LESSON 2: Fungi – Structure and Reproduction

OUTLINE motile phase (ex. Chytrids)

I Immunology of the Mycoses Yeast and Hyphae
A. Antibody-Mediated Immunity
B. Cellular-Mediated Immunity
II Fungi
A. Structure of Fungi
i. Yeast Form
ii. Filamentous
B. Fungal Cell Wall
C. Immune Avoidance
D. Reproduction in Fungi
i. Sexual
ii. Asexual
E. Food Nutrition
F. Interaction with Other organisms
Basic Structure of Hyphal tip
G. Mycotoxins
i. Reproduction / Sporulation
a. sexual
b. asexual

IMMUNOLOGY OF THE MYCOSES

 Antibody-mediated immunity (B-cell / Humoral Immunity)
o immune response by B lymphocytes which
produce circulating antibodies (immunoglobulins) in
reaction to infectious organisms and other foreign
antigens
o Antibodies are often produced in response to a
fungal infection, but do not confer immunity
o Serological tests for identification of fungal
diseases detect these antibodies
 Cellular mediated immunity (T-cell)
o T-cell immunity is effective in resistance to
fungal infections

FUNGI
 Of the 50-250,000 fungal species less than 200 cause human
disease and approx. 25 species cause the majority of human
disease
Other source: 100-150

 Yeasts: unicellular fungi reproduce by budding, 2-60um

 Moulds/Molds: (filamentous) produce hyphae and mycelium
 Dimorphic: grow as moulds (environment) or yeasts (in human
host)

SUMMARY! FUNGI:
 Eukaryotic cells - contain membrane bound cell
organelles including nuclei, mitochondria, golgi
apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes etc;
non-vascular organisms; exhibit mitosis. (the said
features separate fungi from bacteria which are
prokaryotic cells who lack the above structures)
 Heterotrophic - fungi lack chlorophyll and are
therefore not autotrophic (photosynthetic) like
plants and algae; fungi area heterotrophic
absorptive organisms that are either saprophytes
(living on dead organic matter) or parasites
(utilizing living tissue)
 Rigid cell walls – fungi are non-motile. This feature
separates them from animals, although few have
 LESSON 2: Fungi – Structure and Reproduction

Fungal Cell Wall

 Dematiaceous – hyphae with color / translucent

Mycelium
 Vegetative – absorbs nutrients and produces roots
called rhizoids
 Favic chandeliers

 Nodular organs

 Racquet hyphae
Phospholipids – make the structure elastic which is not easily
destroyed by abrasion
 Spiral hyphae
STRUCTURE OF FUNGI
Fungi occur in two basic growth forms (morphology) or stages:
1. YEAST FORM  Aerial – upper part of the mycelium that grows
 Fertile
o morphologically, as a single-celled fungus
unicellular, 2 to 60 μm
o reproduced by simple budding to form
blastoconidia
o On culture, colonies are usually moist or mucoid
(smooth & creamy), opaque
o Example:
2. FILAMENTOUS OR MOLD FORM
 Cryptococcus neoformans (capsulated yeast)
o Yeast-like fungi may be basidiomycetes o colonies are fluffy, cottony, wooly, or powdery;
o ascomycetes such as Candida albicans o a vegetative and aerial growth of filaments
 grow partly as yeast w/ partly elongated cells (hyphae);
resembling hyphae (called pseudo hyphae) o form true mycella
o Structures such as mushrooms consist simply of
DIMORPHIC FUNGI a number of filaments packed tightly together and
 Mostly cause systemic infections (host – tissue): reproduce different types of spores or conidia
a. Histoplasma capsulatum o Molds produce a great variety of conidia which
b. Blastomyces dermatidis are borne on specialized hyphae or conidiophores
c. Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis o Many molds can be identified by the morphology
d. Coccidiodes immitis of these spores and by their arrangement on the hyphae
e. Pennicillium marneffei o Ex. Rhizopus, Mucor
f. Sporothrix schenkii (do not belong to systemic  Fungal filaments are known as hyphae and a mass of hyphae
fungi since they are subcutaneous) collectively make up the mycelium. The terms "hyphae" and
- Duels to the injury "mycelium" are used interchangeably.
- Damages blood vessels  Two kinds of hyphae:
 Several systemic fungal pathogens exhibit either a yeast (or I. Non-septate hyphae (aseptate / coenocytic)
yeast-like) phase and filamentous forms o has continuous cells w/ many nuclei
- Double form or dimorphic o Fungi with non-septate hyphae typically belong
 Thermally Dimorphic - when dimorphism is temperature- to the Zygomycetes.
dependent: o Non-septate hyphae are considered to be more
o produce mold form at 25oC to 30oC primitive because if a hyphal strand is damaged the entire
o produce yeast form at 35oC to 37oC strand dies
II. Septate hyphae
o Divides the hyphae into compartments but not
Additional notes:
into cells.
Classifications of Hyphae:
 Hyaline – clear

