Fungi

Question 1

Basic facts

Answer 1

• Are heterotrophic
• Release powerful enzymes that break down matter into nutrients outside their bodies and then absorb the nutrients.
• They are decomposers
• Plants rely on fungi to recycle the nutrients that might otherwise be locked away forever.
• Other species of fungi are parasitic
• They absorb nutrients from the cells or body fluids of a living host

Question 2

Fungi structure

Answer 2

• Fungi cells have cell walls like plants, but their cell walls are made up of the carbohydrates chitin.
• The network of thin filaments underground are called Mycelium
• There are also microscopy thin filaments called Hyphae, which grow at the tips of the mycelium.
• A network of Hyphae=Mycelium

Question 3

Reproduction

Answer 3

• Fungi can reproduce asexually and sexually
• Fungi have zygotes that are haploid (contain half the number of chromosomes), which are released as spores
• These spores produce Hyphae, which will fuse to produce dikaryotic cells.
• These grow into Mycelium