Diversity of Fungi

Prilya Dewi Fitriasari, M.Sc

UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim
 Introduction
Fungi are almost entirely :
▪ multicellular (with yeast, Saccharomyces cerviseae, being a prominent unicellular fungus),
▪ heterotrophic (deriving their energy from another organism, whether alive or dead),
▪ usually having some cells with two nuclei (multinucleate, as opposed to the more common one,
or uninucleate, condition) per cell.
▪ Ecologically this kingdom is important (along with certain bacteria) as decomposers and recyclers of
nutrients.
▪ Economically, the Fungi provide us with food (mushrooms; Bleu cheese/Roquefort cheese; baking
and brewing), antibiotics (the first of the wonder drugs, penicillin, was isolated from the
fungus Penicillium), and crop parasites (doing several million dollars per year of damage). Fungi are
also important aiders of plant root function, as mycorrizhae.
 The ancestor of fungi was an aquatic,
single-celled, flagellated protist
❖The evolution of multicellular eukaryotes increased the size and
complexity of organisms, allowing them to exploit the terrestrial habitat.
❖Fungi first evolved in water but made the transition to land through the
development of specialized structures that prevented their drying out.
❖First classified as plants, fungi are now considered different enough from
plants to be placed in a separate kingdom, and in fact are more like
animals than plants.
Body Plans and Nutritional Modes

Fungi contain unicellular, multinucleate, and multicellular forms. They

are classified on the basis of their reproductive spores and the nature of
their multinucleate or multicellular filaments known as hyphae.
The structure of Penicillium is shown in Figure 2. Fungal cells have cell
walls containing the carbohydrate chitin. Chitin also occurs in the
exoskeletons of the animal phylum arthropoda.
Figure 2. SEM image (color added) of fungal mycelium with hyphae (green), sporangia (orange)
and spores (blue), Penicillium sp. (SEM x1,560). www.DennisKunkel.com
Fig. 31-8

Animals (and their close

protistan relatives)

Opisthokonts
UNICELLULAR,
FLAGELLATED Nucleariids
ANCESTOR

Chytrids

Fungi
Other fungi
This suggests that fungi and animals evolved from a
common flagellated unicellular ancestor and
multicellularity arose separately in the two groups
The oldest undisputed fossils of fungi are only about
460 million years old

Fossil fungal hyphae and spores

from the Ordovician period (~460
mya)
The Move to Land

Fungi were among the earliest colonizers of land and

probably formed mutualistic relationships with early land
plants
 Fungi have radiated into a diverse set
of lineages

Molecular analyses Chytrids

have helped clarify
evolutionary Zygomycetes
relationships among
fungal groups, Glomeromycetes
although areas of
uncertainty remain
Ascomycetes

Basidiomycetes
Fungal Classification
Traditionally based on:
◦ Sexual spore-producing
structures
◦ Hyphal characteristics
Molecular evidence
 Deuteromycota ≠ Clade
Imperfect Fungi
In past, could not classify
No sexual structures
produced
Molecular data should do
away with this informal
group
Chytridiomycota
Uniseluler
Kitin pada dinding sel
Habitat akuatik (mostly)
Fungi primitif
Senositik
Absortif 🡪 enzim
Reproduksi 🡪 Seksual; Aseksual : zoospore (flagel)
Chytridiomycota
Chytrids
Unicellular to simple
mycelium-forming
Photo Credit of distinctive two-part rhizoid system
of Cladochytrium, 2001, D. J. Patterson and Mark
Farmer @ tolweb.org/Chytridiomycota/20517
 Chytrids
Chytrids phylum Chytridiomycota

• Found in freshwater and terrestrial habitats (Mostly aquatic)

