Fungus Zubaida Qayyum

INTRODUCTION
Microbiologists use the term fungus [ Latin fungus, mushroom]

to describe eucaryotic organisms.

They are spore-bearing, have absorptive nutrition, lack

chlorophyll, and reproduce sexually and asexually. Scientists

who study fungi are mycologists. and the scientific discipline

devoted to fungi is called mycology. The study of fungal toxins

and their effects is called mycotoxicology, and the diseases

caused by fungi in animals are known as mycoses.

 DISTRIBUTION
• Fungi are primarily terrestrial organisms, although a few are freshwater
or marine.
• They have a global distribution from polar to tropical regions.
• Many are pathogenic and infect plants and animals.
• Fungi also form beneficial relationships with other organisms. For
example, the vast majority of vascular plant roots form associations
(called mycorrhizae) with fungi.
• Fungi also are found in the upper portions of many plants. These
endophytic fungi affect plant reproduction and palatability to herbivores.
• Lichens are associations of fungi and photosynthetic protists or
cyanobacteria.
IMPORTANCE OF FUNGI
• About 90,000 fungal species have been described; however, some estimates suggest that 1.5
million species may exist.
• The fungi are heterotrophic organisms- they require organic compounds for nutrition.
• When they feed on dead organic matter, they are known as saprophytes.
• Saprophytes decompose complex plant and animal remains, breaking them down into simpler
chemical substances they are returned to soil, thereby increasing fertility.
• Saprophytic fungi are also important in industrial fermentation (making of wine, production of
antibiotics, and the brewing of beer).
• Parasitic fungi (i.e. when living in or on another organism) cause diseases in plants, humans and
other animals.
• Over 5,000 species attack economically valuable crops, garden plants, and many wild
plants. In fact, about 20 new human fungal pathogens are documented each year.
CHARACTERISTIC OF FUNGI
• Fungi are eucaryotic chemoorganotrophic organisms.
• Fungi have no chlorophyll.
• The body or vegetative structure of a fungus is called a thallus. The thallus or body of fungus may consist of single cell
as in the yeasts; more typically the thallus consists of filaments, 5 to 10 um across which are commonly branched as
molds. multicellular molds, macroscopic puffballs, and mushrooms.
• The fungal cell usually is encased in a cell wall of chitin.
• Chitin is a strong but flexible nitrogen containing polysaccharide consisting of N-acetylglucosaminem residues.
• Some fungi are dimorphic, that it is exist in two forms. Some pathogenic fungi of humans and other animals have
unicellular and yeast like form in their host, but when growing saprophytically in soil or on a laboratory medium they
have filamentous mold form.
MORPHOLOGY CHARACTERIZATION
(Structure, size and shape)
• In general, yeast cells are larger than most bacteria.
• S. cerevisiae is yeast that can exist either as a single-
celled organism or as pseudo-mycelia
• Yeast vary considerably in size from 1-5um in width
and 5-20um or more in length.
• Yeast are commonly egg shaped, some are elongated
and some are spherical.
• They lack flagella but possess most of the other
eucaryotic organelles.
• True hyphae are absent in yeast
• Each bud that separates can grow into a new yeast,
and some group together to form colonies.
• Cells are characterized with flat, smooth, moist,
glistening or dull, with cream to tannish cream
color.
• S. cerevisiae are eukaryotic cells that contain all
major organelles that are also common to animal
cells like nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum,
mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, vacuole,
cytoskeleton with all three major components, and
many others organelles.
• Yeast cell is surrounded by outer chitinous (cellulose)
wall.
• Yeast cytoplasm also contain one large vacuole.
• The food can be stored in form of fats or fats like
substances and granules of protein.
• S. cerevisiae was the first eukaryotic genome that was
completely sequenced. Chromosomes of
Saccharomyces contain a single linear double-stranded
DNA.
• Most Saccharomyces species are heterothallic, but a
few are homothallic.
• S. cerevisiae has a single nucleus and reproduces
either asexually by budding and transverse division or
sexually through spore formation.
• Colonies of Saccharomyces grow rapidly and mature
nearly in three days.
Vegetation Reproduction
• Fungi reproduce by variety of means. Vegetation reproduction does not involve
the union of nuclei, sex cell or sex organs. It may be accomplished by
• Binary fission
• Budding
Budding