ESTHER VICTORIA H. TOLENTINO | BSMT 3-3 2

 LESSON 2: Fungi – Structure and Reproduction

o In other groups, nuclei and/or cytoplasm can

flow through a hole or pore in the center of these septa.
o These are typically found in the Basidiomycetes
and Ascomycetes,
o Ascomycetes also includes the hyphomycetes or
conidial fungi
o When a septate hyphal strand is damaged, the
pores between adjacent compartments can be plugged,
thus preventing death of the whole hyphal strand
(woronin body crystal – to protect other septa driving ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
injury)
 Vegetative structures involved growth and catabolism  budding or fission
 Asexual spores are formed on or in specialized structures
 Vary in size, shape & color but these characteristics are
FUNGAL CELL WALL
constant for a particular species
 The fungal cell wall is essential for growth and viability
 Sporangiospores: present within a swollen sac-like structure
(development); contains chitins (rigidity & support), mannans
called Sporangium
(ß 1,3 and ß 1,6) polysaccharides
 Micro conidia: Small, single celled
 Pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPS)
 Macro conidia: Large, single or many celled
o the immune systems of most organisms
 Zygomycetes
recognize fungal cell wall components such as ß-D-glucan
o Sexual spores – Zygospore; a resting thick-walled cell
and mannans
in between hyphae.
 Melanin
o E.g. Rhizopus, Mucor
o is an important component of fungal cell walls
especially in spores
o It protects against UV radiation and Reactive
Oxygen Species since fungi is sensitive to light
 Composition
o can affect action of antimicrobial agents
o Candida mutants lacking mannosylphosphate in
their cell wall displayed enhanced resistance to cationic
antimicrobial peptides via reduced peptide binding (Harris
et al. 2009)

IMMUNE AVOIDANCE
 Cryptococcus neoformans
o produces a polysaccharide capsule
o possible functions in avoiding phagocytosis,
affects antibodies
o capsule deficient mutants are less virulent
(Perfect, 2005)
 Aspergillus conidia
o Hydrophobin layer of Aspergillus conidia renders
them inert to the immune system (Aimanianda et al.,
2009)
 Cytoplasm – has ergosterols
 Has true nuclei, paired chromosomes
o divide sexually, asexually or both
REPRODUCTION IN FUNGI
Fungi can reproduce asexually (imperfect) or sexually (perfect)
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 formation of Zygospore, ascospores or basidiospores
o In Ascomycetes, sexual spores called ascospores are
present within a sac like structure called Ascus.
o Several asci may be seen within a fruiting body as
seen in Penicillium, Aspergillus
o Each ascus has 4 to 8 ascospores.
FOOD NUTRITION OF FUNGI
 Heterotrophic: Secrete extracellular enzymes; Absorptive
nutrition through cell wall (Osmotrophs)
 Saprobes: decay dead organic matter
 Pathogens: biotroph, necrotroph
 Symbionts: parasites - commensals – mutualists
INTERACTION WITH OTHER ORGANISMS
 Fungi may gain nutrients through parasitism of other organisms
o Plant Parasitism
o Nematode Parasitism
 Parasite within a parasite
 Fungi gains nutrition from the worm
o “The Frog problem” – Chytridiomycosis
 Affecting 30% of the amphibian species of the
world
 Only fungi that are motile
MYCOTOXINS
 Mycotoxins are low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites of
fungi
 Often produced by food spoilage organisms or in basidiocarps
(Mushrooms)
 Mycotoxins are important chronic dietary risk factor

