FUNGI

The fungi are heterotrophic organisms possessing a chitinous cell wall. The majority of species
grow as multicellular filaments called hyphae forming a mycelium; some fungal species also
grow as single cells. Sexual and asexual reproduction of the fungi is commonly via spores, often
produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies. They perform an essential role in all
ecosystems in decomposing organic matter and are indispensable in nutrient cycling and
exchange.

Importance for human use

Human use of fungi for food preparation or preservation. Yeasts are required for fermentation of
beer, wine and bread, some other fungal species are used in the production of soy sauce and
tempeh. Mushroom farming and mushroom gathering are large industries in many countries.
Many fungi are producers of antibiotics, including β-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin and
cephalosporin. Widespread use of these antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial diseases, such as
tuberculosis, syphilis, leprosy, play a major part in anti-bacterial chemotherapy. Fungi are also
used extensively to produce industrial chemicals like lactic acid, antibiotics and even to make
stonewashed jeans.

Cultured foods

Baker's yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in the baking of bread and other wheat-based
products, such as pizza and dumplings. Saccharomyces are also used in the production of
alcoholic beverages through fermentation. Mycelial fungi, such as the Aspergillus oryzae, are
used in the brewing of Shoyu (soy sauce) and preparation of tempeh. Quorn is a high-protein
product made from the mold, Fusarium venenatum, and is used in vegetarian cooking.

Fungi in the biological control of pests

In agricultural settings, fungi that actively compete for nutrients and space with, and eventually
prevail over, pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria or other fungi, via the competitive
exclusion principle or are parasites of these pathogens, may be beneficial agents for human use.
For example, some fungi may be used to suppress growth or eliminate harmful plant pathogens,
such as insects, mites, weeds, nematodes and other fungi that cause diseases of important crop
plants. This has generated strong interest in the use and practical application of these fungi for the
biological control of these agricultural pests. Entomopathogenic fungi can be used as
biopesticides, as they actively kill insects. Examples of fungi that have been used as biological
insecticides are Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Hirsutella spp, Paecilomyces spp,
and Verticillium lecanii. Endophytic fungi of grasses of the genus Neotyphodium, such as N.
coenophialum produce alkaloids that are toxic to a range of invertebrate and vertebrate
herbivores. These alkaloids protect the infected grass plants from herbivory, but some endophyte
alkaloids can cause poisoning of grazing animals, such as cattle and sheep.

Main target
S.no. Fungus species
pests
1. Aschersonia aleyrodis White fly
Colorado
2. Beauveria bassiana
beetle
3. Beauveria brongniartii Cockchafer
 4. Hirsutella thompsonii Rust mites
5. Metarhizum anisopliae Beetles,bugs
6. Nomuraea rileyi Caterpillars
Aphids,
7. Verticillium lecanii
Whitefly

Mycoremediation

Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation, the process of using mushrooms to return an

environment (usually soil) contaminated by pollutants to a less contaminated state. The key to
mycoremediation is determining the right fungal species to target a specific pollutant. The term
mycoremediation was coined by Paul Stamets and refers specifically to the use of fungal mycelia
in bioremediation. One of the primary roles of fungi in the ecosystem is decomposition, which is
performed by the mycelium. The mycelium secretes extracellular enzymes and acids that break
down lignin and cellulose, the two main building blocks of plant fiber. Certain strains have been
reported to successfully degrade the nerve gases VX and sarin.

Most studies involved in evaluating the potential of white-rot fungi in bio-remediation have been
done under lab conditions. Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are degraded by various non-white
rot (Aspergillus niger, Cunninghamella elegans, and Penicillium janthinellum) and white rot
(Crinipellis stipitaria, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, and Pleurotus sp.) fungi are capable of
degrading.

Trametes trogii to degrade nitrobenzene and anthracene. (Segula et al., 1996) was able to show
that P. pulmonarius grown on cotton plant stalks and wheat straw was capable of degrading
atrazine into metabolites which were further degraded by bacteria. Within two weeks 50% of the
atrazine was degraded.

Pleurotus pulmonarius was also shown to be capable of degrading atrazine a commonly used
herbicide, which is highly persistant in the environment and has been found in groundwater.