• Decomposers, parasites, or mutualists
• According to molecular evidence chytrids diverged in early
evolution
• Chytrids are unique among fungi in having flagellated spores,
zoospores, Only modern fungal group with flagella
• Molecular data indicate that some “chytrids” are actually more
closely related to another fungal group, the zygomycetes; chytrids
are a paraphyletic group
 Zygomycota
Multiseluler
Senositik hifa, multinukleat
Zygospora
Stolon, Rhizoid 🡪 menyerap makanan
Sporangiofor 🡪 sporangium(a) 🡪 sporangiospora
Reproduksi : seksual; aseksual
Habitat terrestrial, pada hewan dan tumbuhan
Saprofit, parasite
Contoh : Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus nigricans
 Zygomycota
Zygomycetes (phylum Zygomycota, zygo=egg)
They include fast-growing molds, parasites, and
commensal symbionts
The zygomycetes are named for their sexually
produced zygosporangia which are resistant to
freezing and drying, can survive unfavorable
conditions
Coenocytic hyphae
Ex: Rhizopus, Pilobolus, Arthrobotrys
 Zygomycota
“Zygote Fungi”
Sexual spore-producing
structure: Zygosporangium
 Sexual Reproduction
A. F. Blakeslee in 1904 discovered that many of these fungi are heterothallic, that is, they require two
compatible partners to produce sexual spores.
◦ Sex hormones are known to facilitate sexual reproduction among some zygomycetes. For example,
hyphae of Mucor species for the + and - mating strains are known to produce trisporic acids which
are volatile (+ strain yields 4-hydroxymethyltrisporates; - strain yields trisporins) and diffuse through
the air. Volatiles stimulate progametagia production and the synthesis of carotene (a precursor for
trisporic acids) and trisporic acids. A positive feedback mechanism is formed between the two
compatible strains leading to physical contact of progametagia and sexual reproduction.
◦ Heterothallism (Gr. heteros = different from, thallos = shoot; the condition of being self-sterile,
requiring a partner for sexual reproduction) and homothallism (Gr. homos = alike, thallos = shoot; the
condition of being self fertile; able to reproduce sexually without a partner) exhibited among species
in this phylum.
Figure 4. Sexual reproduction. (A) Scanning electron micrograph of gametangial
fusion in Mucor mucedo. (B) Highly ornamented zygosporangium of Mycotypha
africana. (From O'Donnell 1979).
 Zygomycota
Asexual spore-producing
structure: Sporangium
Asexual Reproduction
Reproduce asexually by producing
sporangiospores within a special sac
called the sporangium.
Sporangium types (4 types)
◦ True sporangium
◦ Sporangioles - much smaller than
true sporangia. No columella
produced and few
◦ Monosporous sporangium
(one-spored sporangium).
◦ Merosporangium - sac containing
10-15 sporangiospores that occur in a
linear sequence - superficially it looks
a lot like an ascus, but it is not.
Figure 1. Asexual reproduction. (A) Scanning electron
micrograph of unispored sporangia of Benjaminiella poitrasii and
(B) dehisced multispored sporangium of Gilbertella persicaria
releasing sporangiospores. (From O'Donnell 1979).

Figure 2. Dichotomously branching

sporangiophore of Thamnidium elegans
(Mucorales). The few-spored sporangiola are
borne at the tips of the sporangiophore
branches (G. L. Barron 2004).

Figure 3. Scanning electron micrograph of uniseriate merosporangia produced on a vesicle

(hidden beneath merosporangia) of Syncephalastrum racemosum (Mucorales). (From
O'Donnell 1979).
Life cycle of the zygomycete Rhizopus stolonifer, a common bread
mould

Under favourable conditions, reproduces asexually:

