Fungi can be
single celled or very complex multicellular organisms. General characteristic
of fungus is eukaryotic, spore-bearing organism, no chlorophyll, reproduce
sexually and asexually and absorbtive nutrition.They are found in just about
any habitat but most live on the land, mainly in soil or on plant material
rather than in sea or fresh water. A group called the decomposers grow in the
soil or on dead plant matter where they play an important role in the cycling
of carbon and other elements. This is the structure of fungus
Reproduction
of fungi is sexual and asexual.
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Asexual reproduction
1. Bud formation in yeasts
In its
simplest form asexual reproduction is by budding or binary fission. Enzymatic
activity and turgor pressure the act to weaken and extrude the cell wall. New
cell wall material is incorporated during this phase.
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2. Fragmentation
Any mycelium
that is fragmented or disrupted, provided that the fragment contains the
equivalent of the peripheral growth zone, can grow into a new colony.
3. Sporulation
It is
responsible for the production of large numbers of spores throughout the year.
These asexual spores are formed on a phase of the fungal life cycle termed in
some texts as the mitosporic, or anamorphic phase.
Sexual reproduction
To achieve
sexual reproduction it is necessary to have two mating type haploid nuclei (n +
n), or a diploid (2n) nucleus.
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Zygomycota
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Ascomycota (sac fungi)
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Basidiomycota (sac fungi)
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Deuteromycota (fungi imperfecti)
- Members include Trichophyton (Athlete's
foot), Penicillium (Penicillin), and Candida
albicans
There are three types of slime molds:
- Oomycota
- Myxomycota
- Acrasiomycota
A very small
number of fungi cause diseases in animals. In humans these include skin
diseases such as athletes’ foot, ringworm and thrush. And benefit of fungi is
as agents of biodegradation, industrial fermentation process and important for
agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
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