Fungus - Wikipedia
Fungus - Wikipedia
Fungus - Wikipedia
Scientific classification
Clade: Obazoa
(unranked): Opisthokonta
Clade: Holomycota
Kingdom: Fungi
(L.) R.T.Moore[1]
Subkingdoms/Phyla
Rozellomyceta
Rozellomycota
Rozellomycota
Microsporidia
Aphelidiomyceta
Aphelidiomycota
Eumycota
Chytridiomyceta
Neocallimastigomycota
Chytridiomycota
Blastocladiomyceta
Blastocladiomycota
Zoopagomyceta
Basidiobolomycota
Entomophthoromycota
Kickxellomycota
Mortierellomycota
Mucoromyceta
Calcarisporiellomycota
Mucoromycota
Symbiomycota
Glomeromycota
Entorrhizomycota
Dikarya
Dikarya
Basidiomycota
Ascomycota
Etymology
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin
fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and
Pliny.[8] This in turn is derived from the Greek word
sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the
macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms
and molds;[9] the root is also used in other languages, such
as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel
('mold').[10]
Characteristics
2. Septum 7. Nucleus
Shared features:
Unique features:
Some species grow as unicellular yeasts that reproduce
by budding or fission. Dimorphic fungi can switch
between a yeast phase and a hyphal phase in response
to environmental conditions.[32]
The fungal cell wall is made of a chitin-glucan complex;
while glucans are also found in plants and chitin in the
exoskeleton of arthropods,[34] fungi are the only
organisms that combine these two structural molecules
in their cell wall. Unlike those of plants and oomycetes,
fungal cell walls do not contain cellulose.[35][36]
Diversity
Mycology
In 1729, Pier Antonio Micheli first published descriptions of fungi.
History
Morphology
Microscopic structures
2. Conidiophore 4. Conidia
5. Septa
Macroscopic structures
Armillaria solidipes
Fungal mycelia can become visible to the naked eye, for
example, on various surfaces and substrates, such as
damp walls and spoiled food, where they are commonly
called molds. Mycelia grown on solid agar media in
laboratory petri dishes are usually referred to as colonies.
These colonies can exhibit growth shapes and colors (due
to spores or pigmentation) that can be used as diagnostic
features in the identification of species or groups.[65] Some
individual fungal colonies can reach extraordinary
dimensions and ages as in the case of a clonal colony of
Armillaria solidipes, which extends over an area of more
than 900 ha (3.5 square miles), with an estimated age of
nearly 9,000 years.[66]
Reproduction
Polyporus squamosus
Asexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction
The 8-spore asci of Morchella elata, viewed with phase contrast microscopy
Spore dispersal
Homothallism
Evolution
In contrast to plants and animals, the early fossil record of
the fungi is meager. Factors that likely contribute to the
under-representation of fungal species among fossils
include the nature of fungal fruiting bodies, which are soft,
fleshy, and easily degradable tissues and the microscopic
dimensions of most fungal structures, which therefore are
not readily evident. Fungal fossils are difficult to
distinguish from those of other microbes, and are most
easily identified when they resemble extant fungi.[116] Often
recovered from a permineralized plant or animal host,
these samples are typically studied by making thin-section
preparations that can be examined with light microscopy
or transmission electron microscopy.[117] Researchers
study compression fossils by dissolving the surrounding
matrix with acid and then using light or scanning electron
microscopy to examine surface details.[118]
Taxonomy
Although commonly included in botany curricula and
textbooks, fungi are more closely related to animals than to
plants and are placed with the animals in the monophyletic
group of opisthokonts.[145] Analyses using molecular
phylogenetics support a monophyletic origin of
fungi.[51][146] The taxonomy of fungi is in a state of
constant flux, especially due to research based on DNA
comparisons. These current phylogenetic analyses often
overturn classifications based on older and sometimes
less discriminative methods based on morphological
features and biological species concepts obtained from
experimental matings.[147]
Paramic
Rozellomyceta
Microsporidiomycota Nucleo
Metc
Micro
Aphelidiomyceta A
phelidiomycota Aphelidiomy
Eumycota hytridiomyceta Neocallima
C
Chytridi
Blastocladiomyceta Blastoc
Amastigomycota Zoopa
Morti
Muco
Symb
Basidiomycota Tritirachiomycetes
Mixiomycetes
Agaricostilbomycetes
Cystobasidiomycetes
Pucciniomycotina Classiculaceae
Microbotryomycetes
Cryptomycocolacom
Atractiellomycetes
Pucciniomycetes
Mo
Ma
Ustilaginomycotina
Us
Exo
?Ge
Orthomycotina
?Wa
Bart
Agaricomycotina
Tre
D
A
Ascomycota Ne
Ta
Taphrinomycotina Ar
Schizosaccharomyceta P
S
Saccharomyceta Saccharomycotina Sacchar
Pezizomycotina ?Thelo
?Vezda
?Lahm
?Triblid
Orbilio
Leotio
Taxonomic groups
Diagram of an apothecium (the typical cup-like reproductive structure of Ascomycetes) showing sterile tissues as well as developing and mature asci.
