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G 12 Short Notes on Fungi & Protozoa

Fungi

 Microbiologists use the term fungus [pl., fungi; Latin fungus, mushroom] to
describe eukaryotic organisms that are spore-bearing, have absorptive nutrition, lack
chlorophyll, and reproduce sexually and asexually.
 Scientists who study fungi are mycologists [Greek mykes, mushroom, and logos,
science], and the scientific discipline devoted to fungi is called mycology.
 The study of fungal toxins and their effects is called mycotoxicology, and the diseases
caused by fungi in animals are known as mycoses (s., mycosis).

2.3.1. General Characteristics of True Fungi

1. All are eukaryotic: Possess membrane-bound nuclei (containing chromosomes) and a

range of membrane bound cytoplasmic organelles (e.g. mitochondria, vacuoles,
endoplasmic r
2. Most are filamentous: Composed of individual microscopic filaments called
hyphae, which exhibit apical growth and which branch to form a network of hyphae
called a mycelium . some have septate hyphae, and the other have nonsepatate
(coenocytic hyphae)
3. Some are unicellular: e.g. Yeasts.
4. Protoplasm of a hypha or cell is surrounded by a rigid wall: Composed
primarily of chitin and glucans, although the walls of some species contain cellulose.
5. Many reproduce both sexually and asexually: Both sexual and asexual
reproduction often result in the production of spores.
6. Their nuclei are typically haploid and hyphal compartments are often
multinucleate: Although the Oomycota and some yeasts possess diploid nuclei
7. All are achlorophyllous: They lack chlorophyll pigments and are incapable of
photosynthesis
8. All are chemoheterotrophic (chemo• organotrophic): They utilize pre-existing
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organic sources of carbon in their environment and the energy from chemical
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reactions to synthesize the organic compounds they require for growth and energy
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9. Possess characteristic range of storage compounds: e.g. trehalose, glycogen, sugar

alcohols and lipids
10. Nutritionally categorized into three: (saprophytic, parasitic, and symbiotic).

2.3.2. Ecology of Fungi

 Fungi have colonized nearly all environments on Earth, but are frequently found in
cool, dark, moist places with a supply of decaying material. Fungi are saprobes that
decompose organic matter. Many successful mutualistic relationships involve a fungus
and another organism. Many fungi establish complex mycorrhizal associations with the
roots of plants.
 Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism,
usually an algaor cyanobacterium. The photosynthetic organism provides energy derived
from light and carbohydrates, while the fungus supplies minerals and protection. Some
animals that consume fungi help disseminate spores over long distances.

2.3.3. Classification of Fungi

 Many mycologists currently recognize five major groups of fungi, although recent genomic
evidence indicates that the chytrids and zygomycetes are paraphyletic.
 The current classifications of fungi includes:
 Chytridomycota. Zoospore producing fungi. E.g. allomyces & water
molds
 Glomeromycota. E.g. mycorrhizal fungi.
• Zygomycota. Sporangial fungi, E.g. rhizopus and mucor
• Ascomycota. Ascospore producing fungi. E.g. Saccharomyces cerviciae
• Basidomycota. Basidia producing fungi. E.g. rusts & smuts

2.3.4. Reproduction in fungi

 Sporulation is the process of spore formation. It usually occurs in structures Called fruiting
bodies, which represent the part of a fungus in which spores are formed and from which they
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are released. These structures may be asexual and invisible to the naked eye, or sexual
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structures, such as the macroscopic mushrooms.

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A) Asexual reproduction
 Asexual reproductive structures develop at the ends of specialized hyphae. As a result of
mitotic divisions, thousands of spores are produced, all genetically identical.
 Many asexual spores develop within sacs or vessels called sporangia (sing., sporangium;
angio = "vessel"). Appropriately, the spores are called sporangiospores.
 Other fungi produce spores on supportive structures called conidiophores.
These unprotected, dust-like spores are known as conidia (sing., conidium; conidio =
"dust") . Fungal spores are extremely light and are blown about in huge numbers
by wind currents.
 In yet other fungi, spores may form simply by fragmentation of the hyphae yielding
arthrospores (arthro = joint). The fungi that cause athlete's foot multiply in this The fungi
that cause athlete's foot multiply in this manner.
 Many yeasts reproduce asexually by budding. In this process, the cell
becomes swollen at one edge, and a new cell called a blastospore, (blasto = "bud") develops
(buds) from the parent cell. Eventually, the spore breaks free to live independently. The
parent cell can continue to produce additional blastospores.

