Chapter 19: Kingdom Fungi
In this chapter you will learn about
distinctions between
Kingdoms Protoctista and Fungi are discussed. A summary of the features of
Kingdom Fungi and a review of how the kingdom came to be recognized are given.
Funguslike protists, whose derivations are unclear, are assigned to independent
subkingdoms of Kingdom Protoctista. One subkingdom includes the slime molds,
another the chytrids and water molds. The true fungi comprise their own kingdom
(Kingdom Fungi), which includes two divisions and several classes. Selected
members of each subkingdom and division are presented along with representative
life cycles and discussions of their economic importance. Among the topics
examined are slime molds, nematode-trapping fungi, Pilobolus, truffles,
morels, ergot, yeasts, stinkhorns, puffballs, bracket fungi, bird's-nest fungi,
smuts, rusts, poisonous and hallucinogenic fungi, Black Forest mushrooms,
mushroom culture, antibiotics, industrial products obtained from fungi, and
fungi in nature. The chapter concludes with a description and consideration of
various forms of lichens. Natural dyeing is discussed in a footnote, and the
economic importance of lichens is reviewed.
At the end of this chapter the successful student will be able to
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- All true fungi are filamentous or unicellular heterotrophs, most of which
absorb their food in solution through cell walls.
- Members of Kingdom Fungi are placed in five phyla.
- With the exception of some chytrids and all yeasts, all are filamentous.
- Most lack motile cells
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- Phylum Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
- Truffles are reproductive bodies of representatives of the phylum
ascomycetes.
- Most produce mycelia with hyphae partitioned into individual cylindrical
cells.
- Asexual Reproduction
- By means of spores produced outside of a sporangium (conidia) on
conidiophores.
- Yeasts - Budding
- Sexual Reproduction
-
- Truffles have been prized for centuries.
- Ergot fungus may infect rye and other grains.
- Ergotism may occur in those who eat the contaminated bread.
- Ergot drugs are medicinally useful in small amounts.
- Initial source for the manufacture of LSD
- Yeast is very important for humans in that
- Yeast enzymes aid in preparation of baked goods.
- Yeasts used in production of glycerol.
- Plant Diseases
- Dutch Elm Disease
- Chestnut Blight
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- In sexual reproduction, spores are produced at the tips of swollen hyphae
that often resemble small clubs (basidia).
- Mushrooms, Puffballs, Earth Stars
- Asexual Reproduction
- Mushrooms 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
- Human and Ecological Relevance
- Poisonous
- Fewer than 75 of the approximately 25,000 described species are
poisonous.
- Shiitake Mushrooms
- High in protein, calcium, phosphorous, and iron.
- Lentinacin and other pharmaceutical extracts.
- Nutrient Recycling
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- Fungi for which a sexual stage has not been observed.
- Grouped together in an artificial phylum.
- All reproduce by conidia.
- Human and Ecological Relevance
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Usually grouped into three major growth forms:
- Crustose - Attached to or embedded in their substrate over their entire
lower surface.
- Foliose - Contain leaf-like thalli which often overlap.
- Fruticose - May resemble miniature upright shrubs, or hang down in
festoons from branches
- Click here to learn more of the three types
- Reproduction
- Fungal component of a lichen usually reproduces sexually, but lichens
are naturally dispersed in nature asexually.
- Sexual reproduction in lichens is similar to that of the sac fungi
except ascomata produce spores continuously for many years.
- human relevance
- Exceptionally sensitive to pollution.
- Sulfur Dioxide
- Nuclear Radiation
- Degradation of historic structures.
- Food Supplements
- Antibiotic Properties
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Last modified:
October 08, 2004 by
Cynthia Herbrandson 
© Copyright 1999, Kellogg Community College.
All rights reserved.
Recognize imperfect fungi from phylum
Deutromycota
Aspergillus