P. chrysosporium had the ability to decolorize artificial textile effluent by up to 99% within 7
days.

Wood-degrading fungi are particularly effective in breaking down aromatic pollutants (toxic
components of petroleum), as well as chlorinated compounds

Mycofiltration is a similar or same process, using fungal mycelia to filter toxic waste and
microorganisms from water in soil.

Mycorrhizal fungi

The fungi extract food (sugars) that they need from the plants, but in return they supply the plants
with some of the nutrients and water which they may require. Thus both the fungi and the plants
flourish because of the association. This is known as a symbiotic relationship. Certain plants,
such as orchids, are totally dependent on a fungus associated with their roots in order to grow at
all. Mycorrhizae also help to develop good soil structure through production of a protein which
helps to stick small particles of soil together to form larger ones.
There are several different kinds of mycorrhizae. In some, the fungal hyphae actually enter the
cells of the plant roots. These are called Endomycorrhizae. There are about 150 species of
Endomycorrhizal Fungi which are found with about 85% of plant Families including all of the
herbaceous species, grasses and some woody species. The Endomycorrhizal Fungi have been
reproducing by asexual spores (zoospores) for millions of years so do not produce fruiting bodies.
There are several different kinds of these endomycorrhizae, of which a type abbreviated to AM
(Arbuscular Mycorrhizae), is perhaps the best known.

Another type is called an Ectomycorrhiza (ECM). In this kind, the fungus forms associations with
plant roots, but does not actually enter the root cells. This kind is mostly formed with different
types of trees, such as pines and oaks, amongst many others. ECM fungi may form thick hyphal
strands known as rhizomorphs (have hyphae collected together into long cables,) which can
conduct water and nutrients relatively long distances. Many of the fungi common in woodland are
ectomycorrhizal fungi, with mushroom or toadstool-like fruiting bodies. There are about 6000
species of EM found with about 10% of plant Families - mostly woody species. The Black
Truffle T. melanosporum which grows exclusively with oak trees. Boletus and Amanita, all of
which are usually found in close proximity to trees. Fruiting bodies which cast sexual spores
(oospores) in the case of the Ecto' forms.

With insects

Many insects also engage in mutualistic relationships with various types of fungi. Several groups
of ants cultivate fungi in the order Agaricales as their primary food source, while ambrosia
beetles cultivate various species of fungi in the bark of trees that they infest. Termites on the
African Savannah are also known to cultivate fungi.

Control of fungal plant pathogens by mycofungicides

Trichoderma harzianum and T. viride to control P. infestans late blight of potato. Some reports
have stated that Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium oxalicum could inhibit the growth of P.
infestans in potato. Other promising microbial antagonists are Chaetomium spp. As they can
degrade cellulolytic plant debris in high organic soils and specific isolates can inhibit several
plant pathogens. For example, C. globosum and C. cochlioides can inhibit the growth of
Fusarium sp. And Helminthosporium sp. Seed dressing with C. globosum can prevent seedling
blight of corn caused by Fusarium roseum f. sp. cerealis ‘graminearum’. It was also stated that
spraying the ascospore suspension of C. globosum to apple trees can reduce apple scab caused by
Venturia inequalis . It has also been reported that C. globosum produces metabolites that inhibit
the growth of Pythium ultimum which causes damping-off of sugar beet, Rhizoctonia solani, leaf
blight of brassicas caused by Alternaria brassicicola and can reduce the pathogenic inoculum of
Botrytis cinerea on deadly lily leaves in the field. Chaetomium cupreum is also an interesting
species as it has been reported to control soybean plant pathogens e.g. Phomopsis and
Colletotrichum
Strains of C. cupreum and C.globosum have been reported to reduce leaf spot disease of
corn caused by Curvularia lunata, rice blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae and sheath blight of
rice caused by Rhizoctonia oryzae (Soytong, 1989, 1992a). These strains have also been shown to
reduce tomato wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici in the greenhouse and field
and reduce basal rot of corn caused by Sclerotium rolfsi. Twenty-two strains of C. cupreum and
C. globosum were formulated in the form of biopellets and biopowder as a new broad spectrum
mycofungicide for plant disease control.
Control nematodes