ESTHER VICTORIA H. TOLENTINO | BSMT 3-3 3

 LESSON 2: Fungi – Structure and Reproduction

o Aflatoxins - Aspergillus spp. (from peanuts; bitter Additional notes: Asexual Spores – most common type
taste)  Conidia – asexual fungal spores borne externally in
 Carcinogenic / causes cancer various ways from a conidiophore; often referred to
o Citrinin – Penicillium spp. macroconidia (multicellular) and microconidia
o Ergot Alkaloids – Claviceps spp. (Ergotism) (unicellular)
o Fuminosins – Fusarium spp.  Arthroconidium (Arthrospore) – special type of asexual
spore formed by disarticulation of the mycelium
AMANITA MUSCARIA  Blastoconidia (Blastospore) – asexual spore formed
from a budding process along the mycelium or from
 Genus/Species: Amanita muscaria
another blastospore
 Disease(s): Mycotoxicosis
 Chlamydospore – thick-walled asexual spore formed by
 Amanita muscaria commonly called "fly agaric" contains the
direct differentiation of the mycelium (concentration of
hallucinogenic drugs muscaria and muscimol.
protoplasm and nutrients)
 Sporangiospore – an asexual spore contained in a
sporangium at the end of a sporangiophore
 Thallospore – asexual spore produced on a thallus
(hypha)
 Ascospore – spore formed in a sac-like cell known as an
ascus. Often eight (8) spores formed; developed during
sexual reproduction (Ascomycetes)
 Basidiospore – sexual spore produced on a specialized
club-shaped structure, called a basidium.
(Basidiomycetes)
 Zygospore – a thick-walled spore formed during sexual
reproduction (Phycomycetes)
AMANITA PHALLOIDES
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 Genus/Species: Amanita phalloides
o joining of 2 compatible nuclei followed by
 Diseases(s): Mycotoxicosis
meiosis
 Amanita phalloides or "death cap" responsible for over 90% of
a. teleomorph – term for fungus that reproduce
human deaths from fungus poisonings
sexually; occasionally, a teleomorph may
reproduce asexually which is called anamorph
b. synanamorph – if more than one anamorph. Ex:
Pseudallescheria boydii.
Fungal Spores

MYCOTOXINS REPRODUCTION / SPORULATION

Fungi can reproduce asexually (imperfect) or sexually (perfect)

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
o Results in the formation of conidia following
mitosis
o Conidiogenous cells - fruiting structure forming
conidia that contain genetic material necessary to create a
new fungal colony:
a. phialide – vaselike producing phialoconidia
b. annelide – ringed producing annelloconidia
 both form their conidia blastically STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
(budding) like many yeasts
1. Sporangia – produce spores
c. arthroconidia – formed by fragmentation of
fertile hyphae

ESTHER VICTORIA H. TOLENTINO | BSMT 3-3 4

 LESSON 2: Fungi – Structure and Reproduction
 Spores - non-motile cells produced on aerial
hyphae; spread by wind or animals
 Sporocarp – a large reproductive structure that
produce spores; the familiar part of the
mushroom
2. Gametangia – produce gametes
 Zygote – cell formed by 2 gametes
 Fungal cells contain haploid nuclei
 Haploid – a number of chromosomes in the
normal gamete, equal to half the number in the
normal somatic cell
BASIC TYPES OF REPRODUCTIVE PROPAGULES FOUND IN
FUNGI
1. Sexual Propagules – produced by the fusion of two nuclei that
then generally undergo meiosis
 Sexual methods of reproduction involve
o Plasmogamy – cytoplasmic fusion of two cells
o Karyogamy – fusion of two nuclei
o Genetic recombination
o Meiosis
 The resulting haploid spore is said to be a sexual spore, e.g.
zygospores, ascospores, and basidiospores.
 If a sexual spore is produced only by fusion of a nucleus of one
mating type with a nucleus of another mating type (+ and –
strains), the fungus is said to be heterothallic.
 In contrast, homothallic molds produce sexual spores following
the fusion of two nuclei from the same strain
Additional notes:
 Mitosporic State – Aspergillus (anamorph)
 Sexual State – Neosartorya (teleomorph)
Other Terms:
 Ascus - sac-like structure containing (usually eight)
ascospores developed during sexual reproduction in
the Ascomycetes
 Conidiophore - a specialized branch of hypha on which
conidia are developed
 Dematiaceous - pigmented, dark in color, usually gray
to black
 Hyaline - colorless, clear
 Dermatophyte - fungus that causes superficial mycoses
ESTHER VICTORIA H. TOLENTINO | BSMT 3-3
 Diphasic (dimorphic) - the ability of some fungi to grow
as either yeast or filamentous stages, depending on
conditions
 Ectothrixic - ability of the fungus to grow on the outside
of a hair shaft (e.g. hair fall, alopecia)
 Endothrixic - ability of the fungus to grow and
penetrate into the hair shaft; brittle hair
 Germ Tube - small projections which arise from cells of
certain yeasts; indicates the onset of hyphal formation
 Pseudohyphae - a chain of elongated budding cells that
have failed to detach (not true hyphae)
 Rhizoids - root-like structures
 Sporangiophore - a special aerial hypha or stalk bearing
a sporangium
 Sporangium - a sac or cell containing spores produced
asexually
 Sterigmata - a specialized structure that arises from a
basidium and supports basidiospores
REMEMBER! Why is the petri dish incubated upside
down?
- So that the moisture from the evaporation of water/water
droplets would not contaminate the culture of bacteria
REFERENCES
Notes from the discussion of Mrs. Flordeliza A. De
Guzman, RMT, MAT-PHYS
Notes from the synchronous session of Mrs. Flordeliza A.
De Guzman, RMT, MAT-PHYS
Cavite State University PowerPoint presentation: Lesson 2
– Fungi: Structure and Reproduction
5