Bot 301 Mycology Notes Part 2 25TH Sept.

1.
Plectenchyma (fungal tissue)
 Organized loosely or compactly woven to form a tissue called plectenchyma.
 There are two types of plectenchyma such as:
 Prosenchyma- loosely interwoven lying more or less parallel to each other.
 Pseudoparenchyma - are compactly interwoven looking like a parenchyma in cross-section
2. Sclerotia
 A hard dormant body made of compact hyphae which is protected by external thickened
hyphae.
 Under favourable conditions they germinate within a mycelium e.g., Penicillium
3. Rhizomorphs
 Root-like compactly interwoven hyphae which contains distinct growing tips.
 Helpful in absorption and perennation
(1873). Apical region of rhizomorph of Armillaria mellea as described by Hartig

4. Dimorphic Fungi
 Reproduce as either a mycelial or a yeast-like state.

 The mycelial saprotrophic form grows at 25°C, and the yeast-like pathogenic form at 37°C.
 Fungal pathogens evade the physiological and cellular defenses human host by changing their
morphological form.
 E.g Penicillium marneffei, a human pathogen that grows as a mold at room temperature, and as
yeast at human body temperature.
 Diseases : blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, sporotrichosis, etc.
Nutrition of Fungi
 Fungi don’t produce their food by own because they lack chlorophyll.
 Based on the type of source fungi are classified into different groups such as;
a. Saprotrophs
b. Parasitic
c. Predacious
d. Symbiotic
a. Saprotrophs (= saprobes
 Get their nutrition from dead and decaying organic matter.

 Release digestive enzymes - digest the substratum and then absorb nutrients.
Example: Mucor, Agarious. Rhizopus (bread mould) etc
Agaricus Agaricus Mucor
…Saprotrophs
 Saprohytic fungi may be of two types:
1. Ectophytic saprophytes: Grow on surface or organic matter
2. Endophytic saprophytes: Grow inside the organic matter
b. Parasitic
 Take food from other living pants or animals
 These organism are called hosts
 They are harmful to the hosts lead to diseases
 This relationship is called parasitism
A carpenter ant, of the species Camponotus leonardi

Parasitic fungi are of three types:
1. Obligate parasites: Can live only as parasite on a living host
 Cannot live on dead organic matter
 E.g Puccinia – cause rust disease in plants
Stem rust, also known as cereal rust, black rust, red rust or red dust, is caused by the fungus
Puccinia graminis,
2. Facultative saprophytes
Parasites that can also survive on dead matter in absence of living host
E.g Taphrina
Distinctive leaf distortion and pink color caused by Taphrina leaf curl
3. Facultative parasites
They follow saprophytic mode of nutrition
Under certain conditions they paralyze the host E.g Fusarium and Pythium – cause soft
rot disease
c. Predacious fungi
• Predators – animal capturing fungi
• Posses special hyphae traps called snares to trap and capture small animals e.g
nematodes and protozoans.
• They inhabit the soil
• Posses rapidly constrictiong hyphal traps that hold captive for long times.
• Have haustoria which directly insert to tissue of prey.
• Some produce sticky secretions for capturing nematodes
• E.g Arthtobotrys, Dactylella, dactylaria
d. Symbionts fungi
 Found in a mutualistic relationship with another organism.
 Both organisms are benefited.
 Example: lichens and mycorrhiza.
 Symbiotic association of fungi and algae is known as the Lichens
 Fungi provide water and nutrients while algae produce carbohydrates by photosynthesis
Symbiotic relationship
 Symbiotic relationship between the soil fungi and plant roots is known as the
mycorrhizae.
 Fungi provide minerals, nutrients, water, vitamins to the plants, Whereas the plant
provides food to fungi.
 Example: ectomycorrhizas (ECM) and endomycorrhizas
Reproduction in fungi: asexual and sexual methods

 The majority can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
 This allows them to adjust to conditions in the environment.
 They can spread quickly through asexual reproduction when conditions are stable.
 They can increase their genetic variation through sexual reproduction when conditions
are changing.
 Variation may help them survive.
1. Asexual reproduction in fungi

1. Fission of somatic cell
 Mature cell elongates and its nucleus divides into two daughter
nuclei.
 The daughter nuclei separates, cleaves cytoplasm centripetally in
the middle till it divides parent protoplasm into two daughter
protoplasm.
 A double cross wall is deposited in the middle to form two
daughter cell.
 Ultimately the middle layer of double cross wall degenerates and
daughter cells are separated.
 Examples: Saccharomyces pobbe, Psygosaccharomyces
2. Budding
The cell wall bulge softens in the area by certain enzymes brought
by vesicles.
The protoplasm also bulge out in this region as small
protuberance.
The parent nucleus also divides into two, one of the daughter
nucleus migrates into bud, the cytoplasm of bud and mother
remain.
Bud enlarges, a septum is laid down at the joining of bud with
mother cell. Then bud separates and leads independent life.
Some time, bud starts reproducing while still attached with mother
cell. This gives branching appearance.
Budding is the typical reproductive characteristics of Ascomycetes.
Examples: yeast
3. Fragmentation
 In some fungi, fragmentation or disjoining of hyphae occurs
 Each hyphae become a new organism
3. Asexual spore of fungi