Fungi that parasitise nematodes (nematophagus fungi) can be divided into nematode trapping
fungi, endoparasitic species & fungi that parasitise nematode eggs. Nematode trapping fungi
capture nematodes with specialised structures such as constructive & non-constructive rings,
adhesive knobs or lastly by producing an adhesive material along the entire mycelial surface.
Endoparasitic nematophagous fungi line in soils where they produce adhesive spores. These
become attached to body of the nematode, on germination, a germ tube enters the body where it
grows & consumes the host. Egg parasites, as their name suggests, are nematophagous fungi that
parasitise the eggs of nematodes.

The following approaches have been used in an attempt of use fungi to control nematodes:

• Certain soils are naturally supressive to nemotodes. Fungi implicated in naturally

supressive soils include Nematopthasa gynophila, Verticillium Chlamydosporium &
Dactylella Oviparasitica.
• A wide range of amendments have been found to be effective in controlling soil
nematode populations. These generally involve breakdown products of added organic
materials, including fatty acids & ammonia which together with an increase in natural
antagonists prove effective in reducing nematode populations. Chitin amendment has
been particularly extensively studied as a means of increasing populations of specific
nematods antagonists.
• To date, Paecilomyces lilacinus is the only fungus that has been widely tested for
nematode control under field conditions.
• The direct application for enzymes, such as chitinase from egg parasitising fungi &
collagenase from nematode - trapping species, to soils may also be useful means of
controlling nematodes. Potentially useful nematocidal toxins are produced by fungi such
as the oyster mushroom, pleurotus ostreatus.

USE OF FUNGI TO CONTROL WEEDS:

Weeds, in the widest sense of the world, include algae, ferns, annual & perennial plants, and also
herbaceous or woody species. Fungi that are potential mycoherbicides can be divided into
facultative parasites, which can be grown in the laboratory, and obligate parasites which at
present cannot.

Two approaches to used control using fungi have been developed (i) the inundative or
mycoherbicide approach, and (ii) the classical biocontrol method. In the former approach,
massive inoculations of fungi are applied at the optimum time for infection. The biocontrol agent
then persists & controls the weed population.

The classical method of biocontrol is achieved over a longer time period & depends upon the
gradual increase in disease, the long term development of the biocontrol agent means that
significant weed control may take months or even years.

USE OF FUNGI TO PRODUCE CHEMICAL PESTICIDES & BIO-FERTILIZERS -

Biologically active secondary metabolitises produced by fungi are being evaluated as potential
pesticides, particularly for use in controlling plant growth. These compounds have the advantage
over convential pesticides in being effective at very low concentrations while proving essentially
non-persistant & harmless to the environment.

USE OF FUNGAL INOCULANTS TO IMPROVE CROP GROWTH -

Several different fungal inoculants have been explored for their benefits to plant nutrition. The
most commonly investigated fungi for this purpose are the arbuscular mycorrhizae. Other
endophytic fungi, such as Piriformis indica can also be beneficial

Many of soil bacteria & fungi can liberate plant- available phosphorus from insoluble phosphates.
This ability is usually associated with the production of organic acids & chelating agents,
including citric acid & 2 - cetogluconic acid . Insoluble phosphates are found in abundance
throughout the world, mainly as rock phosphate. Since rapidly available phosphate is desirable,
the release of phosphorous, from these materials by natural weathering is far too slow to be a
general benefit in agriculture. The rate of such phosphate release can, however, be stimulated by
inoculating a microbial phosphate solubiliser into the soil. This could be a heterophilic bacterium,
a member of the genus, Thiobacillus, or a phosphate solubilising fungus. Since fungi are
heterotrophs, a nutrient source has to be added together with the inoculant & insoluble phosphate.
Suitable carbon sources include molasses & sugarbeet bagasse.

