Fungi – moulds, yeasts and mushrooms

Fungi – 

moulds, yeasts and mushrooms 

© Anna Gorbushina, WS 2006/2007 

Fungi in microbiology 

(probably, you have heard these names already…) 

Applied microbiology and biotechnology 

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (beer, bread) 

Penicillium roquefortii (cheese) 

Penicillium chrysogenum and Acremonium chrysogenum 

(antibiotics) 

Aspergillus niger (citric acid) 

Haploid eukaryotes with fast growth rates 

Neurospora crassa 

Aspergillus nidulans 

Saccharomyces cerevisiae 

Ecology, physiology, diversity, plant pathology etc. 


1

•Prokaryotes are morphologicall simple, but physiologically tremendously diverse 

•Planta, Fungi and Animalia have lived through this 3 domain transfromation with 

only minor alterations 

•Protists stay the most diverse group 

•Fungi traditionally includ true fungi and fungi-like protists 

Bacteria 

Archaea 

unicellular osmotrophic 

Protista unicellular diverse: 

ingestion, osmotrophic 

Animalia multicellular phagotrophic (ingestion) 

Fungi X-cellular osmotrophic 

Planta multicellular osmotrophic 



2

Fungi - what is treated by 

mycology? 

True fungi and fungi-like protists 

Microscopic organisms, but there are also 

huge fungi 

For classification it is necessary to have 

propagation structures or to use molecular 

biological characters 


Fungi and mycology 

Groups traditionally treated by mycology 

Oomycetes 

Chytridiomycetes 

Zygomycetes 

Ascomycetes 

Basidiomycetes 


3

Protozoa 

Mycetozoa 

Mesomycetozoa 

Chromista 

Oomycota 

Eumycota 

New classification 

Kingdom Protista 

Plasmodiophoromycota 

Dictyosteliomycota 

Acrasiomycota 

Myxomycota 

Oomycota 

Hyphochytriomycota 

Labyrinthulomycota 

Chytridiomycota 

Zygomycota 

Zygomycetes 

Entomophthorales 

Mortierellales 

Mucorales 

Ascomycota 

Archiascomycetes 

Pneumocystidales 

Hemiascomycetes 

Saccharomycetales 

Euascomycetes 

Chaetothyriales 

Clavicipitales 

Dothideales 

Eurotiales 

Hypocreales 

Leotiales 

Microascales 

Onygenales 

Ophiostomatales 

Phyllachorales 

Pleosporales 

Sordariales 

Basidiomycota 

Hymenomycetes 

Agaricales 

Stereales 

Tremellales 

Urediniomycetes 

Sporidiales 

Ustilaginomycetes 

Microstomatales 

Tilletiales © Anna Gorbushina, WS 2006/2007 

Ustilaginales 

Kingdom Fungi 


Zygomycota 

Ascomycota 

Basidiomycota 


4


Fungi or How to define a diverse polyphyletic 

group (i) 

Heterotrophic (no photosynthesis) 

Osmotrophic (absorptive nutrition - 

exoenzymes) 

Cell walls with chitin 

Thallus grows in or on a substrate, is 

filamentous (or unicellular) and grows in 

modules 

Eukaryotic 

real nucleus, cells frequently multinuclear 


5

Fungi or How to define a diverse polyphyletic 

group (ii) 

Life cycles diverse (from simple to 

complex) 

Sexual propagation may be present or 

absent 

Fruiting bodies (sporocarps) micro- or 

macroscopic, sometimes differentiated into 

tissue-like structures 

Fungi 

eukaryotic, haploid (n) 

dikaryotic (n+n) and diploid (2n) 

periods 

unmotile 

an exception in Fungi: spores of 


Cell walls predominantly contain chitin 

(R=NH-CO-CH 3 ) 

unicellular (yeast) and multicellualr 

(filamentous or mycelial fungi) 

Apical (tip) growth 

Spores as spreading and survival units 



6

Growth in hypha and yeast 

Fungal spores 

From Bartnicki-Garcia & Lippman, 1969, © AAAS 

Spread (propagation) and survival 

spread - quantity 

Survival - thick pigmented cell walls 

Asexual (mitotic division) 

Sexual (cell fusion and meiosis) 

Sometimes in fruit bodies 

Protection 

Spreading mechanisms 

Apical growth 

Transport 

system to the 

only growth 

zone - the tip 

Numerous 

vesicles with 

„building units“ 

for cell wall 

synthesis 

Spitzenkörper 

Yeast - different 

distribution of 

growth zones 



7

Fungal fruiting bodies (sporocarps) 

Mushrooms-onlyfruit 

bodies 

Still composed of 

hyphae 

From Cooke&Rayner, 1984 (c) Longman 

© Prof. Trinci 


Morphology of fungi - hypha, mycelium, colony 

•Mycelium has 1 to 10 µm in diameter 

•Tip growth 

•Substrate penetration 

•Substrate contact surface is enormous 

From Cooke&Rayner, 1984 (c) Longman 

© Polona Zalar & Nina Gunde-Cimerman 


8

Morphology of fungi - vegetative mycelium 

modifications 

Fungal morphology 

Witch circle 

Mycelial strands - 

Serpula lacrymans 

Sclerotia - mummified fruits, 

insect bodies, with mycelium 

penetrating all through 


© Polona Zalar & Nina Gunde-Cimerman 


9

General information 

Cell wall - chitin, cellulose, glucanes 

Motility: none (flagellate spores in Chytridiomycota!) 

