KINGDOM

FUNGI
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 Mildew

Rusts

Truffle

Puffball

Smut

Morel

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 Introduction
• Study of Fungi is called Mycology
• Scientist suggested 1.5 m species exist
but only 70 000 sp. have been described.
• Examples : mushrooms, rusts, smuts,
puffballs, truffles, morels, molds, and
yeasts

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 TAXONOMY OF FUNGI
• Kingdom Fungi
• Phylum _____mycota
• Class _____mycetes
• Order _____ales
• Family _____aceae
• Genus ---------
• Species ---------
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 An example.. Agaricus bisporus

• Kingdom : Fungi
• Phylum : Basidiomycota
• Class : Agaricomycetes
• Order : Agaricales
• Family : Agaricaceae
• Genus : Agaricus
• Species : bisporus

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General Characteristics of Fungi
• Eukaryotic

• Most are multicellular

• Non-vascular organisms

• Reproduce by means of spores

– Spores are asexual (mitotic) and sexual (meiotic), depending on species

• Non-motile (but few species have a motile life phase call

zoospore)

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• Heterotrophic (obtaining their nutrition
from other organisms by secreting
digestive enzymes onto the food source
then ingest)
• Nutrition of Fungi
– Saprobes: fungi that obtain nutrient
from dead organisms
– Parasites: obtain nutrient from living
organisms (eg.plants and animals),
harming them in some way
– Mutualists (symbionts): have mutual
beneficial relationship with living
organism (eg: Mycorrhizae with plant
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roots)
Cont..
• Importance: food (edible fungi), medicine, recycling
process that releases nutrients from dead
organisms back into the environment (saprobes)
• Differ from plants in important ways:
– Fungi lack Chlorophyll and are not
Photosynthetic
– Fungi NEVER Reproduce by Seeds, only by
spore
– The cell walls of Fungi are made of CHITIN,
NOT Cellulose

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 Other features..
• Non-photosynthetic
organisms
– No chlorophyll profoundly
affects the lifestyle of fungi:
• Not dependent on light
• Can occupy dark habitats
• Can grow in any direction

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 Morphology
• A hypha (plural hyphae) is a long,
branching filamentous cell of a fungus
– with septa are called septate hyphae
– without septa are called coenocytic hyphae

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Mycelium is the
vegetative part
of a fungus,
consisting of a
mass of
branching,
thread-like
hyphae

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 CLASSIFICATION
• classified according to their structures
and form of sexual reproduction
• The approximately 100,000 species of
fungi are classified in four Phyla
– Phylum Zygomycota
– Phylum Ascomycota
– Phylum Basidiomycota
– Phylum Deuteromycota
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 Phylum
Zygomycota
(common molds)

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 zygomycota

• Most species are

– terrestrial organisms
– saprophytic
• The Hyphae of Zygomycetes are
Coenocytic - HAVE NO SEPTA (Cross
Walls) in their Hyphae.  Their Hyphae
are therefore long, continuous tubes.

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 zygomycota
• The Hyphae of Common Molds show some
specialization of function:
– RHIZOIDS (Root-Like Structures) = the
part of the hyphae used by the fungus to
anchor to its food. They penetrate the
food surface.
– STOLONS =hyphae that connect one
group of rhizoid to another. They spread
across the surface of the food source.

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 zygomycota

• one of the most common members of

zygomycota, Rhizopus stolonifera (Bread
Molds, Black Bread Mold) not only grow on
Bread, but anywhere there are water and
nutrients

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Common Molds life cycles.. zygomycota
• spores produced directly on the hyphae
• Hyphae from different parents grow close to each other
reproduce sexually by Conjugation.
• Mold develops special extensions for mating called
GAMETANGIA .The Gametangia from the two types
grow together and FUSE and form ZYGOSPORE (2n).
• When conditions favorable, the diploid Zygosporangium
cracks open and forms a SPORANGIUM. The
sporangium releases thousands of spores (n).