As pathogens and parasites

However, many fungi are parasites on plants, animals (including humans), and other fungi.
Serious fungal pathogens of many cultivated plants causing extensive damage and losses to
agriculture and forestry include the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, tree pathogens such as
Ophiostoma ulmi and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi causing Dutch elm disease, and Cryphonectria
parasitica responsible for chestnut blight, and plant-pathogenic fungi in the genera Fusarium,
Ustilago, Alternaria, and Cochliobolus; fungi with the potential to cause serious human diseases,
especially in persons with immuno-deficiencies, are in the genera Aspergillus, Candida,
Cryptoccocus, Histoplasma, and Pneumocystis. Several pathogenic fungi are also responsible for
relatively minor human diseases, such as athlete’s foot and ringworm. Some fungi are predators
of nematodes, which they capture using an array of specialized structures, such as constricting
rings or adhesive nets.

SOME BIOTECHNOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT FUNGI

FILAMENTOUS SPECIES -

Most of the filamentous fungi that are important in biotechnology are members of the important
in biotechnology are members of the Deuteromycetes (Deuteromycotina). Examples include
Aspergillus niger, Pencillum notatum - chrysogenum & Trichoderma Viridae. Basidiomycetes
white rot fungi such as phanerochaete Chrysosporum are becoming increasingly important in
environmental biotechnology because they are able to metabolise a variety of organic chemicals,
many of which are pollutants.

ASPERGILLUS SPP.

There are about 200 species of Aspergillus, found throughout the world growing on a vast array
of substrates. Aspergillus niger, as its specific name suggests, is a black fungi which is commonly
called 'black mould'. Many Aspergilli contaminate foods, producing toxic products. A flavours
for example, produce the mycotoxin alfatoxin. Several species also grow as contaminants on
leather & cloth. Aspergillus species are important in medicine, causing disease of the internal
organs. Aspergillus fumigatus (chitosanolytic enzyme) accounts for nearly all of these infections.
Aspergillus species produce numerous extracellular enzymes, many of which are put to good use
in biotechnology. Aspergillus niger is particularly important in the manufacture of citric acid &
gluconic acid, both finding wide application in food industry.

-PENICILLIUM SPP. -

Penicillin species are as widespread & cosmopolitan as the aspergilli. They are frequently
referred to as green or blue moulds & are often found contaminating citrus fruits or causing decay
on refrigerated cheese & other foodstuffs. Various species are also pathogenic to citrus fruits.
Like members of the genus Aspergillus, penicillin species also attack leather & fabrics. The
production of penicillin is without doubt the most significant use of this fungus. The only other
therapeutically useful antibiotic produced by members of this genus is griseofulvin, which is used
to treat fungal infections of the skin, including athelet's foot. Penicillium species also produce
organic acids & flavours cheeses.

- TRICHODERMA SPP. - Trichoderma species are ubiquitous soil fungi which produce white,
yellow or green colonies when cultured. Trichoderma species are used to produce cellulases.
They are particularly effective as antagonists of the growth of other fungi, many of them plant
pathogens, with the result that trichoderma species are important biocontrol agents. Biocontrol
genes from T. harzianum have been inserted into plants, where they provide resistance to several
diseases. Tobacco and potatoes, shown in this figure, were transformed to express the fungal
endochitinase gene, which resulted in high levels of resistance to Alternaria alternata (tobacco)
and Rhizoctonia solani (potato).

- PHANEROCHAETE CHRYSOSPORIUM - It is a member of the Basidiomycetes but it is the

filamentous stage rather than the sporophore that is used in biotechnology. It belongs to a group
called the white rot fungi, a name that emphasises the importance of these fungi as agents of
wood decay. It is noteworthy for its ability to produce non-specific ligninases which can be used
to degrade pollutants both in liquid effluents & in soils.

- YEASTS -

Yeasts play a fundamentally important role in biotechnology. The classic yeasts are unicellular &
are slimy in appearance when growing on media often resembling bacterial colonies.
Saccharomyces species are widely used in the food industry in bread production & in the
fermentation of alcoholic beverages. Yeasts have also been used as source of single-cell protein,
and to produce alcohol for industrial purposes. Recent developments in the molecular biology of
yeasts have significantly expanded the biotechnological potential of these fungi.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF YEASTS ORGANISM USE 1. Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Brewing, baking, fuel, alcohol,wine 2. Saccharomyces uvarum Brewing, melibiase 3. Ashbya
gossypii, Eremothecium ashbyii Riboflavin 4. Rhadotorula Carotene 5. Hansenula, Pichia SCP
Via methanol 6. Yarrowia Lypolytica Citric acid 7. Saccharomycopsis, Aureobasidium D-
Gluconic acid
- AGARICUS SPP. - Agarius spp. are almost exclusively used in biotechnology for the
production of mushrooms i.e. as a protein rich foodstuff. The commercial species used in
mushroom growing in almost exclusively A. bisporus.