Thallus - mycelial (septate, unseptate) or yeast 

Metabolism: aerobic, facultative anaeroby 

(fermentation) 

Life cycles 

Asexual (vegetative, mitotic spores) 

Sexual (generative, meiotic spores) 

Complex, usually facultative 



10

Oomycota 

Protozoa 

Mycetozoa 

Mesomycetozoa 

Chromista 

Oomycota 

Eumycota 


Zygomycota 

Zygomycetes 



Mucorales 

Ascomycota 





Euascomycetes 



Dothideales 

Eurotiales 

Hypocreales 

Leotiales 

Microascales 

Onygenales 



Pleosporales 

Sordariales 

Basidiomycota 

Hymenomycetes 

Agaricales 

Stereales 

Tremellales 


Sporidiales 




Ustilaginales 

•Aquatic organisms 

•Water absolutely 

necessary (in soil, as 

land plants parasites) 

•Heterokont, biflagellate, 

spores 

•Cell walls contain 

cellulose und glucan (ß- 

(1-3) and ß-(1-6) 

glycoside bonds 

•Oogamy with a complex 

and very specific 

fertilisation process 

•Phytophtora infestans 


11

Protozoa 

Mycetozoa 

Mesomycetozoa 

Chromista 

Oomycota 

Eumycota 


Zygomycota 

Zygomycetes 



Mucorales 

Ascomycota 





Euascomycetes 



Dothideales 

Eurotiales 

Hypocreales 

Leotiales 

Microascales 

Onygenales 



Pleosporales 

Sordariales 

Basidiomycota 

Hymenomycetes 

Agaricales 

Stereales 

Tremellales 


Sporidiales 




Ustilaginales 

Differences in 

propagation 

Sexual 

propagation (all 

around meiosis) 

Generations 

(sexual/asexual) 


12

Some groups of Fungi 


Zygomycota 

Ascomycota 

Basidiomycota 

Deuteromycota (Fungi 

imperfecti) 


Cell wall composition in phyla of fungi and fungallike 

protists 

Oomycota 


Zygomycota 

Ascomycota 

Basidiomycota 

cellulose 

β-(1-3)- and β-(1-6)glucan 

chitin 


chitin 

chitosan 

chitin 


chitin 


glucan 

glucan 

polyglucouronate, 

glucuronomannproteins, 

polyphosphates 

galactomannoproteins 

α-(1-3)- glucan 

xylomannoproteins, 

α-(1-3)- glucan 


13

Fungal nutrition and their 

presence in ecosystems 

Osmotrophic - with a huge reactive surface 

Organoheterotrophic 

Respiration/Fermentation 

Where they live: everywhere (soil, air, water, 

wood, rocks). Mainly aerated zones 

Strictly anaerobic fungus: only one 

Chytridiomycete Neocallimastix frontalis (39°C, pH 

6,5) known from the rumenal ecosystem 


Hypha – mycelum – colony – fruiting body 

Mycelium important for all: parasites, 

symbionts, destruents 

Penetration and substrate colonisation 

Curious example: Nematode-trapping 

fungi 


14

Fungal lifestyles 

Saprophytes on dead organic matter - „trash 

and litter“ : 

soil (1g of agricaltural field soil contains 

10-100 m of fungal mycelium) 

wood (destruction and staining) 

various organic compounds 

Symbionts with bacteria, algae, plants 

Parasites on animals, algae, plants 

SAPROPHYTES 

•Substrate mycelium, exoenzymes, 

osmotrophy 

•Available nutrients 


-carbohydrates including highly polymeric 

(cellulose, starch, pectine, lignine) 

-proteins (including keratin) 

-fats, polyols etc 


15

PARASITES 

•Direct contact and nutritional 

connection 

•Mycelium on the surface of a 

structure (e.g. leaf) or between the 

cells 

•Always a direct contact between 

cytoplasmatic membranes - 

penetration structure „haustorium“ 

PARASITES 

•Metabiotrophic 

•Biotrophic 

•Necrotrophic 



16

Claviceps purpurea - sclerotia 

SYMBIONTS 

Obligate life cycle - 

perfectly adapted to the 

host‘s life cycle 

Infection is very limited - 

only one corn 

Sclerotia are survival 

structures (winter winter), ), after 

that a proper meiotic 

cycle takes place 

Various biologically active 

metabolites (LSD) 

Mycorrhiza – higher plants (trees, grasses, 

orchids) 

Lichens – algae and /or cyanobacteria 



17

Mycotrophy of higher plants 

• 80% of plant species are obligately mycotrophic, 10% - 

facultatively 

•Fungi form a close contact with plant roots either as a coat 

or between the root parenchyme cells 

•Characteristic morphology and physiology 

Mycorrhiza 

Mutual profit 

Water, P-, N- and Ca-compounds for a 

plant partner 

Carbohydrate for a fungal partner 

What happens on a contact interface? 

