Fungus is an eukaryotic organism, including microorganisms like mold, yeast, and mushroom.The eukaryotic kingdoms are classified into four groups: Plantae, Fungi, Animalia, and Protozoa. All the organisms in this group have clearly defined nuclei, DNA, and mitochondria.The branch of biology devoted to studying fungi is known as mycology. Fungi are genetically related more closely to animals than plants. The fungal kingdom consists of eukaryotic, non-motile, non-vascular, and heterotrophic organisms. They are filamentous or unicellular and reproduce by spores. Fungi show the phenomenon of alternation of generation.Keep reading this article to find some insightful facts about fungi.What are fungi?Organisms that eat organic material are fungi. A tremendous variety of organisms are included in the fungal kingdom, which may be animals or plants. Fungi play important role in the food web as recyclers or decomposers. Fungi make it possible for the members of the other kingdoms to supply nutrients to live. Without decomposing organisms to decompose the dead organic matter, the food web will not be complete.The English word fungus is directly taken from the Latin word ‘fungus,’ meaning mushroom. The presence of chitin in the cell walls of fungi is the characteristic that differentiates the Fungi kingdom from the others. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophs. Fungi do not photosynthesize as they are the decomposers of the ecological system. The slime molds and water molds are fungus-like protists.Edible fungi are a part of these unique multicellular eukaryotes, like mushrooms and yeast. Yeast helps in making our bread rise and fermenting our beer and wine. Examples of some more fungi are black bread mold, rusts, yeasts, mildews, and mushrooms.Fungi are in the kingdom of Fungi but are closer to plants and animals. Fungi convert the dead organic matter into carbon dioxide, organic acids, and biomass. They can not make their own food and so, they are more like animals. Many species can be used as effective bio absorbents to remove pollutants like copper, mercury, cadmium, lead, and zinc, by collecting them in their fruiting bodies.Yeast is also a fungus that can ferment alcoholic drinks and pastries. New fungus species have been found that can decompose plastic in weeks and not years. Itaconic acid derived from a fungus makes lego, synthetic rubber, and plastic car parts.Fungi are used to turn crop waste into bioethanol. A symbiotic relationship exists between the fungi in the soil and trees.There are about 350 species of fungi that can be consumed as foods, including truffles. Fungal products are used instead of polystyrene foam, building materials, and leather. Fungal infection is any disease caused by a fungus, like yeast infection, athlete’s foot, and ringworm jock itch. Fungus feeds on a living host and it may be plants or other organisms.Most fungi get nutrition from the dead remains of animals and plants. Fungi are an important part of many habitats as they decompose dead plant substances.Classification Of FungiThe major division of fungi is classified based on the sexual reproductive structures. There are five types of fungi named Chytridiomycota, Ascomycota, Glomeromycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota.Parasitic fungi attack the living organisms, digest the cell membrane, penetrate through their cytoplasm and obtain nourishment, thereby causing disease and death in the host plants.Root fungi called Mycorrhizae form symbiotic relationships with the roots of plants. Fungi are immobile, and their cell walls are rigid to support them. The network of hyphae created by many fungi is called mycelium. The mycelium grows in soil or decaying material, liquid, on the surface, or living tissues. No vascular system is present in fungi for long-distance transport of nutrients and water.Edible mushrooms are fleshy and have edible fruiting bodies. Macro fungi are fungi with large fruiting bodies and can be easily identified with your eyes, like toadstools and mushrooms. We can identify edible mushrooms from the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable aroma and taste. Fungi are in a mutualistic relationship with other organisms, in which both organisms have benefits.The largest living organism, honey mushroom, discovered in Malheur National Forest, USA, is a single specimen.Athletes’ foot is commonly found in people who have very sweaty feet. It’s a fungal infection. Symptoms of an athlete’s foot are itchy and scaly rashes.Mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in the plant’s nutrition, soil chemistry, and soil biology. The mutual symbiotic association of fungus and plant is referred to as Mycorrhiza.Characteristics Of The Fungi KingdomIn the two-kingdom system, fungi are classified under the Plant kingdom since as they have similarities with plants. The plants and fungi are immobile, grow in soil, and have cell walls.Fungi and Plantae are different as plants are autotrophs and can make their food and cell walls are made of cellulose. Fungi are heterotrophs, taking food from the host, and their cell walls are made of chitin. In 1940, penicillin, the first mass-produced antibiotic, was derived from Penicillium fungi.Naturally, fungi produce antibiotics to kill or stop the growth of bacteria to limit their competition in the natural environment. Important antibiotics can be isolated from fungi, such as penicillin and cephalosporins.Kingdom Fungi has 216 species of fungi that are thought to be hallucinogenic.Fungi can also be used as biological pesticides to control plant diseases, weeds, and insect pests. Bioactive products called mycotoxins are produced by many species, like polyketides and alkaloids, which are toxic to animals and humans.The single-cell fungus is yeast.The Life Cycle Of FungiFungi go through four life cycle stages: spores, germs, hyphae, and mature mycelium. The development stages of a mold were shown by Brundrett through an alternative diagram in 1990.Fungi have a distinctive life cycle that includes a heterokaryotic and dikaryotic cell with two nuclei. The life cycle starts when the haploid spores germinate, divide mitotically, and form a multicellular hypha.Based on the species of fungi, the life cycle has different patterns. All fungi are not reproduced in the same way, and some fungi reproduce asexually, while others reproduce sexually. Spores are produced by sexual reproduction or by asexual methods.The sexual reproduction of fungi has three stages: plasmogamy, karyogamy, and meiosis. The diploid chromosomes are divided into two daughter cells in which each cell contains a set of chromosomes.Fungi are diverse with various reproductive methods and life cycles.
Fungus is an eukaryotic organism, including microorganisms like mold, yeast, and mushroom.
