2. Tree of Life
www.tolweb.org
Plants (embryophytes)
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms, seedless, and non-vascular
Animals
Fungi (today)
Protists
Endosymbiosis
Molecular evidence that
both animals and fungi
diverged from a common
ancestor, likely a colonial
protist
Choanoflagellate, colonial protist
5. Fungi are important
Cooking and baking
Beer and wine production
Cheese production
Antibiotics
Toxic waste cleanup
Antibiotic production (cyclosporin, penicillin)
Medical benefits (anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory)
Parasites and diseases in animals (ringworm, aflatoxins)
Parasites and diseases in plants (powdery mildew, smuts, rot)
Decomposition and nutrient cycling
Mycorrhizal associations
7. Fungus Theme Slide
BOT 3015
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetes
Zygomycetes
From Outlaw lecture
Notice that, based on
molecular data, fungi are
more closely related to
animals than plants
8. Zygomycete
Basidiomycete
Ascomycete
Similar
* Formation of spores within
zygosporangium.
* No cross walls between cells.
Formation of spores in
ascus.
Formation of spores on
basidium.
Classification
using sexual reproduction
(more later)
Modified from Outlaw lecture
9. Some important characteristics of fungi
• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport
10. Fungi secrete enzymes (red
symbol), which break complex
molecules into smaller building
blocks, such as simple sugars and
amino acids (yellow symbols). The
simple molecules are absorbed by the
fungus.
MEMBRANE
INSIDE OUTSIDE
Absorption is the Fungal Mode of Nutrition
Thanks to Robert Hebert for assistance in the preparation of this slide.
Nutrients dilute relative to inside
Secondary active transport
Modified from Outlaw lecture
11. Some important characteristics of fungi
• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport
• Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)
12. Rhizopus (zygomycete) on strawberries
Filamentous hyphae
Mycelium - mass of hyphae
Growth occurs at tips of hyphae
Some have partitions called septa
May be specialized
e.g. rhizoids anchor to
substrate and haustoria
absorb from living cells
13. Some important characteristics of fungi
• Eukaryotes
• Cell walls of chitin (not found in plants, found in animals)
• Heterotrophic absorption
• Secretion of digestive enzymes
• Active transport
• Filamentous hyphae (some unicellular forms)
• Spores produced sexually and asexually
• Sexual reproduction by zygotic meiosis
14. Characteristics of phyla of fungi
Phylum
Type of sexual
spores
Representatives
Common plant
diseases
Zygomycota
Zygospore in
zygosporangium
Bread mold,
endomycorrhizal
fungi
Soft rot
Ascomycota
Ascospore in
ascus as part of
ascocarp
Powdery
mildews,
morels, truffles
Powdery
mildew,
chestnut blight,
Dutch elm
disease
Basidiomycota
Basidiospore in
basidium as part
of basidiocarp
Mushrooms,
stinkhorns,
puffballs, shelf
fungi, rusts,
smuts
Black stem rust
of cereals, corn
smut, root rot
25. World’s most expensive truffle
White Alba
Almost 3 pounds
$112, 000
Photo from Wikipedia
Truffles
Black truffle
(Tuber melanosporum)
ascocarp (pictured) found beneath the soil surface
26. Botryosphaeria dothidea on Adina apple
Thanks to Robert Hebert and Kim Riddle for this image.
From Outlaw lecture
31. SEM inky cap mushroom, Coprinus cinereus (basidiomycete)
Basidia at time of
basidospore release
Basidia and basidiospores
4 basidiospores atop
a single basidium
~25µm
~10µm
39. For a local collection go to Outlaw’s collection in the
lecture series
40. The yeast growth form
Present in ascomycetes, zygomycetes, and basidiosmycetes
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ascomycete)
Single-cell formFilamentous form
Budding, a form of asexual reproduction
~25µm ~2.5µm