Notes on Kingdom Fungi - Characters, Classification and Examples

The  kingdom fungi includes different types of eukaryotic and heterotrophic organisms. It includes yeast, moulds, mushrooms, puff balls, rust, bracket fungi, mildews.

Mycology: It is the branch of biology which deals with the study of fungi

Characters:

Habit and Habitat: Fungi are found in all habitats where organic matter is present. Many of them are terrestrial and prefer to grow in moist habitat with dim light or darkness.

Some are parasites lining in the tissues of higher organisms causing various diseases like rusts, smuts, mildews, rots, wilts etc.

Structure: The body of the fungus is called mycelium. The vegetative body is filamentous structure (Hyphae) which grows within the substratum .Yeast have unicellular body.

Classification of Fungi

Examples of Fungi

Reproduction: Vegetative, asexual and sexual methods

a) Vegetative ( Fragmentation, Fission, Budding , Sclerotia and Rhizomorphs)

•Fragmentation : hyphal breakup and regeneration in favourable season, Mucor

•Fission in yeast

•Budding Yeast and Ustilago

• Odium fungi breaks up into numerous fragments Rhizopus

•Sclerotia : organs of perennation highly compact structure occur singly in Claviceps or large numbers from a single mycelium Botrytis

b) Asexual : by the formation of  a special type of reproductive cells called the spores.

Various types of spores are the Zoospores, Sporangiospores, Chamydospores,  and Conidia.

·    Conidiospore: Unicellular or multicellular spore that is not enclosed in a sac,formed naked at hyphal tips. Aspergillus

·   Chlamydospore: Thick-walled spore formed within a hyphal segment (sporangia).

c)  Sexual Reproduction:

• • Sexually reproduction in fungi are grouped into two types, namely homothallic and Heterothallic.
  • In Homothallic fungi fusion occurs between two gametes arising from the same mycelium (This type of mycelia are called monoecious or bisexual).
  • In heterothallic fungi two gametes are arising from different mycelia (This type of mycelia are called dioecious or unisexual).
  • Sexual reproduction also leads to the formation of spores.
  Learn more:
•  Lists of Fungal Diseases

•  MCQ on Fungi