B) Sexual reproduction

 Many fungi also produce spores by sexual reproduction. In this process, opposite
mating types come together and fuse. Because the nuclei are genetically different in
each mating type, the fusion cell represents a heterokaryon (hetero "different:, karyo =
"nucleus")•, that is, a cell with genetically dissimilar nuclei existing for some length of
time in a common dikaryotic cytoplasm. Eventually the nuclei fuse and a diploid cell is
formed. The chromosome number soon is halved by meiosis, returning the cell or
organism to a haploid condition.
 A visible fruiting body often results during sexual reproduction and it is the location of
the haploid spores. Perhaps the most recognized fruiting body from which spores are
produced is the mushroom.

2.3.5. Economic importance of fungi

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 Fungi are among the economic important microorganisms. They have both beneficial
and harmful aspects

Beneficial aspects of fungi

1. Fungi exist either as saprobes or parasites: Their preeminent ability to break down
complex organic substrates of almost every type is an important and essential activity in the
recycling of carbon as food sources.

3. Fungi, especially the yeasts, are essential to many industrial processes involving fermentation.
Examples include the making of bread, wine, and beer.

4. Fungi also play a major role in the preparation of some cheeses, Enjera,
Tela(Farsoo), Tej(Dadhii), bulla, ETC. And in the commercial production of many
orgamc acids (citric, gallic) and certain drugs (ergometrine, cortisone).

5. Molds (such as Aspergillus species) are used in the production of citric, oxalic,
gluconic and itaconic acid. Products of fermentation yield industrial alcohol, fats and
proteins. A mold (Fusarium) can produce within 48 hours, 12-15 grams of fat from a litre
of 50% glucose solution.

6. Fungi play a major role in the manufacture of many antibiotics (penicillin, griseofulvin)

7. Actinomycetes and fungi are important sources of antibiotics such as penicillin, amphotericin
B, adriamycin and bleomycin, etc.

8. Fungi are useful tools for studying complex eukaryotic events, such as cancer
and aging within a simple cell.

Harmful aspects of Fungi

1. Fungi are the major cause of plant diseases. Plants are particularly vulnerable to
fungal diseases because fungi can invade leaves through their stomata’s. Over 5,000
species attack economically valuable crops, garden plants, and many wild plants. Fungi also
cause many diseases of animals and humans.
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2. Molds can cause deterioration of fabrics, leather, electrical insulation and oth er
manufactured goods. Extensive losses may follow failure to protect material from
ravages of fungi in warm humid climates.

3. Fungi can spoil the agricultural produce, if improperly stored. These also destroy
vegetables, fruits and cereals.

4. Mycotoxicoses (ingestion of toxins of fungal origin) and mycetismus (mushroom

poisoning through ingestion of fungal elements).

A. Aflatoxis: Two closely related fungi, Aspergillus jlavus and A. parasiticus, produce
mycotoxins called aflatoxins. The molds are found primarily in warm, humid climates,
where they contaminate agricultural products such as peanuts, grains, cereals, sweet
potatoes, com, rice, and animal feed.

B. Ergotism is caused by Claviceps purpurea, an ascomycete fungus producing a

powerful toxin. C. purpurea grows as hyphae on kernels of rye, wheat, and barley. As
hyphae penetrate the plant, the fungal cells gradually consume the substance of the
grain, and the dense tissue hardens into a purple body called a sclerotium.

C. Mushroom poisoning, or mycetism, can occur from mushrooms that produce mycotoxins
that affect the human body.

Superficial Fungal infections

5. Superficial mycoses are fungal infections of the outermost areas of the human
body: hair, fingernails, toenails, and the dead, outermost layers of the skin (the epidermis).
This a complex of diseases caused by any of several species of taxonomically related
flamentous fungi in the genera Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, and Microsporum.

 The various forms of dermatophytosis are referred to as tineas or "ringworm."

Clinically, the tineas are classifed according to the anatomic site or structure affected:
l. Tinea corporis (ringworm): Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
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Affects hairless skin.

