Mycology I Flashcards
(71 cards)
What is studied in ‘mycology’?
The term “mycology” is derived from Greek word “mykes” meaning mushroom. Therefore, mycology is the study of fungi.
What are the beneficial effects of fungi?
- Decomposition - nutrient and carbon recycling.
- Biosynthetic factories. The fermentation property is used for the industrial production of alcohols, fats, citric, oxalic and gluconic acids.
- Important sources of antibiotics, such as Penicillin.
- Model organisms for biochemical and genetic studies.
- Saccharomyces cerviciae is extensively used in recombinant DNA technology, which includes the Hepatitis B Vaccine.
- Some fungi are edible (mushrooms).
- Yeasts provide nutritional supplements such as vitamins and cofactors.
- Penicillium is used to flavour
cheeses: Roquefort and Camembert. - Fungi (Leptolegnia caudate and Aphanomyces laevis) are used to trap mosquito larvae in paddy fields and thus help in malaria control.
What are the harmful effects of fungi?
- Destruction of food, lumber, paper, and cloth.
- Animal and human diseases, including allergies.
- Toxins produced by poisonous mushrooms and within food (Mycetism and Mycotoxicosis).
- Plant diseases.
- Spoilage of agriculture produce such as vegetables and cereals in the godown.
- Damage the products such as magnetic tapes and disks, glass lenses, marble statues, bones and wax.
What are the general properties of fungi?
- eukaryotic + exhibit mitosis.
- ergosterols in membranes + 80S ribosomes.
- rigid cell wall –> non-motile, (cell wall = chitin).
- chemoheterotrophs and lack chlorophyll–> not autotrophic.
- osmotrophic; (obtain nutrients by absorption).
- saprophytes (live off of decaying matter) or as
parasites (live off of living matter). - require water and oxygen (no obligate anaerobes).
- reproduce asexually and/or sexually by producing spores.
- grow reproductively –> budding or non-reproductively –> hyphal tip elongation.
- food storage = form of lipids and glycogen.
What feature seperates fungi from animal cells?
rigid cell wall –> non-motile
cell wall is made from CHITIN!
What is the nutrition type of fungi?
HETEROTROPHIC
- chlorophyll deficient plant
- cannot manufacture carbohydrates (using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight).
- simple structural organization –> always depends on dead or living organic matter for their energy requirements
How are fungi classified on the basis of mode of nutrition?
1) Saprophytes - nutrition from dead organic matter.
2) Parasites - food from other living plants or animals.
3) Symbionts - grow on or with another living organism, but both are mutually benefited.
4) Predacious Fungi - animal capturing fungi (predators).
Explain fungus growth.
1) fungal spores germinate and form
hyphae.
2) the spore absorbs water through its wall, the cytoplasm activates, nuclear division occurs, and more cytoplasm is
synthesized.
3) The wall initially grows as a spherical structure.
4) Once polarity is established, a hyphal apex forms, and from the wall of the spore
a germ tube bulges out, enveloped by a wall of its own that is formed as the germ
tube grows.
5) The growing tip eventually gives rise to a branch. This is the beginning of the
branched mycelium.
How many regions may the hypha be divided into? What are they?
- the apical zone about 5–10 micrometers n length,
- the subapical region, extending about 40 micrometres back of the apical zone, (rich in cytoplasmic components but devoid of vacuoles)
- the zone of vacuolation, presence of many vacuoles and the accumulation of lipids.
What is a hypha?
the structure formed from germinating spores
What is present in the subapical region of hyphae?
CYTOPLASMIC COMPONENTS eg. nuclei, Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, and vesicles.
NO VACUOLES!
How do fungi secure food?
digestion of food: action of enzymes (biological catalysts)
absorbtion of food: directly through the hyphal walls.
Food must be in solution in order to enter the hyphae, and the entire mycelial surface of a fungus is capable of absorbing materials dissolved in water.
Explain the classification of fungi.
Fungi is one of the 5 kingdoms.
What are the 5 kingdoms?
Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia
How are fungi classified based on sexual reproduction?
- Zygomycetes: reproduce through zygospores.
- Ascomycetes: produce endogenous spores called “ascospores” in cells called asci.
-
Basidiomycetes: produce exogenous spores called “basidiospores” in cells called
basidia. -
Deuteromycetes (Fungi imperfecti): do not produce any sexual spores (ascospores or basidiospores).
- heterogeneous group of fungi where no sexual reproduction has yet been demonstrated.
How are fungi classified based on morphology?
- Moulds (Molds): Filamentous fungi Eg: Aspergillus spp., Trichophyton rubrum.
- Yeasts: Single celled cells that buds Eg: Cryptococcus neoformans, Saccharomyces cerviciae
- Yeast like: Similar to yeasts but produce pseudohyphae Eg: Candida albicans
-
Dimorphic: Fungi existing in two different morphological forms at two different environmental conditions.
(yeasts in tissue (in vitro at 37 C) and moulds (in natural habitat and in vitro at room temperature). Eg: Histoplasma capsulatum
Explain the life of dimorphic fungi.
YEAST in tissue (in vitro at 37 C)
MOULDS in natural habitat (in vitro at 21 C)
State the morphology of fungi. In what 2 fundamental forms do fungi exist in?
exist in two fundamental forms:
1) the filamentous (hyphal) form
2) single celled budding forms (yeast).
For the classification’s sake they are studied as molds, yeasts, yeast like and dimorphic fungi.
All fungi have typical eukaryotic morphology.
- rigid cell wall composed of chitin, (may be layered with mannans, cellulose, glucans and other polysaccharides in association with polypeptides)
- can possess polysaccharide capsules that help them to evade phagocytosis.
State examples of fungi that possess polysaccharide capsules.
Cryptococcus and yeast form of Histoplasma capsulatum
What is the thallus of mold made of? What is its structure?
made of hyphae: cylindrical tube like structures that elongates by growth at tips.
What is the mass of hyphae known as?
mycelium
What is responsible for the filamentous nature of mold?
hypha
How can hyphae be different?
branched/unbranched
seotate/aseptate
What are the cross walls of hyphae called, that divie them into numerous cells?
septa