BIO 112: Mycology

 Greek word
 Etymology mykos = “mushroom” and logos = “discourse”
 Study of mushrooms; study of fungi
Importance of Fungi (why we study fungi, roles they play in the ecosystem)
 Known decomposers, often found in decaying matters
 Without them, organic matter will not be recycled
 Diseases of plants and animals (acts as threats/pathogens)
 Fungi in humans can cause dermal problems
 Corn mutation, affecting its reproductivity
 Sources of chemicals
 Penicillium and Aspergillus
 Food and food production
 e.g. soy sauce, wine, molded cheese
 Mycotoxins
 Fumonisin – contaminated corn
 Aflatoxin – contaminated peanut
 Allergies due to toxic molds
 Residential houses infested with toxic black mold
 Bioremediation and bio-pulping agents (mycoremediation)
 Biological control
 Jeopardizing integrity and lifestyle of pests
 e.g. entomopathogenic fungi, nematode-trapping fungus
 Mutualistic partners, in particular with plants
 e.g. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (common for mushrooms), Arbuscular fungi
 Experimental organisms
Characteristics of a fungus (structures, nutrition, and lifestyle)
1. Hypha(e)
 Collective term for hyphae is mycelium(a)
 Provides structural support for fungal body
 Involve in cell differentiation
 Microtubular thread-like structures
 Can either be segmented or not segmented
2. Radial growth
 Similar to oomycetes which grow in a radial pattern
3. Heterotrophic, external digestion, and absorptive nutrition
4. Reproduce by spores which come in different shapes, sizes, and colors
5. Fungal cell wall contains chitin
 Chitin is also present in insects and other crustaceans
6. Ergosterol in cell membranes

August 13, 2019

Fungal structures, reproduction, nutrition, and lifestyle
1. Hypha(e)
 Collective term for hyphae is mycelium(a)
 Provides structural support for fungal body
 Involve in cell differentiation
 Fungal body present on hyphae
 Did you know?
 Biggest organism on record is a fungus
 Humongous fungus or Armillaria gallica
 Found in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; covered 37 ha
 Exception: yeast fungi do not produce hyphae unless dimorphic
 Dimorphic – able to exist as yeast cells; can produce hyphae
a. Septum(a)
 Internal walls or crosswalls
 Septate (with pores) or aseptate (one long cell with many nuclei)
 Septal pores
 Perforated structure that allows exchange of the cytoplasmic constituents
between adjacent cells
 Woronin bodies usually concentrated near septal pore; prevent excessive loss
of cytoplasmic loss of adjacent cells
b. Hyphal growth
 Elongate by apical growth
 Involves accumulation of vesicles known as Spitzenkorper in hyphal tip
 Determines hyphal growth and direction
c. Hyphal branching
 Branch point associated with accumulation of vesicles
 Usually extend away from each other
 Efficient colonization and utilization of substrate, allowing multiple access points to
nutrients they want to consume
 Extent directly related to nutrient availability
d. Hyphal modifications
 Haustorium(a)
 Common for pathogenic fungi which often require a pathogenic plant host
 Specialized storage made to acquire nutrients from host by invaginating the
host cell’s plasma membrane
 Mycelial mat
 Seen in nature as thread-like structures found in decaying wood/soil
 Sclerotia
 Little brown structures similar in appearance to spores of fungus
 Densely packed mycelia to aid in survival during unfavorable conditions
 Rhizomorphs
  Similar to roots in appearance; thick strands of hyphae that are densely
connected to each other
 Loose sense of individuality, acting as one organized unit
 Rhizoids
 Bread molds
2. Spores (seeds of fungi)
 Vary in morphology
 Contain nutrient reserves
 Low water content
 Low rate of metabolic activity while dormant
 Can survive for long periods of time
 Contain a nucleus(i)
 Sexual or asexual
 Function:
1. Dispersal
 Local or long distance
2. Long term survival
 Chlamydospore – thick-walled spores that can survive UV rays, extreme
temperatures, high humidity
3. Reproduction
Nutritional Requirements
1. Carbon
 Main:
 Carbon
 Nitrogen
 Phosphorus
 Others
 Iron
 Mg, K, S
 Vitamins: thiamine and biotin
 Biotrophs, or obligate parasites, and many mycorrhizae need a living host to grow
Food Source
 Determined by the enzymes the fungus is capable of producing
o Small molecules directly absorbed across fungal wall and membrane
o Large complex molecules requires prior breakdown into smaller molecules
before absorption
o Degradation takes place outside the fungal cell wall by extracellular enzymes
 Fungi can break down most organic compounds including very complex molecules
o Keratin found in skin, nails, hair (dermatophytes, ring worms)
o Lignin found in wood (white rot fungi)
 Extracellular enzymes
Fungal ecology and lifestyle
 Moisture
  Most require it and will dry without it
 Some xerotolerant (low water)
 Some osmotolerant (high solute concentration)
 Oxygen
 Obligate aerobes
 Facultative anaerobes
 Obligate anaerobes
 Temperature
 Mesophiles
 Thermophiles
 Psyrcophiles
 pH
 Best at 5-6 for most
 Although some can tolerate very acidic/basic conditions
 Light
 Not required for growth for most
 Expose to light to increase spore production
 For reproduction
 Saprotrophs – decomposers
 Parasites/pathogens – necrotrophs (secrete particular toxins to kill plant host before
they can consume nutrients) and biotrophs (they want the plant host to be alive until
they complete their life cycle)
 Mutualists – lichens (commonly found on dead wood, important source of dyes and
acids) and mycorrhizae