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2. Tinea pedis (athlete's foot): T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, and Epidermophyton

jloccosum. Affects mainly the lower legs.
3. Tinea capitis: T. tonsurans and M canis. the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes
4. Tinea barbae: T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes. Beard ringworm.
5. Tinea unguium (also known as onychomycosis).: T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, and
E. jloccosum. Affect the nails
 Mode of transmission: Superficial mycoses (Dermatomycoses) are infections that are
transmitted directly by human contact, animal-human contact or indirectly
on inanimate objects (clothes, carpets, moisture, and dust in showers, swimming
pools, wardrobes, gyms). The localization of the primary foci corresponds to the
contact site. Thus feet, uncovered skin (hair, head, facial skin) are affected most
frequently
Prevention: Regular disinfection of showers and wardrobes can contribute to prevention of
athlete’s foot, a very frequent infection.

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2.4. Protozoa

 The term protozoa [s., protozoan; Greek protos, first, and zoon, animal] has
traditionally referred to chemoorganotrophic protists, and protozoology generally refers to
the study of protozoa.
 Characteristics of protozoa:
• Unicellular microorganisms that lacks cell wall.
• They are may be free living or parasitic.
• Aerobic.
• They are eukaryotic cells. They have true nucleus.
 Mostly microscopic, although some are large enough to be seen with the unaided eye
• Locomotion by pseudopodia, flagella, cilia, and direct cell movements; some sessile.
• Nutrition of all types: autotrophic (manufacturing own nutrients by
photosynthesis), heterotrophic (depending on other plants or animals for food), saprozoic
(using nutrients dissolved in the surrounding medium)
• Aquatic or terrestrial habitat; f r e e -living or symbiotic mode of life
• Reproduction asexually by fission, budding, and cysts and sexually by conjugation o r
b y syngamy (union of male and female gametes to form a zygote)

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Reproduction in protozoa

 Most protozoa are asexual and reproduce in one of three ways. These are:
 Fission: Fission occurs when a cell divides evenly to form two new cells
 Budding: Budding occurs when a cell divides unevenly.
 Multiple fission (schizogony): Multiple fission is when the nucleus of the cell
divides multiple times before the rest of the cell divides. Forms around each
nucleus when the nucleus divides then each nuclei separates into a daughter cell.
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 Sexual reproduction also occurs during the life cycle of most protozoa. A distinctive
feature of ciliates is the presence of two types of nuclei: tiny micronuclei and large
macronuclei. A cell has one or more nuclei of each type.
 Genetic variation results from conjugation a sexual process in which two individuals
exchange haploid micronuclei but do not reproduce.
 Ciliates generally reproduce asexually by binary fission, during which the
existing macronucleus disintegrates and a new one is formed from the cell’s
micronuclei. Each macronucleus typically contains multiple copies of the ciliate's
genome. Genes in the macronucleus control the everyday functions of the cell, such
as feeding, waste removal, and maintaining water balance.

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Nutrition in Protozoans

 Protists receive nutrients by breaking down organic matter (heterotrophic)

and can grow in both aerobic and anaerobic environments, such as protists
that live in the intestine of animals.
 Some protists, such as Euglena, receive nutrients from organic matter and through
photosynthesis because they contain chlorophyll. These protists are considered both
algae and protozoa.
 Protists obtain food m one of three ways:
 Absorption: Food is absorbed across the protest’s plasma membrane.
 Ingestion: Cilia outside the protist create a wave-like motion to move food into a
mouth like opening in the protist called a cytosome. An example is the paramecium.
 Engulf: Pseudopods (meaning "false feet") on the protist engulf food, then pull it
into the cell using a process called phagocytosis. An example of this type of protist
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is the amoeba.
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 Food is digested in the vacuole after the food enters the cell. The
vacuole is a membrane-bound organelle. Waste products are excreted using
a process called exocytosis

2.4.1. Common diseases caused by protozoa

 Most protozoa’s are not harmful but there are a few disease-causing protozoans.
 Many types of protozoa are even beneficial in the environment because they help make
it more productive.
 They improve the quality of water by eating bacteria and other particles.
 Some of the human diseases caused by protozoans include malaria, African
trypanosomiasis, amoebiasis, giardiasis, chagas disease, leishmaniosis, toxoplasmosis,
and cryptosporidiosis

Refer Table 2.6. Major protozoa! Parasites of human and other organisms page75 & 76

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