- CLAVICEPS PURPUREA -

It is an Ascomycete notable for producing sclerotia, called ergot, from which a number of
valuable, pharmacologically useful alkaloids are extracted.

Edible and poisonous fungi

Agaricus bisporus, (button mushrooms) are the most commonly eaten species, used in salads,
soups, and many other dishes. Many Asian fungi are commercially grown and have gained in
popularity in the West Eg. straw mushrooms (Volvariella volvacea), oyster mushrooms
(Pleurotus ostreatus), shiitakes (Lentinula edodes), and enokitake (Flammulina spp.).

Milk mushrooms, morels, chanterelles, truffles, black trumpets, and porcini mushrooms (Boletus
edulis) (also known as king boletes) all demand a high price on the market. They are often used in
gourmet dishes.

For certain types of cheeses, it is also a common practice to inoculate milk curds with fungal
spores to ferment the growth of specific species of mold that impart a unique flavor and texture to
the cheese eg. Penicillium roqueforti spores. Molds used in cheese production are usually non-
toxic and are thus safe for human consumption; however, mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxins,
roquefortine C, patulin, or others) may accumulate due to fungal spoilage during cheese ripening
or storage.

Many mushroom species are toxic to humans, with toxicities ranging from slight digestive
problems or allergic reactions as well as hallucinations to severe organ failures and death. Some
of the most deadly mushrooms belong to the genera Inocybe, Cortinarius, and most infamously,
Amanita. The latter genus includes the destroying angel (A. virosa) and the death cap (A.
phalloides), the most common cause of deadly mushroom poisoning. The false morel (Gyromitra
esculenta) is considered a delicacy by some when cooked, yet can be highly toxic when eaten
raw.

Fly agaric mushrooms (A. muscaria) also cause occasional poisonings, mostly as a result of
ingestion for use as a recreational drug for its hallucinogenic properties. It is difficult to identify a
safe mushroom without proper training and knowledge, thus it is often advised to assume that a
mushroom in the wild is poisonous and not to consume it.

Basic Structure and Nutrition

Some fungi exist as single cells and are known as yeasts. However, most species are
multicellular. The basic structure of a fungus is the hypha —a slender filament of cytoplasm and
nuclei enclosed by a cell wall. A mass of these hyphae make up an individual organism, and is
collectively called a mycelium. A mycelium can permeate soil, water, or living tissue; fungi
certainly seem to grow everywhere. In all cases the hyphae of a fungus secrete enzymes for
extracellular digestion of the organic substrate. Then the mycelium and its hyphae absorb the
digested nutrients. For this reason, fungi are called absorptive heterotrophs. Heterotrophs obtain
their energy from organic molecules made by other organisms.
 Fungi feed on many types of substrates. Most fungi obtain food from dead organic matter
and are called saprophytes. Other fungi feed on living organisms and are parasites. Many of
the parasitic fungi have modified hyphae called haustoria which are thin extensions of the
hyphae that penetrate living cells and absorb nutrients.

Hyphae of some species of fungi have crosswalls called septa that separate cytoplasm and
nuclei into cells. Hyphae of other species have incomplete or no septa (i.e., are aseptate) and
therefore are coenocytic (multinucleate). The cell walls of fungi are made of chitin, the same
polysaccharide that comprises the exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans.