Hyphae are digested 

Phosphatases of plant 

Glucose und succrose are transformed into 

trehalose und mannitol 



18

Ectotrophic mycorrhiza 

Fs – fungal sheath (Mantel aus Pilzhyphen, die auch 

außerhalb der Wurzel weiter in den Boden wachsen) 

Hn – Hartig‘s net (Myzel zwischen den Zellen) 

Mycorrhiza stimulates growth of plants 


See also: Smith, S.E., Smith, F.A. & Jakobsen, I. (2003) Plant Physiol. 133: 16-20. 


19

Ectotrophic 

mycorrhiza makes 

phosphorous 

available, also 

including 

phosphates from 

mineral soil 

horizons 

Landeweert, R., Hoffland, E., Finlay, R.D., Kuyper, T.W. & Van Breemen, N. 

(2001) Trends Ecol. Evol. 248-253. 


Lichen thallus 

Form and structure are 

determined by a mycobiont 

Cortex (upper and lower) 

Photobiont layer 

Medula 

Flavoparmelia caperata 


20

Fungi 

Diverse 

Ubiquitous and stress-tolerant 

With a huge potential (enzymes, 

secondary metabolic products) 

Important in nature as destruents 

(recyclers), symbionts and parasites; as 

lichens even as primary producers 

Biotechnologically useful 


In the real world, the estimate of fungus biomass 

is about two tons per human being in the overall 

biosphere. The unseen underground feeding 

mechanisms of fungi are the great recyclers: 

autumn leaves, cornstalk debris, mountains of 

trash, all returned to usable form mainly by fungi. 

No soil fungi, no trees and forests as we know 

them. No waving fields of grain. No escape from 

unforeseen pneumonia. No athlete's foot. No 

bread, no booze. Give us non-mushroom 

mycologists a break! 

Dr. Emory Simmons 


21

Zygomycota 

Zygomycota 

Chitinous cell 

walls 

Spores in 

sporangia 

Survival 

structures - 

zygosporangia 


Sugar fungi 

Insect 

parasites 

Symbionts 

(VAM 

Mykorrhiza) 


22

Ascomycota 

The biggest group 

Chitin, all protective 

pigments 

Spores asexual – 

exogenous; sexual – in 

Asci 

Ascomycota 

Parasites (true mildew) 

Symbionts (lichens, 

mykorrhiza) 

Destruents 



23

Basidiomycota 

Chitin 

Dikaryotic 

phase 

(reproductio 

n process is 

prolonged) 

Spores 

exogenous 

on a 

basidium; 

basidia 

(plural) on a 

fruit body 

Basidiomycota 

Saprotrophs 

(wood 

decomposers) 

Parasites 

(living hosts, 

also trees) 

Symbiontes 

(mycorrhiza) 



24

Protozoa 

Mycetozoa 

Mesomycetozoa 

Chromista 

Oomycota 

Eumycota 


Zygomycota 

Zygomycetes 



Mucorales 

Ascomycota 





Euascomycetes 



Dothideales 

Eurotiales 

Hypocreales 

Leotiales 

Microascales 

Onygenales 



Pleosporales 

Sordariales 

Basidiomycota 

Hymenomycetes 

Agaricales 

Stereales 

Tremellales 


Sporidiales 




Ustilaginales 

Ameboid slime moulds - Protista 

neither slimy, no moulds 

no hyphae 

no cell walls in the trophic phase 

in the trophic phase ingestion or 

phagocytosis 

fruiting bodies with cell walls 

Spores as propagation units 

amoebal or plasmodial vegetative phase 


25

Ameboid slime moulds - Protista 

Acrasiomycota: early separation from 

Eukarya - discoidal mitochondrial cristae 

Myxomycota and Dictyosteliomycota – 

later development, unrelated 

tubular mitochondrial crystae 

Numerous differences in morphology, life 

cycles, flagella, cell wall composition, 

nutrition 


Plasmodium Physarum polycephalum 


26

Different types of sporangia in 

myxomycetes 

Trichia decipiens 

Physarum cinereum 

Ameboid slime moulds 

Pigments, heterotrophic (no 

chlorophyll) 

Net-work like structures 

that creep over substrates 

and are capable of 

phagocytosis 

rhythmic plasmamovements 

over cmdistances 

Fruiting bodies (sporangia) 

Diachea leucopodium 

Stemonitis 

fusca 



27

Fungi – moulds, yeasts and mushrooms

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