodies resistant to unfavorable conditions which are dormant for longer periods of time and will germinate when favorable conditions return
• Dimorphic fungi


  Some fungi that exist either as hyphae or single cells, common in forms that cause diseases in humans and other animals
• Septa


  Partitions or cross-walls that interrupt the hypha of most fungal species
• Septate hyphae


  Hyphae with septa produced at more or less regular intervals along the length, dividing it into individual compartments or cells that may contain one, two or many nuclei
• Aseptate/non-septate hyphae


  Hyphae with septa present only at the bases of reproductive structures and in older, highly vacuolate portions, the vigorously growing portions lack regularly spaced septa
• Saprobes


  Fungi that obtain their food by attacking dead organic matter
• Parasites


  Fungi that live on plants, animals or even other fungi
• Mycelium


  The collective structure that makes up the body of the fungus, e.g. a mushroom
• Yeast


  Fungi that do not produce mycelium composed of hyphae, they reproduce by means of budding or fission
• Hyphae/hypha


  The elongated, apical growth that constitutes the body (soma) of the fungus
• Thallus/thalli


  Also used to refer to the entire body of the fungus
• Fungi are a group of heterotrophic organisms devoid of chlorophyll
• Fungi have definite cell walls, are non-motile, and reproduce by means of spores
• Fungi have no stems, roots, or leaves and have no complex vascular system
• The carbohydrate storage product in fungi is glycogen, not starch
• Fungi are filamentous and multicellular
• Spitzenkorper


  A unique dynamic structure at the apex of a growing hypha, acting as a supply center for vesicles involved in hyphal growth
• Steady state hypothesis


  The hyphal apex is inherently expandable, with the newly synthesized wall at the apex consisting of chitin and glucan, and the cross-linking of the polymers gradually developing rigidity
• Bartnicki-Garcia's theory


  The wall is inherently rigid, and for growth to occur there must be a permanent delicate balance between the lysis of the wall, the synthesis of wall polymers, and the pushing out and mending of the wall
• Fungal cell wall


  A dynamic structure subject to change and modifications at different stages in the life of a fungus, composed of a skeletal or microfibrillar component and an amorphous matrix material
• Components of the fungal cell wall

  • Skeletal component: highly crystalline, water-insoluble materials consisting of glucans and chitin
  • Matrix: mostly water-soluble polysaccharides (glucans and glycoproteins)
  • Other components: lipids, melanins, galactosamine, and polymers