the Kingdom Fungi
70,000-100,000 species currently reconized;
Characteristics:
1.Eucaryotic heterotrophs (parasites or saprophytes), mostly multicellular
2.Cell walls characterized by presence of chitin
3.Food storage primarily as glycogen or oils
4.Usually bearing spores derived through sexual and /or asexual processes
5.Assimilative(=vegetive) stage of most fungi is a mycelium which consists of a mass of thead-like filaments called hyphae
6.Flagellated (motile)cells are absent execpt in on group(the chytridiomycota)
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Division chytridiomysota (cytrids)
Division zygomycota (zygomycetes)
Division ascomycota (sac fungi)
Division basidiomycota club fungi)
Division deuteromycota (imperfect fungi)
lichens (symbiotic associations of algae and fungi)
Fungi have evoved a variety of ways to bring together parental nuclei( types of plasmogamy):
1 gametic fusion- fusion of two gametes,one or both of which are motile.
2 gametangial contact-no gametes are released, 2 gametangia of opposite sex contact, male gametes(nulei) trasferred from gametangium(anteridium) to female gametangium (oogonuum)
3 gametangial fusion-fusion of two gametangial cells by dissolution of the contctiong walls, gametangia usally morphologically indistinguishable
4 sperematization_ rlease of numerous small non-motile cells called spermatia(sporelike, are moved passively(wind,water) to a receptive trichogyne on the 'female' gametangium
5 somatogamy-no special sex organs produced, fusions between normal veg. cells with an exchange or mingling of nuclei