Fungi:Muchroom&MoreLEC27

Question 1

what is the longest-lived organisms on earth?

Answer 1

a fungi that may be 10,000 years old that covers 30 acres of land

Question 2

who study fungi? How many are described & are not?

Answer 2

• mycologist
• 100,000 species
• 5 million

Question 3

why are fungi essential for terrestrial ecosystems?

Answer 3

they are decomposers

Question 4

how are fungi similar to us?

Answer 4

they are eukaryotic multicellular organisms & heterotrophs

Question 5

fungi cell walls are made of what?

Answer 5

chitin, like roaches

Question 6

fungi are compose of what? what does this mean?

Answer 6

•haploid hyphae
•fungi spends most of their time haploid
*their diploid phase is short

Question 7

what are hyphae? what do they do?

Answer 7

• network of threads that connects from end to end

* they absorb nutrients & make up the fungi’s body which is called mycelium

Question 8

how thick are hyhae & how do they grow?

Answer 8

•1 cell thick, a thousand of them together is still smaller than a hair
•they grow by simple cell division
*have cell wall & nuclei

Question 9

what is a haustoria?

Answer 9

specialized hyphae adapted for penetrating tissues of prey

Question 10

what fungus are dangerous for ants?

Answer 10

antler fungus

Question 11

what is mycorrhizae?

Answer 11

beneficial symbiotic relationships between plants & fungi that live inside their roots
*those fungus help the plant get water & nutrients

Question 12

how do fungi propagate themselves?

Answer 12

by producing vast numbers of spores sexually or asexually

Question 13

what part of the mushroom produce spores?

Answer 13

the basidia which does meiosis

*spores are haploid

Question 14

what fungi are unicellular? where do they live? how do they reproduce?

Answer 14

•yeasts
•moist environments
•simple asexual cell division
*we use them for wine

Question 15

many fungi grows as what on what?

Answer 15

• mold

* on bread, fruits, foods, & everything in houses

Question 16

fungi and animals both descended from what? when did they evolved?

Answer 16

•a single-celled, flagellated, aquatic protist
•they probably evolved before multicellular
organisms colonized land

Question 17

how old is the oldest fossil fungi?

Answer 17

460 million years old

Question 18

what were among the earliest colonizers of

land?

Answer 18

fungi, probably as symbionts with early land plants

Question 19

what does symbionts means?

Answer 19

living together

Question 20

how are phylum chytridiomycota, or chytrids of fungi unique?

Answer 20

•they are unique In having flagellated spores,
called zoospores
•Can be decomposers or parasites

Question 21

At least 70 species of frogs have gone extinct in the last decade. What is the cause?

Answer 21

Chytrid fungus and global warming may be to blame

*Rare ‘mountain chicken’ frogs airlifted from path of deadly fungus, April 2009 from island of Montserrat

Question 22

what are phylum zygomycota of fungi? what are they named after?

Answer 22

• molds and parasites
• zygosporangia
• can survive freezing & drying
• start dividing when conditions are good

Question 23

what are examples of zygomycota?

Answer 23

• pilobolus

- microsporidia

Question 24

what is special about pilobolus?

Answer 24

they can actually “aim” their sporangia toward conditions associated with good food sources and blast them off
*from 0-45mph in one mm of flight - the fastest acceleration in nature.

Question 25

what are microsporidia?

Answer 25

unicellular parasites used to control insect pests

Question 26

what are phylum ascomycota of fungi? how many species are there?

Answer 26

• sac fungi such as orange peel fungus, morels, truffles, and bread mold
• 32,000 species
• vary in size from unicellular yeasts to cup fungi and morels

Question 27

how do ascomycota produce spores?

Answer 27

-produce spores in sacs contained in fruiting bodies called ascocarps

Question 28

what are phylum basidiomycota of fungi? how many species are there?
ex. chicken of the woods

Answer 28

• amanita muscaria, bridal veil fungus, Shelf fungi, & puffballs
• 30,000 species

Question 29

how are basidiomycota defined?

Answer 29

by a fruiting body called a basidiocarp

*only a transient stage in the life cycle

Question 30

the life cycle of the basidiomycota usually includes what?

Answer 30

a long-lived mycelium, which can erect its spore-producing mushrooms in just a few hours

Question 31

some fungi share their digestive services with animals like cows to what? what is this an example of?

Answer 31

• help break down plant material in the guts of grazing mammals
• fungus-animal symbiosis

Question 32

what is another example of fungus-animal symbiosis?

Answer 32

some species of ants take advantage of fungi by raising them in “farms”

Question 33

what are lichens?

Answer 33

13,000 species of pioneers that are a symbiotic association of algae living inside a fungus

• algae live below the lichen surface
• grows on trees & lava in hawaii

Question 34

what are examples of lichens?

Answer 34

• fruticose (shrub-like)
• foliose (leaf-like)
• Crustose (crust-like)

Question 35

what are very important lichens in tundra ecosystems that feed reindeers?

Answer 35

reindeer moss

Question 36

30% of known fungal pathogens are

parasites in what?

Answer 36

plants

Question 37

what are vital medicines are produced by fungi to treat bacterial infections?

Answer 37

• Statins control your cholesterol to protect you from heart disease
• Cyclosporin stops rejection in transplant patients
• penicillin - the wonder drug of the 1940s