Prof. Abdul Jabbar N.

Al-Shammari

Diagnostic Mycology
for
Medical Laboratory Sciences
Students
Chapter One: Definition and general character of fungi

Mycology is the science that studies the fungi.

Fungi is eukaryotic-
includes molds and
yeasts.

• Molds exhibit
filamentous type of
growth (multicellular),
while yeast exhibit
single oval cells that
reproduce by budding
(unicellular).
Fungi are characterized by the followings:

1. Fungi differ from bacteria,

fungi are Eukaryote’s
while bacteria are
prokaryotes,
2. Fungi are not
distinguished by Gram
stain as bacteria do, fungi
stain by special stain.
• 3. The wall of
fungi are
composed of
chitin and glucan
and lacking of
peptidoglycan
which mostly
composed of
bacterial cell wall
4. Fungi are heterotrophic like animals and most bacteria; requiring
organic nutrients as a source of energy and lacking of chlorophyll
(Plants are autotrophic).
5. Fungi are the common decomposer in the nature through secretion
of digestive enzymes that breakdown the living and dead materials by
absorbing the nutrients from environment.
6. Fungi are fundamentally different from other Eukaryotic
nutritionally that led to their being placed in separate kingdom.
7. the basic structure of fungal cell is either tubular filament or sac
rounded yeast form, which differ from plant, helminth’s and protozoa
which composed of tissues or organs.
• 8. Fungi are dimorphic,
that’s means change their
growth from a mycelium
form in the soil to yeast
form in human and animal’s
tissues.
9. Fungi are reproduced by either
sexual or asexual and both. Many
fungi produce spores that results
from an asexual process identical to
their parent. Most fungi are
heterothallic, that means two
different strains mating through
process called sexual reproduction,
some are homothallic are able to
form sexual structures with
individual strain.
10. Teleomorph and Anamorph are
two terms described the sexual and
asexual stage of reproduction
respectively.
Mycology chapter one

• 11. Fungi show greatest diversity among eukaryotic domain with

their huge estimation of 1.5 million species.
• 12. Fungi behave both enemy and friend.
• Enemy because they cause disease for plants(mainly), animals,
insect and human.
• Friend because are beneficial in dairy industry, antibiotic
production and environmental protection. Fungi produce antibiotics
(useful in treatment of bacterial diseases) and mycotoxins which is
harmful when contaminated food especially corn which is used as
feed for poultry and excipients in pharmaceutical products
Basic terms in mycology
• In order to understanding the following chapters, Important terms
that described the components must be well knowledgeable.
• A. Basic Structures
1. Hypha (hyphae plural) - fundamental tube-like structural units of
fungi (Figure 1). The terms "hyphae" and "mycelium" are used
interchangeably. There are two kinds of hyphae; non-septate
(coenocytic) and septate
Basic terms in mycology

• a. Septate - divided by cross

walls
b. Aseptate - lacking cross walls
(Coenocytic ) a cell or an
aseptate hypha containing
numerous nuclei.
.
• c. Pseudo hyphae (not true
hyphae) - a chain of elongated
budding cells that have failed to
detach
Hyphae
• Mold - term generally referring
to filamentous fungi

• Mycelium – a mass / mat of

hyphae forming the vegetative
portion of the fungus
Basic terms in mycology

• a. Aerial – growing or existing in

the air
b. Vegetative – absorbs nutrients
c. Fertile – bears conidia or
spores for reproduction Spores
Basic terms in mycology-Sporulation & Spores –

• Fungi are some of the most studied spore-producing organisms

in the world.
• They produce a wide variety of spores that significantly vary in
size, shape and other surface features that suit their
environment (for dispersal).
• Whereas the spores produced sexually (through meiosis) remain
dormant for survival (e.g. ascospores), those that are produced
asexually (mitospores) are for dispersal.