Basic structure of fungus

Classification of fungi

1. Divison Gymnomycota: slime molds; organisms which ingest particulate nutrients and
which lack cell walls in the vegetative stage.
Class Acrasiomycetes (cellular slime molds): Differing from true slime molds in being
cellular and nucleate throughout the life cycle. Eg. Dictyostelium discoideum,
Polysphondelium violaceum.
Class Myxomycetes (acellular slime molds): A multicellular, wall-less plasmodium,
which transforms into highly organized sporangia bearing sporangiospores. Eg.
Physarum polycephalum, Didymium iridis

2. Divison Mastigomycota: Aquatic fungi producing motile, flagellated cells

Class Chytridiomycetes: These fungi are ubiquitous with a worldwide distribution and
produce zoospores that are capable of active movement through aqueous phases with a
single flagellum. Molecular phylogenies, inferred from the rRNA-operon sequences
representing the 18S, 28S, and 5.8S ribosomal subunits, suggest that the Chytrids are a
basal fungal group divergent from the other fungal divisions. Eg. Allomyces macrogynus
 Class Hyphochrytridiomycetes: Motile cells bearing a single, anteriorly positioned,
tinsel type flagellum Eg. Rhizidiomyces arbuscula, Hyphochrytrium catenoides
Class Plasmodiophoromycetes: This group is composed of endoparasites which exhibit
two plasmodial types - a sporangiogenous plamodium which gives rise to zoosporangia
with zoospores, and a cystogenous plasmodium (develops cysts) which gives rise to a
single zoospore. Members in this class are characterized by having zoospores with two
unequal, anterior whiplash flagella. Eg. Plasmodiophora brassica.
Class Oomycetes: Motile cells with two laterally inserted flagella, one tinsel and
anteriorly directed, the other whiplash and posteriorly directed. Saprolegnia sp. and
Phytophthora palmivora.

3. Divison Amastigomycota: Terrestrial fungi without flagella.

Class Zygomycetes: Reproduce sexually with meiospores called zygospores and
asexually with sporangiospores Eg. Mucor, Rhizomucor, and Rhizopus.
Class Ascomycetes: Commonly known as sac fungi. These fungi form meiotic spores
called ascospores, which are enclosed in a special sac-like structure called an ascus. This
division includes morels, a few mushrooms and truffles, single-celled yeasts (e.g., of the
genera Saccharomyces, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, and Candida). Prominent and important
genera of filamentous ascomycetes include Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and
Claviceps.
Class Basidiomycetes: Basidiomycota, commonly known as the club fungi or
basidiomycetes, produce meiospores called basidiospores on club-like stalks called
basidia. Most common mushrooms belong to this group, as well as rust (fungus) and smut
fungi, which are major pathogens of grains. Other important Basidiomyces include the
maize pathogen, Ustilago maydis and human pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans
(Meningitis, especially as a secondary infection for AIDS patients, is often caused by C.
neoformans).
Class Deuteromycetes: Sexual reproduction absent, vegetative reproduction by means of
conidiophores arising from well-defined conidiogenous cells. Eg. Trichophyton rubra,
Candida albicans, Alternaria tetuis.

Reproduction of fungi
Asexual reproduction

1. Bud formation in yeasts

In its simplest form asexual reproduction is by budding or binary fission. The onset of the cellular
events is accompanied by the nuclear events of mitosis. The initial events of budding can be seen
as the development of a ring of chitin around the point where the bud is about to appear. This
reinforces and stabilizes the cell wall. Enzymatic activity and turgor pressure the act to weaken
and extrude the cell wall. New cell wall material is incorporated during this phase. Cell contents
are forced into the progeny cell, and as the final phase of mitosis ends a cell plate, the point at
which a new cell wall will grow inwards from, forms.

Separation of the bud from the parent leaves a scar. When chains of yeast cells do not fully
separated this can create a pseudo-mycelium.

2. Fragmentation
Many fungi can reproduce by fragmentation. Any mycelium that is fragmented or disrupted,
provided that the fragment contains the equivalent of the peripheral growth zone, can grow into a
new colony. Many fungi are sub-cultured using this hyphal fragment technique. All of this weeks
practical plates have been inoculated in this way with a cork bore taken from a colonized donor
plate. Cut mycelial tips do not regenerate, but branches can form some distance from the damage
point.

