Hi everyone,

In this video, Mr. Green describes the definition and characteristics of fungi and the
importance of it to living organisms. All of the discussions that involved Mr. Green were indeed
helpful and engaging. The way he explains things are very exciting and again helpful. In this
discussion I will summarize the video by defining fungi, listing some characteristics of the
species and the importance of it to the living species.
According to Simon (2014, p. 200), Fungi are a large, eukaryotes and diverse group
with over 100,000 known species identified on earth. They can be single celled or very complex
multcellular organisims that are found in habit, mainly in soil or any plant material
(Microbiology Society , n.d). According to Green (2013), Fungi main role is to feast on the
deceased remains of almost all organisms on the planet. They do this by they conver the organic
matter that living organisims are made of back into soil from which new life will spring (Green,
2013).
A characteristic of fungi can inclue that they grow as tublar filaments called hyphae
(Simon, 2014, p. 202). Another characteristic of the species is that they can reproduce asexually
and sexually. In asexual reproduction, fungi produce spores that are disperersed in the air or in
water (Simon, 2014, p. 203). In the sexual reporduction of fungi the hypae of two parents join,
which force the haploid cells to fuse, which creates a zygote and two sets of chromosomes
(Simon, 2014, p. 203). Types of fungi can include foods products such as yeast and mushrooms
and mold (Modric, n.d).
During his resarch in 1857, Mr. Louis Pasteur found that yeast were living organisms. He
found that in the absence of free oxygen, the fungi were able to obtain energy by decomposing
substance that contained oxygen (Green, 2013). Mr. Pasteur observed the yeast under the

process of anaerobic respiration (fermentation), which breaks down sugar into grains. This
process createad grains like malted barely and coverted them into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and
the range of flavors that is associated with beer (Green, 2013). Mr. Pasteur also discovered that
microbes could be thwarted for uo to 90 days by keeping the beer between a certain temperature
for a short period of time (Green, 2013). In modern terms, the process is called process
pasteurization. This process is used in milk, canned foods, syrups and wines (Green, 2013).
In conlusion, based on the video provided, fungi moves beyond its disadvantages and
advantages. The decomposition of fungi is very important to all living organisims on earth. The
role of fungi is to recyle the nutrients into the soil to help plants and other species to grow and
also generates foods for us to eat. Without fungi, there wouldnt be no life on earth.

Bibliography
Green, H. (2013, August 17). Fungi: Death Becomes Them. Retrieved from
Khan Academy : https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/crashcourse1/partner-topic-crash-course-bio-ecology/crash-course-biology/v/crashcourse-biology-138
Microbiology Society . (n.d). Fungi. Retrieved from Microbiology Online:
http://www.microbiologyonline.org.uk/about-microbiology/introducingmicrobes/fungi
Modric, J. (n.d). What are Fungi? . Retrieved from HealthHype:
http://www.healthhype.com/kingdom-fungi-types-characteristics-examplespictures-of-fungi.html
Simon, E. J. (2014). Biology The Core (1st Edition ed.). United States of
America: Pearson Education.