• Yeasts are capable of asexually reproducing by budding or sexually reproducing by

sporulation.
• Yeasts can exist as either a diploid or haploid and mainly reproduce by mitosis, with
daughter cells budding off of mother cells.
• The nucleus of the parent cell splits and migrates towards the daughter cell.
• The bud continually grows until it can separate from the parent cell and function
independently.
• Example: Saccharomyces cerevsiac
Binary fission
• Fission also occur during favorable conditions.
• In this case the yeast cell divides into two daughter cells
of equal size.
• In this process, the cell become elongated, its nucleus
divides into two daughter nuclei.
• This is followed by a transvers cytokinesis to form two cell
of equal size.
• The daughter cells separated from each other to form
two yeast cells.
• Example: schizosaccharomyces octosprous
MOLDS (RHIZOPOUS, PENCILLIUM, AND
ASPERGILLUS)
MORPHOLOGY OF MOLDS
• The thallus of mold consist of essential of two parts; the mycelium
and the spores (resistant, resting and dormant cells).
• The thallus of a mold consists of long, branched, threadlike
filaments of cells (5-10um in width) called hyphae [s., hypha;
Greek hyphe, web] that form a mycelium (pl., mycelia), a tangled
mass or tissue like aggregation of hyphae.
• Hyphae are composed of an outer cell wall and an inner lumen,
which contains the cytosol and organelles.
• The hyphae wall consist of microfibrils composed of hemicellulose
and chitin.
• A plasma membrane surrounds the cytoplasm and lies next to the
cell wall.
• In some fungi, protoplasm streams through hyphae, uninterrupted by cross walls. These
hyphae are called coenocytic or aseptate.
• The hyphae of other fungi have cross walls called septa (s., septum) with either a single pore
or multiple pores that enable cytoplasmic streaming. These hyphae are termed septate.
• The hyphae of other fungi septate with uninucleate cells and other have septate with
multinucleated cells.
• The filamentous nature of hyphae results in a large surface area relative to the volume of
cytoplasm. This makes adequate nutrient absorption possible
Septate and non septate
 Many fungi, especially those that cause diseases in
humans and animals, are dimorphic that is, they have two
forms.
Dimorphic fungi can change from the yeast (Y) form in
the animal to the mold or mycelial form (M) in the
external environment in response to changes in various
environmental factors (nutrients, CO2 tension, oxidation-
reduction potentials, temperature). This shift is called the
YM shift.
In plant-associated fungi the opposite type of dimorphism
exists: the mycelial form occurs in the plant and the yeast
form in the external environment.
RIZOPOUS (BREAD MOLD)
CLASS ZYGOMYCES (RIZOPOUS)

• The Zygomycota contains fungi called

zygomycetes. Most live on decaying plant and
animal matter in the soil; a few are parasites of
plants, insects, other animals, and humans..
• The bread mold, Rhizopus stolonifer, is a very
common member of this division. This fungus
grows on the surface of moist, carbohydrate- rich
foods, such as breads, fruits, and vegetables.
Structure

• Rhizopus hyphae have non septate, cottony mycelia with sporangiospores.