Spore formation is the characteristic feature of fungi.
Different fungi forms different types of spore.
Types of asexual spore:
i. Sporangiospore
These asexual spore are produced in a sac like
structure called sporangia (sporangium).
Sporangium are produced at the end of special
aerial hyphae called sporangiophore.
Sporangium contains large numbers of haploid
spores, which are released by rapture of
sporangial wall.
Examples: Rhizopus
ii. Conidiospore
Single celled, bicelled or multicelled structure
born on the tip or side of aerial hyphal structure
called conidiophore.
Are different from sporangiospore as these are
not produced inside sporangium or any sac like
structure.
Conidia are born singly or in chain.
Examples: Penicillium, Apergillus
iii. Arthrospore
Primitive type of spore formed by the breaking
up of fungal mycelium.
A spore is formed by separation followed by
fragmentation of hyphae.
Examples: Trichosporium, Geotrichum,
Coccididious immitis
iv. Chlamydospore
Formed during unfavorable condition - are thick
walled single celled spore, which are highly
resistant to adverse condition.
Hyphal cell or portion of hyphae contracts, loose
water, round up and develops into thick walled
chalmydospore.
When favorable condition returns, each
chlamydospore give rise to a new individual
fungi.
Examples: ascomycetes, basidiomycetes,
zygomycetes.
Histoplasma capsulatum, Candida albicans
v. Blastospore
It is a budding spores usually formed at the
terminal end of hyphae.
These spore may remains attached to hyphae
and bud further to give branching chain of
blastospores.
Examples: ascomycetes, basidiomycetes,
zygomycetes
Sexual reproduction in fungi

Done by diffusion of compatible nuclei from two
parent at a definite state in the life cycle of fungi.
 The process of sexual reproduction involves three
phases:
• Plasmogamy: fusion of protoplasm
• Karyogamy: fusion of nucleus
• Meiosis: reductional nuclear division
Various methods by which compatible nuclei are

brought together in plasmogamy.
Some are:
 Gametic copulation
 Gamete-gametangial copulation
 Gametangial copulation
 Somatic copulation
 Spermatization
1. Gametic copulation:
Fusion of two naked gametes, one or both of them
are motile
a. Isogamous
b. Anisogamous
c. Oogamous
2. Gamete-gametangial copulation:
Male and female gametangia comes into contact
but do not fuse.
A fertilization tube formed from where male
gametangium enters the female gametangium and
male gamate passes through this tube
3. Gametangial copulation
Two gametangia or their protoplast fuse and give
rise to zygospore
4. Spermatization
Fungi like rusts bear numerous minute, non-motile

uninucleate, male cells called spermatia.
Spermatia are produced in spiral receptacles called
spermagonia.
Insects, wind or water to the female gametangium
carries them, which is usually a special receptive
hypha (or trichogyne) to which they become
attached.
A pore develops at the point of contact and the
contents of spermatium pass into the particular
respective hyphae.
This results in plasmogamy and initiation of the
dikaryotic stage of the cell.
4. Somatic copulation:
Also known as somatogamy.
In this process fusion of somatic cell occurs.
This sexual fusion of undifferentiated vegetative
cell results in dikaryotic hyphae, so the process is
also called dikarotization

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1.

Plectenchyma (fungal tissue)

 Organized loosely or compactly woven to form a tissue called plectenchyma.

 There are two types of plectenchyma such as:

 Prosenchyma- loosely interwoven lying more or less parallel to each other.

 Pseudoparenchyma - are compactly interwoven looking like a parenchyma in cross-section

 Under favourable conditions they germinate within a mycelium e.g., Penicillium

 Root-like compactly interwoven hyphae which contains distinct growing tips.

 Helpful in absorption and perennation

(1873). Apical region of rhizomorph of Armillaria mellea as described by Hartig

 Reproduce as either a mycelial or a yeast-like state.

 Diseases : blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, sporotrichosis, etc.

 Get their nutrition from dead and decaying organic matter.

Agaricus Agaricus Mucor

A carpenter ant, of the species Camponotus leonardi

Reproduction in fungi: asexual and sexual methods

1. Asexual reproduction in fungi

3. Asexual spore of fungi

Sexual reproduction in fungi

Various methods by which compatible nuclei are

Fungi like rusts bear numerous minute, non-motile

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