◦ Sporangia develop at tips of hyphae
◦ Mitosis produces hundreds of haploid spores
In unfavourable conditions, sexual reproduction occurs:
◦ Mycelia of opposite mating types (+ and -) for gametangia that contain several
haploid nuclei walled off by the septum
◦ Plasmogamy of gametangia occurs 🡪 dikaryotic zygosporangium
◦ Under favourable conditions, karyogamy occurs: diploid nuclei immediately
undergo meiosis producing haploid spores
◦ Zygosporangium germinates sporangium which releases recombined haploid
spores
Glomeromycota
Anggota : mikoriza (fungi yang berasosiasi dengan akar tanaman) 🡪 ektomikoriza (jamur tidak
menembus bagian dalam akar) ex: mikoriza akar pinus; endomikoriza (jamur menembus bagian dalam
akar tanaman)
Obligat biotrop 🡪
Reproduksi aseksual : spora, appresoria (modifikasi hifa)
Hifa tidak bersekat
Dinding sel : kitin, chitosan,
Struktur : Vesicle 🡪 bentukan seperti kantung, penyimpanan nutrisi
Arbuscle 🡪 bentuk seperti akar/serabut, auxilary yang sudah matang, menempel pada inang,
penyerapan nutrisi
 Glomerulomycota
Endomycorrhizae
Arbuscules within plant root cells
The glomeromycetes (phylum Glomeromycota,
glomero= round) were once considered zygomycetes
They are now classified in a separate clade
 Ascomycota
Ascomycetes (phylum Ascomycota, asca=sac) live in marine,
freshwater, and terrestrial habitats; include plant pathogens,
decomposers, and symbionts
The phylum is defined by production of sexual spores in
saclike asci, contained in fruiting bodies called ascocarps
Commonly called sac fungi ascomycetes vary in size and
complexity from unicellular yeasts to elaborate cup fungi and
morels
Asexual spores called conidia are not formed inside
sporangia; they are produced asexually at the tips of
specialized hyphae called conidiophores
Septate hyphae with pores
Examples: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Neurospora,
Saccharomyces
 Ascomycota
Sexual spore-producing
structure: Ascocarp
Ascocarp is only
dikaryotic structure
“Sac Fungi”
Asexual
spore-producing
structure: Conidia
Ascomycota
Ascus
◦ Karyogamy
◦ Diploid zygote
◦ Meiosis
Eight ascospores
Life Cycle of the Ascomycete Neurospora crassa
The Sac Fungi
Yeasts
◦Yeasts are unicellular fungi.
◦Yeasts reproduce asexually by budding.
◦Dry granules of yeast contain ascospores,
which become active in a moist environment.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells

Figure 2. Structure of S. cerevisiae cell. Note that

S. cerevisiae cells have complex internal organelles
despite the fact that they are unicellular.
Bud scars are specialized, crater-like ring of chitinousscar tissue located on the
surface of the mother cell.
This is formed after the newly produced daughter cell separates from its mother
cell. Thus, the bud scars are the site of cytokinesis and septation. Furthermore, the
number of bud scars on a particular cell could be used to determine its replicative
age.
Morels
Truffles
Cup Fungi

Pixie Cups, Geopyxis carbonaria

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Tom Volk, http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/jun2005.html
 Basidiomycota
Basidomycetes (phylum Basidiomycota, basidia= little
pedestal) include mushrooms, puffballs, shelf fungi
Mutualists, and plant parasites
The phylum is defined by a clublike structure called a
basidium, a transient diploid stage in the life cycle
The basidiomycetes are also called club fungi
Septate hyphae with capped pores
Long-lived dikaryotic mycelium
Examples: Mushroom, rusts, smuts
Basidiomycota
Sexual
spore-producing
structure:
Basidiocarp
Photo Credit: Betsy Maxim, 2008
Basidiomycota

Basidia 🡪 “Club Fungi”

Basidiospores
Basidiomycota
Basidia
◦ Karyogamy
◦ Diploid Zygote
◦ Meiosis
Four basidiospores
Basidiomycota
Asexual
spore-producing
structure: Rare
Only a few produce
conidia
Most rely exclusively
on basidiocarps
Photo Credit: Ernst Haeckel, Plate 63, from
Kunstformen der Natur (1904), Wikimedia
Commons
Haploid basidiospores grow into short-lived haploid mycelia: under certain
conditions, plasmogamy occurs
Resulting dikaryotic mycelium grows forming mycorrhiza or mushrooms
(basidiocarps)
Mushroom cap supports and protects gills: karyogamy in the terminal,
dikaryotic cells lining the gills produces diploid basidia
Resulting basidium immediately undergoes meiosis producing four haploid
basidiospores
Asexual reproduction less common than in ascomycetes
Puffballs and Earth Stars
Shelf Fungus
Jelly Fungus
 Maiden Veil Fungus
Maiden veil fungus
(Dictyphora),
a fungus with an
odor like rotting
meat
THANK YOU