Fungus-like organisms
Ecology
A pin mold decomposing a peach
Symbiosis
With plants
Mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi is one of
the most well-known plant–fungus associations and is of
significant importance for plant growth and persistence in
many ecosystems; over 90% of all plant species engage in
mycorrhizal relationships with fungi and are dependent
upon this relationship for survival.[180]
The dark filaments are hyphae of the endophytic fungus Epichloë coenophiala in the intercellular spaces of tall fescue leaf sheath tissue
The lichen Lobaria pulmonaria, a symbiosis of fungal, algal, and cyanobacterial species
The plant pathogen Puccinia magellanicum (calafate rust) causes the defect known as witch's broom, seen here on a barberry shrub in Chile.
Gram stain of Candida albicans from a vaginal swab from a woman with candidiasis, showing hyphae, and chlamydospores, which are 2–4 µm in diameter.
Many fungi are parasites on plants, animals (including
humans), and other fungi. Serious pathogens of many
cultivated plants causing extensive damage and losses to
agriculture and forestry include the rice blast fungus
Magnaporthe oryzae,[205] tree pathogens such as
Ophiostoma ulmi and Ophiostoma novo-ulmi causing Dutch
elm disease,[206] Cryphonectria parasitica responsible for
chestnut blight,[207] and Phymatotrichopsis omnivora
causing Texas Root Rot, and plant pathogens in the genera
Fusarium, Ustilago, Alternaria, and Cochliobolus.[178] Some
carnivorous fungi, like Paecilomyces lilacinus, are predators
of nematodes, which they capture using an array of
specialized structures such as constricting rings or
adhesive nets.[208] Many fungi that are plant pathogens,
such as Magnaporthe oryzae, can switch from being
biotrophic (parasitic on living plants) to being necrotrophic
(feeding on the dead tissues of plants they have killed).[209]
This same principle is applied to fungi-feeding parasites,
including Asterotremella albida, which feeds on the fruit
bodies of other fungi both while they are living and after
they are dead.[210]
Some fungi can cause serious diseases in humans, several
of which may be fatal if untreated. These include
aspergillosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis,
cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, mycetomas, and
paracoccidioidomycosis. Furthermore, persons with
immuno-deficiencies are particularly susceptible to
disease by genera such as Aspergillus, Candida,
Cryptoccocus,[179][211][212] Histoplasma,[213] and
Pneumocystis.[214] Other fungi can attack eyes, nails, hair,
and especially skin, the so-called dermatophytic and
keratinophilic fungi, and cause local infections such as
ringworm and athlete's foot.[215] Fungal spores are also a
cause of allergies, and fungi from different taxonomic
groups can evoke allergic reactions.[216]
As targets of mycoparasites
Communication
Mycotoxins
Ergotamine, a major mycotoxin produced by Claviceps species, which if ingested can cause gangrene, convulsions, and hallucinations
Pathogenic mechanisms
Ustilago maydis is a pathogenic plant fungus that causes
smut disease in maize and teosinte. Plants have evolved
efficient defense systems against pathogenic microbes
such as U. maydis. A rapid defense reaction after pathogen
attack is the oxidative burst where the plant produces
reactive oxygen species at the site of the attempted
invasion. U. maydis can respond to the oxidative burst with
an oxidative stress response, regulated by the gene YAP1.
The response protects U. maydis from the host defense,
and is necessary for the pathogen's virulence.[225]
Furthermore, U. maydis has a well-established
recombinational DNA repair system which acts during
mitosis and meiosis.[226] The system may assist the
pathogen in surviving DNA damage arising from the host
plant's oxidative defensive response to infection.[227]
Human use
Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells shown with DIC microscopy
Therapeutic uses
Modern chemotherapeutics
Antibiotics
Other
Other drugs produced by fungi include griseofulvin isolated
from Penicillium griseofulvum, used to treat fungal
infections,[242] and statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors),
used to inhibit cholesterol synthesis. Examples of statins
found in fungi include mevastatin from Penicillium citrinum
and lovastatin from Aspergillus terreus and the oyster
mushroom.[243] Psilocybin from fungi is investigated for
therapeutic use and appears to cause global increases in
brain network integration.[244] Fungi produce compounds
that inhibit viruses[245][246] and cancer cells.[247] Specific
metabolites, such as polysaccharide-K, ergotamine, and β-
lactam antibiotics, are routinely used in clinical medicine.
The shiitake mushroom is a source of lentinan, a clinical
drug approved for use in cancer treatments in several
countries, including Japan.[248][249] In Europe and Japan,
polysaccharide-K (brand name Krestin), a chemical derived
from Trametes versicolor, is an approved adjuvant for
cancer therapy.[250]
Traditional medicine
The fungi Ganoderma lucidum (left) and Ophiocordyceps sinensis (right) are used in traditional medicine practices
Cultured foods
In food
Amanita phalloides accounts for the majority of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide. It sometimes lacks the greenish color seen here.
Pest control
Bioremediation
Model organisms
Others
Conservation of fungi
Fantastic Fungi
Glossary of mycology
Marine fungi
Fungal infection
Outline of fungi
Fungi in art
References
Citations
Cited literature
External links
Fungus
at Wikipedia's sister projects
Definitions
from
Wiktionary
Media from
Commons
Taxa from
Wikispecies