6.6 \"Imperfect Fungi\" 8. Explain the name \"imperfect fungi.\" Food for Though

Question

6.6 "Imperfect Fungi" 8. Explain the name "imperfect fungi." Food for Thought 9. Give the correct singular or plural form of the following words in the blanks provided. Singular Plural (a) hypha mycelia (c) zygospore asci (e) basidium (0 conidia Lichens are frequently the first colonizers of hostile growing sites, including sunbaked or frozen rock, recently hardened lava, and even gravestones. How can lichens survive in habitats so seemingly devoid of nutrients and under such harsh physical conditions? 10.

Explanation / Answer

Ans. #8. Fungi imperfectii or Imperfect fungi are the fungi which don’t have means of sexual reproduction reported in them. These are placed in the group Deuteromyctes.

#9.

            Singular                      Plural

            a. Hypha                     Hyphae

            b. Mycelium               Mycelia

            c. Zygospore              Zygospores

            d. Ascus                      Asci

            e. Basidium                Basidia

            f. Conidium                Conidia

#10. A lichen is a composite organism having symbiotically associated fungus and photosynthetic green algae or cyanobacteria. Most often the fungal partner is an ascomycetes and sometimes it can be a member of basidiomycota. The fungal partner (mycobiont) provides anchorage, water and minerals to the phycobiont partner (algae or cyanobacteria). The algal/ cyanobacteria partner produces food through photosynthesis and provide them to the fungal partner.

# The carbohydrates are synthesized the phycobiont partner. The mycobiont partner absorbs minerals from the substratum (rocks to which lichen is attached) by releasing extracellular enzymes to digest the rocks. Both the partners can absorb moisture from the atmosphere, too. Therefore, because of ability of obtain C (carbohydrate from photosynthesis), N (say, nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria), O (from air, water), H (from water), P (from slow digestion of rocks) and minerals (from slow digestion of rocks – rocks consists of most of the inorganic mineral in varying amount), lichens can grow under extremely harsh conditions like newly exposed rock beds.

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