• Produced through mitosis, asexual spores are released in high

numbers and are genetically identical. This allows them to play
an important role in reproduction when they land on the
appropriate substrate in the environment following dispersal.
Sexual spores
• 1. Ascospore - spore formed in a
sac-like cell known as an ascus,
the shape
of which aids in identification of
the fungus. Often eight (8)
spores formed.
(sexual). (Ascomycetes)
Sexual spores
• 2. Basidiospore - sexual spore
(union of two nuclei) produced
on a specialized club-shaped
structure, called a basidium.
(Basidiomycetes)
Sexual spores
• 3. Zygospore - a thick-walled
spore formed during sexual
reproduction in the
Phycomycetes
Asexual spore:
• This is most common fungi
type
• Sporangiospore - an asexual
spore contained in a
sporangium at the end of a
sporangiophore of the
taxonomic class
Phycomycetes
Asexual spore:

• Thallospore - asexual spore

produced on a thallus (hypha).
This kind of spores were borne
on underside or edge of
vegetative body of fungi
(Thallus), composed of one to
several pigmented, thick walled
fungal cell; such as arthrospores,
blastospores, chlamydospores.
Rhizoids - root-like structures
In fungi, rhizoids are small
branching hyphae that grow
downwards from the stolons that
anchor the fungus to the
substrate, where they release
digestive enzymes and absorb
digested organic material
Conidia
Conidia - asexual fungal spores •
borne externally in various ways
from a conidiophore; often
referred to a macro- and
microconidia. Macroconidia are
multicellular Microconidia are
unicellular.
Microconidia: Small single spore. •
Macroconidia: Large single or •
multicellular spores.
Conidiophore and Conidiospore
• Conidiospore spores borne externally on side
tip of hyphae also called conidia.
• Conidiophore - a specialized branch of hypha
on which conidia are developed.
• Spore - generally the reproductive body of a
fungus; occasionally, a resistant body for
adverse environment
• Sterigmata - a specialized structure that
arises from a basidium and supports
basidiospores
Mating in fungi

• In general for Fungi there are two main types of sexual reproduction:
• homothallism, when mating occurs within a single individual, or in other
words each individual is self-fertile;
• heterothallism, when hyphae from a single individual are self-sterile and
need to interact with another compatible individual for mating to take
place.
• preferred terms used when there is a merging of nuclear material, genes
combine. Fusion of nuclear material.
•
Thallus-in molds and fleshy fungi (Vegetative body of fungi)
Teleomorph & Anamorph
• Telemorph - the sexual reproduction form of a fungus.
• Anamorpho- the asexual reproduction of a fungus.
• Holomorph = entire fungus, both teleomorph & anamorph
• • Sexual stage = teleomorph – where plasmogamy, karyogamy, &
meiosis occur (perfect stage) • Morphology of the teleomorph is the
basis of classification of the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota
• • Asexual stage = anamorph – where mitosis produces nuclei for
conidia (imperfect stage)
Homothallism

• Many fungi are termed homothallic, meaning that

they:
• 1. are self-fertile and do not need to find a
compatible mate to accomplish sexual reproduction.
• 2. it involves no genetic exchange it does lead to the
production of spores that may have a specific function
in the life cycle of the fungus.
Two-allele Heterothallism
In heterothallic Zygomycota and Ascomycota there
are two mating types.
since the two mating types are identical in
appearance. Genetically these mating types possess
one or the other of two mating sequences at a
single genetic locus.
These loci may occur as alleles (alternate but
similar forms of a gene or group of genes) or
may be different enough that one consists of
a single gene while the other may contain
two or three.
Multiple-allele heterothallism
• The situation in the Basidiomycota is
more complicated because the mating
systems involve more than just two
mating alleles.
• In fact there are often more than a
hundred. Here any given mating type
will be unable to mate with itself but is
compatible with any other mating
type.
Multiple-allele heterothallism

• The result of this is that the hyphae arising from spores of one
individual may have some self-compatibility (either 25% or 50%) but
as high as 100% compatibility with hyphae from another individual.
Compare this with the two-allele system where any potential mating
is held at a 50% level of success. Spores blowing in from further away
may have a greater chance of finding a mate than one of more local
origin.
• A system of multiple mating alleles is a very sophisticated and stable
way to balance the absolute need for reproduction against the
desirability of outbreeding.
Diphsic (dimorphic) Vs Monomorphic
• Diphsic (dimorphic) - the ability
of some fungi to grow as either
yeast or filamentous stages,
depending on conditions of
growth.
• Monomorphic
• Some fungi do not exhibits
dimorphisms’ that’s means they
are either filaments or yeast.
Yeast: the second form of fungi
• Yeast - pasty or mucoid form of
fungus growth, microscopically
shows a predominance of
budding cells
Germ tube
• Germ Tube - small projections
which arise from cells of certain
yeasts; indicates the onset of
hyphal formation
Ballitospory
• Ballitospory- Is the method used
by some fungi to ejecting the
spore to environment, e.g.
Basidiomycota used this
technique to discharge spore
from basidia like mushroom or
even yeast and occurs in both
sexual and asexual spores.