Name the domain and kingdom for fungi. What are the five distinguishing characte

Question

Name the domain and kingdom for fungi. What are the five distinguishing characteristics of fungi? Name four important phenotypic characteristics used in the identification of fungi. Differentiate between molds and yeasts. Differentiate between hyphae and mycelia. What does it mean if a fungal species is dimorphic or biphasic? What is a pseudohypha? What are buds? What are the two types of asexual spores of molds? What are the three types of sexual spores of molds? Use your knowledge of spores to differentiate between the four subdivisions of the Division

Explanation / Answer

1. Fungi belongs to kingdom Eukaryote.

A eukaryote is any organism whose cells have a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes belong to taxon Eucarya.

2. Five distinguishing characteristics of fungi:

eukarotic, heterotrophic, lack tissue differentiation, cell walls of chitin or other polysaccharides, propagate by spores.

3. Four phenotypic characteristics used in identification of fungi are: 1. Colony appearance 2. Types of hyphae 3. Sexual spores 4. Asexual spores

4. Molds are filamentous. Yeasts are single celled. Molds are filamentous fungi that produce hyphae while yeasts are fungi that lack hyphae. Yeasts may form reproductive buds called pseudohyphae. Fungal species that occur as either molds or yeasts are known as dimorphic.

5.Hyphae are microscopic filaments produced by molds and a macroscopic mass of hyphae is called mycelium.

6. Dimorphic fungi are those fungi that exist either in yeast form or as mold (mycelial form) depending on environmental conditions, physiological conditions of the fungus or genetic characteristics.

As yeasts, dimorphic fungi exist as single cells and multiply by old cells producing daughter cells. Dimorphism is common with some members of major divisions of fungal kingdom. i.e., Zygomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and mitosporic fungi.

Some dimorphic fungi will switch to yeast or mold form depending on prevailing temperature. These fungi are referred to as thermally dimorphic. Others will switch to yeast if they grow inside host tissues.

7. ‘Psuedohyphae’ are distinguished from true hyphae by their method of growth, relative frailty and lack of cytoplasmic connection between the cells. Yeast can form pseudohyphae. They are the result of a sort of incomplete budding where cells remain attached after division.

8. A bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and occurs in axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots or may have potential for general shoot development. A head of cabbage is an exceptionally large terminal bud while Brussels sprouts are large lateral buds.

9. The types of asexual spores of molds include sporangiospores and many types of conidia like phialospores, blastospores, arthrospores and chlamydospores.

10. Types of sexual spores of molds include zygospores, ascospores and basidiospores.

11. Classification of the Fungal Kingdom:

Kingdom Myceteae

Division Gymnomycota (slime molds)

Division Mastigomycota

Class Oomycetes

Division Amastigomycota

Subdivision Zygomycotina

Subdivision Deuteromycotina

Subdivision Ascomycotina

Subdivision Basidiomycotina

Subclass Holobasidiomycetidae (non-septate basidia)

Subclass Phragmobasidiomycetidae (septatae basidia, includes jelly fungi)

Subclass Teliomycetidae

Amastigomycota: Fungi with absorptive nutrition, motile cells lacking, mycelium aseptate or septate. This division includes four subdivisions, namely Zygomycotina, Ascomycotina, Basidiomycotina and Deuteromycotina.

Subdivision 1:

Zygomycotina with two classes:

Class 1: Zygomycetes: It includes six orders.

Class 2: Trichomecetes: It comprises five orders

Subdivision 2: Ascomycotina: Fungi often with a septate mycelium producing haploid ascospores in sac-like cells called Asci.

This subdivision is represented by a single class:

Class Ascomycetes: It is subdivided into five subclasses as follows:

Subclass 1: Hemiascomycetidae comprising three orders

Subclass 2: Plectomycetidae with five orders

Subclass 3: Hymenoascomycetidae with ten orders

Subclass 4: Laboulbeniomycetidae including two orders

Subclass 5: Loculoascomycetidae with five orders.

Subdivision 3: Basidiomycotina: Septate mycelium produces basidiospores exogenously on different types of basidia.

Subdivision includes a single class:

Class 1: Basisiomycetes: It is split into three subclasses:

Subclass 1: Holobasidiomycetidae:

Subclass 2: Phragmobasidiomycetidae

Subclass 3: Teliomycetidae

Subdivision 4: Deuteromycotina: It includes imperfect fungi in which sexual stage is unknown.

It comprises of a single form class.

  Form class 1: Deuteromycetes with three form subclasses namely Blastomycetidae, Coelomycetidae and Hyphomycetidae.  

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