• On breads, for example, Rhizopus’s hyphae rapidly cover the surface.
• The hyphae produce cluster of rootlike holdfast called rhizoids (extend into the bread, and absorb
nutrients).
• Other hyphae (stolons) become erect, then arch back into the substratum forming new rhizoids.
• Still others remain erect (sporangiophores) and produce at their tips asexual sporangia filled with the
black spores (large and hemispherical), giving the mold its characteristic color.
• Each spore, when liberated, can germinate to start a new mycelium.
REPODUCTION
• The hyphae of zygomycetes are
coenocytic, with many haploid
nuclei.
• Asexual spores, usually wind
dispersed, develop in sporangia at
the tips of aerial hyphae.
• Sexual reproduction produces tough,
thick-walled zygotes called
zygospores that can remain dormant
when the environment is too harsh
for growth of the fungus.
CLASS DEUTEROMYCETES (PENCILLIUM)
• Member of this group also deuteromycetes occur
widely in nature ad also known as blue green mold.
• Some species cause spoilage of food, vegetables,
preserves, grains, and grasses.
• Some are used in industrial fermentation, one of the
best known antibiotic (Penicillin) is produced by P.
notatum and P. chrysogenum.
Structure • Penicillia have septate vegetative mycelia which
penetrate the substrate and produce ariel
hyphae on which conidiophores develop.
• Conidiophores my be branched and have brush
head bearing spores.
• Cluster of sterigmata are usually in one placed
and from each is formed a chain of conidia.
• The color (bluish green) of mature plant is useful
in helping to identify species.
• The grow best at temperature ranging from 15-
30 C
Reproduction
• Asexual reproduction take place by
conidia.
• Conidia are ovoid. They have
smooth surface. The color or of
conidia is from green to blue.
• The conidiophore are erect. They are
branch like broom. The number of
branches varies in species.
• Conidia are produces in chain at the
tip of sterigmata .
Conidia formation
Each sterigma is a uninucleate structure. Their nucleus is
divided into two during the production of conidia.
One daughter nucleus with some cytoplasm migrates into
the tip of sterigma. The apex of sterigma swells.
A cross wall cut of this apical portion of sterigma from rest
of the sterigma.
The chain of conidia produce at tip of sterigma. The conidia
are held together by the parental wall.
The production of conidia is endogenous.
Each newly form conidium is uninucleate. But later on this
nucleus divides and make the conidium multinucleated.
The conidia fall on suitable substrate. It produce hyphae
directly.
Conidia give bluish green color to colony.
CLASS DEUTEROMYCTES
(ASPERGILLUS)
• The aspergilli are wide spread in nature, being found on
fruits, vegetables, and other substrate which may provide
other nutriments.
• Some species are involve in food spoilage.
• They economically important in a number of industrial
fermentation e.g. the production of citric acid and gluconic
acid by Aspergillus niger.
 Structure
• The aspergilli produce septate, branching mycelia
with the vegetation portions submerged in
nutrients.
• The conidiophore arises from foot cells which
may also be submerged.
• Conidiophores may be septate or non-septate.
• At the apex, the conidiophore inflates to form a
vesicle. This in turn give rise to sterigmata, which
may be single or double layered.
• Conidia arise from sterigmata are borne in
chains.
• The vesicles vary in size and shape, depend upon
species.
• Conidia produced with in the tubular sterigmata and are extruded to form spore
chains.
• Conidia are of various in colors (black, brown, and green) and are quite
characteristic of the species.
• Aspergilli are grow higher concentration of sugar and salts, indicating that they
can extract water required for their growth from relatively from dry environments.
Reproduction
• Asexual reproduction (by
fragmentation)
Vegetative propagation may take
place, by fragmentation.
Under favorable environmental
conditions if the body of fungus
is divided into pieces, then each
pieces or fragments able into new
hyphae.
 Sexual reproduction
• In aspergillus sexual reproduction
take place by formation of male
(antheridium) and female
(ascogonium) sex organ.
• Karyogamy (fusion of two nuclei)
take place and during meiosis
ascospores produces in ascus.
• As asci rupture the ascospores comes
into ascocarp.
• The wall of ascocarp rupture and
haploid ascospores are released.
• Each ascospore on suitable
substratum germinate to form new
mycelium of aspergillus.