Fungi Characters

• It is a unique kingdom of heterotrophic organisms.
• Fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in air, water, soil and on animals and plants.
• They prefer to grow in warm and humid places.
• E.g. bread mould, orange rots, mushroom, toadstools etc.
• White spots seen on mustard leaves are due to a parasitic fungus.
• Some fungi are the source of antibiotics, e.g., Penicillium.
• Some unicellular fungi (e.g. yeast) are used to make bread and beer.
• Other fungi cause diseases in plants and animals. E.g. wheat rust-causing Puccinia.
• Except yeasts, fungi are filamentous.
• Their bodies consist of long, slender thread-like structures called hyphae. The network of hyphae is known as mycelium.
• Some hyphae are continuous tubes filled with multinucleated cytoplasm. These are called coenocytic hyphae.
• Others have septae or cross walls in hyphae.
• Fungal cell wall is made of chitin & polysaccharides.
• Most fungi are saprophytes (absorb soluble organic matter from dead substrates). Some are parasites.
• Some live as symbionts – in association with algae as lichens and with roots of higher plants as mycorrhiza.