Chapter_22___Kingdom_Fungi.doc

Chapter 22 Kingdom Fungi 22.1 Evoluation and Characteristics of Fungi 1. The 80,000 species of the Kingdom Fungi are mostly multicellular eukaryotes that share a common mode of nutrition. 2. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophic and consume preformed organic matter. 3. Animals, however, are heterotrophic by ingestion while fungi are heterotrophic by absorption. 4. Fungal cells secrete digestive enzymes; following breakdown of molecules, the nutrients are absorbed. 5. Most fungi are saprotrophic decomposers, breaking down wastes or remains of plants and animals. A. Evolution of Fungi 1. Fungi include club fungi, sac fungi, AM fungi, zygospore fungi, and chytrids. 2. Chytrids are unlike all the other fungi because they are aquatic and they have flagellated spores and gametes. 3. The AM fungi only exist as mycchorizae in association with plant roots. 4. Molecular data shows that animals and fungi share a common ancestor after plants evolved. 5. The earliest fossil of fungi is dated 450 MYA. B. Structure of Fungi 1. Fungi can be unicellular (e.g., yeasts). 2. Most fungi are multicellular in structure. a. The thallus (body) of most fungi is called a mycelium. b. A mycelium is a network of hyphae comprising the vegetative body of a fungus. c. Hyphae are filaments that provide a large surface area and aid absorption of nutrients. d. When a fungus reproduces, a portion of the mycelium becomes a reproductive structure. 3. Fungal cells lack chloroplasts and have a cell wall made of chitin, not cellulose. a. Chitin, like cellulose, is a polymer of glucose molecules organized into microfibrils. b. In chitin, unlike cellulose, each glucose has attached nitrogen containing amino group. 4. The energy reserve of fungi is not starch, but glycogen, as in animals. 5. Except for aquatic chytrids, fungi are nonmotile; their cells lack basal bodies and do not have flagella at any stage in their life. 6. Fungi move to a food source by growing toward it; hyphae can grow up t