3. Sporulation

By far the most important type of asexual reproduction is that of spore formation. Asexual
reproduction is extremely important to fungi. It is responsible for the production of large numbers
of spores throughout the year. These asexual spores are formed on a phase of the fungal life cycle
termed in some texts as the mitosporic, or anamorphic phase. There can be more than one
mitosporic state for each species of fungus, and in some cases the mitosporic state of very
different species can look very similar. This has contributed to the problems of creating a
taxonomy for the fungi that only possess mitosporic states. The sexual stage of the fungus can be
termed the teleomorph, and the characteristics of this phase of the life cycle are much more stable
and reliable for taxonomic purposes.

Asexual spores:

Asexual spores are produced by through mitosis and cell division, there is no fusion of the nucleic
of cells. Several types of the asexual spores are produced by fungi. One type is conidiospore or
conidium, a unicellular or multicellular spore that is enclosed in a sac. Conidia are produced in
chain at the end of conidiophore. Eg. Aspergiillus. One type of conidium, an arthrospore, is
formed by the fragmentation of a septate hypha into single cell. Eg. Coccidiodes immitis. Another
type of conidium, blastoconidia, consists of buds coming off the parent cell. Eg. Candida
albicans and Cryptococcus. A second type of spore is a chlamydospore (a thick wall spore
formed within a hyphal segment). Eg. Candida albicans. A third type of asexual spore is a
sporangiospore, formed within a sporangium at the end of an aerial hyphae called
sporangiophore. Eg. Rhizopus
Sexual Reproduction

Sexual Spores: A fungal sexual spore results from sexual reproduction, consisting of three phase:

1. Plasmogamy: A haploid nucleus of a donor cell penetrates the cytoplasm of a recipient

cell
2. Karyogamy: The nuclei fuse to form a diploid zygote nucleus.
3. Meiosis: The diploid nucleus give rise to haploid nuclei, some of which may be genetic
recombinants.

Sexual reproduction in the chytridiomycetes:

Sexual reproduction occurs in some members of the chytrids by the production of diploid spores
after gametic or somatic fusion of two different mating types. The resulting spore may germinate
to produce a diploid vegetative mycelium or it may undergo meiosis to produce a haploid
mycelium. The diploid mycelium can also produces resting sporangia in which meiosis occurs,
generating haploid zoospores that germinate to produce haploid vegetative mycelium.

Sexual reproduction in the Zygomycetes:

There are two possible nuclear states in the mycelia of this group of fungi. They can have a single
type of nucleus in their mycelium, a condition termed termed homothallism, or they can contain
the two mating type nuclei within their mycelium, termed heterothallism. If the fungus is
homothallic the first event in the onset of sexual reproduction has to be somatic fusion. This is
termed conjugation. This signalling involves the secretion of inducer molecules that are
responsible for causing the formation of zygophores. Once in contact the two zygophores fuse,
and then the nuclei fuse to form the diploid. Meiosis occurs, producing four haploid nuclei, but
three may degenerate. The timing of fusion varies from species to species.
 The life cycle of Rhizopus, a zygomycete

Sexual reproduction in the Ascomycetes:

Spores are delineated around these nuclei in a process called free cell formation, and as most of
the cytoplasm is contained around the nucleus and within the spore wall, all that is left outside is
cell sap. These modified hyphae are termed Asci, and the spores that are held within them are
termed ascospores. The asci can be aggregated together in various sorts of fruit body which we
will see in the practical, including the, cup fungi (Discomycetes, apothecial), the flask fungi,
(Pyrenomycetes, perithecial), the mildews (Plectomycetes cleistothecial) and the fungi with black,
crusty stromata (Loculoascomycetes, pseudothecial fungi). There are also the yeasts,
Hemiascomycetes,. Their ascospores are normally formed in loose asci and are not actively
discharged. We have not looked at these. When they form ascospores in fruit pulps or liquids they
are usually liberated by the disintegration of the ascus wall.
Sexual reproduction in the Basidiomycetes:

In the larger Basidiomycetes sexual spore formation begins with the formation of a fruit body
primordium. The primordium expands and differentiates to form the large fruit bodies of
mushrooms and toadstools. The mycelium within this structure remains as a dikaryon, diploid
formation only occurring within the modified hyphal tip called the basidium. Meiosis occurs
within the basidium, and the four products are extruded from the tip of the basidium on sterigma.
Usually this event occurs across a large area of basidia called a hymenium, or fertile layer. It is
usually formed over an extensive sterile layer of tissue like a mushroom gill.

