Transcript Minute Minder

Fungi Notes
1. What are Fungi?
A. Three shared characteristics of
most fungi:
1. eukaryotes
2. use spores to reproduce
3. heterotrophs
B. Thriving conditions
1. moist
2. warm
Fungi Notes
2. Cell Structure
A. Hyphae (exception of yeast!)
1. branching, threadlike tubes
(bodies of multicellular)
2. substances move quickly and
freely
B. Appearance of Hyphae
1. loosely tangled (like mold or
underground for mushroom)
2. packed tightly (fruiting body of
mushroom)
Fungi Notes
3. How do Fungi get food?
A. Hyphae
1. grow into food source
2. digestive chemicals (enzymes)
break down food into small
substances that can be absorbed
B. Sources
1. dead, decaying organisms
(saprophytic)
2. living organisms (parasitic)
Fungi Notes
4. Reproduction of Fungi
A. Asexual reproduction (most common)
1. grow fruiting bodies that
release spores
2. budding
B. Sexual reproduction
1. hyphae of two fungi grow
together
2. new structure produces spores
Fungi Notes
5. Fungi & the Living World
A. Environmental recycling
(many break down dead
organisms for food)
B. Food and Fungi
1. bread
2. cheese (mold)
3. mushrooms
4. wine
Fungi Notes
5. Fungi & the Living World
C. Disease-causing fungi
1. crop losses
2. athlete’s foot
3. ringworm
D. Disease-fighting fungi
1. mold (penicillin) is
an antibiotic
Fungi Notes
5. Fungi & the Living World
E. Fungus-plant root associations
1. hyphae help plant roots take
up nutrients
F. Lichens
1. mutualistic relationship
between fungus & algae or
autotrophic bacteria
2. Fred Fungus and Alice
Algae got to “liken”
(lichen) each other!