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 Phylum
Ascomycota
(sac fungi)

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 ascomycota
• Ascomycetes are distinguished
by the presence of Saclike
compartments in asci
(ascospores)
• Spores produced in the asci
(singular ascus)
• This Phyla includes the
– UNICELLULAR YEAST
– CUP FUNGI
– TRUFFLES
– MORRELS

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 yeast Penicillium
Cup fungi
Examples of ascomycota..

truffle
morrels
Aspergillus 27
 Reproduction
• Sac Fungi can reproduce both Sexually
and Asexually
– Reproduce asexually by forming asexual
spores at the tips of hyphae (called conidia).
Fungi reproduce asexually when
environmental conditions are favorable
– Reproduce sexually by forming sexual
spores in a sac called ascus. Fungi
reproduce sexually when environmental
conditions are unfavorable

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 SEXUAL reproduction of sac fungi
• takes place by the hyphae of male and female haploid
Gametangia
– Male gametangia is called an ANTHERIDIUM, Female
gametangia = ASCOGONIUM
• As the Ascogonium and Antheridium approach one
another (Plasmogamy);
– a tube forms between them
– nuclei from the Antheridium(n) cross and enters the
Ascogonium(n)
– The parent form a sexual structure, the ascocarp
– Within ascocarp is the ascus, at the tip of hyphae
– ascus contain ascopores (2n)
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 Importance for human
Negative effect
• plant – zeamays, chestnuts
• Human – dermatophytosis (skin, mouth,
genital organ)
• Textiles and foodstuffs

Positive effect
• Medical-penicillin, insulin, human growth
hormone
• Food – bread, beer, wine,cheese, soy
sauce, relish 31
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 Phylum
Basidiomycota
(club fungi)

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 General Characteristics
• Called club fungi because they produce
small club-like reproductive structures
called BASIDIA during Sexual
Reproduction
• Spores produced on basidia
(basidiospores)
• Includes mushrooms (eg.shiitake),
toadstools, puffballs, bracket fungi &
shelf fungi
• Some are used as food (mushroom)
& others cause crop damage (rusts &
smuts)
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• Seldom reproduce asexually
Basdiocarp

External anatomy
Stape

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• Basdiocarp made up of stalk called the stape &
a flattened cap
• Stalk may have a skirt like ring below cap
called the annulus
• Gills are found on the underside of the cap &
are lined with basidia
• Basidium (basidia) – sexual reproductive
structure that make basidiospores
• Basidiospores are released from the gills &
germinate to form new hyphae & mycelia
• Vegetative structures found below ground &
include rhizoids (anchor & absorb nutrients),
hyphae & myceli
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puffballpuffball

shelf
fungi
shiitake
Basidiomycota
Agaricus

Basidia
with pores

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 basidiomycota

Lingzhi or Ganoderma lucidum

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Basidia shape - Russula sp.

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Sexual Reproduction of Club fungi

• Reproduce sexually by forming spores in

BASIDIA inside the basidiocarp (the
mushroom cap)
• Each Gill underside the cap is lined with
thousands of dikaryotic basidia. 
• Dikaryotic = contains two nuclei
• In each Basidia, two nuclei fuse to form a
Zygote. 

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Cont..

• The Zygote undergoes meiosis to form

four haploid Nuclei, then develop into
four BASIDIOSPORES which are
released into the air.
• Under favorable conditions the
basidiospores germinate and grow new
Hyphae and Mycelia.
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LIFE CYCLE OF
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BASIDIOMYCO
 Importance of basidio
• Panau (Tinea
versicolor) cause by
Malassezia globosa

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 Phylum
Deuteromycota
(other fungi-imperfecti)

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• Deuteromycota are those fungi in which sexual
reproduction is absence and unknown.
• also referred as the Fungi imperfecti or
"imperfect fungi".
• ~1680 genera and 17 000 species
• Most are terrestrial
• Saprobes, parasites on plants and animals
• used in different types of medicines and
cheeses

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 Cont..
• Have septate mycelium
• Asex reproduction – conidia
• Importance:-
– Aspergillus : used for making soy sauce,
saki, source of citric acid (soft drinks)
– Peanuts infected with Aspergillus contain
aflatoxins that cause liver cancer,
particularly in Africa and Asia

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Imperfecti-Example: Tinea pedis causing
athlete’s feet & ringworm

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 Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota
Lower fungi Higher fungi Higher fungi
 

Coenocytic hypae Hypae with septa Hypae with septa

asexual spores = asexual spores = Seldom reproduce

sporangiospores konidia asexually
sexual spores = sexual spores = sexual spores =
zigospores ascospores basidiospores
Zigospores: dark Askospores located Basidiospores at tip of
structure with thick in ascus within basidium within
wall ascocarp basidiokarp

Example:   Example:  Example:  

Rhizopus Penicillium Agaricus
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 Importance of Fungi
• Decomposers & recyclers of nutrients:
– work along with the Monerans and Protists to
decompose dead organisms
• Yeasts are used to make bread
• Antibiotic penicillin made from Penicillium
• Mushrooms eaten as food (Some fungus are
poisonous mushroom)
• Aspergillus is used to make soy sauce
• Cause athlete’s foot & ringworm
• Pest control

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