There are three major divisions in the basidiomycetes.

1. Hymenomycetes. Basidia are in extensive fertile layer which are susceptible to rain when
exposed. Spores are actively discharged from a protected hymenium when ripe. This
group includes mushrooms and toadstools, boletes, brackets and coral fungi.
2. Gasteromycetes. Hymenia line closed cavities in an initially closed fruit body.
Basidiospores are released passively by autolysis of the hymenium, and basidiocarps
disintegrate at maturity. This group includes earth balls, puff-balls, stinkhorns and birds
nest fungi.
3. Teliomycetes. These are the rusts and smuts, neither of which form large, conspicuous,
fruit bodies but invade plants and produce characteristic sporulating lesions in plant
tissue.

Dimorphism:
Some fungi exhibit dimorphism-two forms of growth. Such fungi can grow as a mold or as a
yeast. The mold like forms produce vegetative and aerial hyphae: the yeastlike forms reproduce
by budding. Dimorphism in pathogenic fungi is temperature-dependent: At 370 C the fungus is
yeast like, and at 250 C, it is mold like.
FUNGAL DISEASES
Mycosis: Any fungal disease. Tend to be chronic because fungi grow slowly.
Mycoses are classified into the following categories:
I. Systemic mycoses: Fungal infections deep within the body. Can affect a number if tissues and
organs. Usually caused by fungi that live in the soil and are inhaled. Not contagious.
Examples: Histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum): Initial infection in lungs. Later spreads
through blood to most organs.
Coccidiomycosis (Coccidioides immites): Resembles tuberculosis.

II.Cutaneous mycoses: Fungal infections of the skin, hair, and nails. Secrete keratinase, an
enzyme that degrades keratin. Infection is transmitted by direct contact or contact with infected
hair (hair salon) or cells (nail files, shower floors).
Examples: Ringworm(Tinea capitis and T.corporis)
Athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis)
Jock itch(Tinea cruris)
III. Subcutaneous mycoses: Fungal infections beneath the skin.
Caused by saprophytic fungi that live in soil or on vegetation.
Infection occurs by implantation of spores or mycelial fragments into a skin wound. Can spread
to lymph vessels.

IV. Superficial mycoses: Infections of hair shafts and superficial epidermal cells. Prevalent in
tropical climates.

Opportunistic mycoses: Caused by organisms that are generally harmless unless individual has
weakened defenses:
• AIDS and cancer patients
• Individuals treated with broad spectrum antibiotics
• Very old or very young individuals (newborns).
Examples:

Clinically significant fungi and the areas of disease they cause:

 1. Malassezia furfur and Exophiala werneckii (superficial skin)
2. Piedraia hortae and Trichosporon beigelii (hair)
3. Microsporum species, (skin and hair)
4. Epidermophyton species (skin and nails)
5. Trichophyton species (skin, hair, and nails)
6. Sporothrix schenckii, Cladosporium species, Phialophora species, and Fonsecaea species
(subcutaneous/lymphatic tissues - chromoblastomycosis)
7. Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immitis, Fusarium species, Penicillium species
(systemic respiratory)
8. Blastomyces dermatitidis (subcutaneous/respiratory)
9. Cryptococcus neoformans (respiratory/CNS)
10. Aspergillus species, Mucor species, Candida species, and Rhizopus species (opportunistic
involving various body sites)

LICHENS
• Combination of a green alga (or cyanobacterium) and a fungus.
• Mutualistic relationship in which each partner benefits.
• Alga: Provides nutrients by photosynthesis to fungus.
Fungus: Provides attachment and protection from desiccation.
• 20,000 species of lichens occupy unique habitats, in which
• either fungi or algae could not survive alone: rocks,
• cement, rooftops, trees, and newly exposed soil.
• Grow very slowly, secreting acids that break down rocks.
• Accumulate nutrients needed for plant growth.
• Sensitive to air pollution.
• Major food source for tundra herbivores (caribou and reindeer).
• and conjunctivitis, mainly in AIDS patients.