Portal:Fungi
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The Fungi Portal
A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and futher specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.
Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.
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First recorded in 2008 by Bao-Kai Cui and Yu-Cheng Dai in Fujian Province, it was revealed in 2011 that a very large fruit body, measuring up to 1,085 cm (427 in) in length, had been found by the pair on Hainan Island. The specimen, which was 20 years old, was estimated to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms (880 and 1,100 lb). This was markedly larger than the previously largest recorded fruit body, a specimen of Rigidoporus ulmarius found in the United Kingdom, which had a circumference of 425 cm (167 in). The findings were formally published in September 2011, but attracted international attention from the mainstream press prior to this.
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The fruit body initially appears like a whitish "egg" attached to the ground by long cords. The egg has a delicate, leathery outer membrane enclosing the compressed lattice that surrounds a layer of olive-green spore-bearing slime called the gleba, which contains high levels of calcium that help protect the developing fruit body during development. As the egg ruptures and the fruit body expands, the gleba is carried upward on the inner surfaces of the spongy lattice, and the egg tissue remains as a volva around the base of the structure. The gleba has a fetid odor, somewhat like rotting meat, that attracts flies and other insects to help disperse the spores.
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WikiProjects related to fungi:
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Did you know?
- ... that some species in the lichen genus Sticta can be used to assess the age of forests?
- ... that the stinkhorn fungus Pseudocolus fusiformis is commonly known as the stinky squid?
- ... that the mosaic puffball mushroom can bioaccumulate the trace metals copper and zinc?
- ... that coprophilous fungi are species of fungi that feed on animal feces?
- ... that the coprophilous mushroom Conocybe rickenii may be found in large numbers in gardens where horse manure has been used to enrich the soil?
General images - show new batch
- Image 2Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a cultivated edible mushroom for foods and has many names such as "champignon", " button mushroom", "white mushroom", and " portobello" (from Mushroom)
- Image 5There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
- Image 7Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
- Image 8A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
- Image 9Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 µm. (from Marine fungi)
- Image 10Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
- Image 11Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
- Image 13Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
- Image 16Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
- Image 18Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
- Image 19The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
- Image 20Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
- Image 21Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
- Image 22Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) has a glebal hymenium; the interior is white when it is young, but as it matures, the interior becomes brown containing spores (from Mushroom)
- Image 23Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
- Image 27Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
- Image 32Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
- Image 33Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
- Image 35Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplanktonChytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
- Image 36Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
- Image 38Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
- Image 40Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
- Image 41Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
- Image 42Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
- Image 43Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycleRoles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
- Image 44Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
- Image 45Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
- Image 46Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Related portals
Topics
- Main topics lists: Outline of fungi and Outline of lichens
- Fungi: Bracket fungus, carnivorous fungus, coprophilous fungi, entomopathogenic fungus, evolution of fungi, lichen, mushroom, mycology (lichenology, mycotoxicology, paleomycology), mycorrhiza, pathogenic fungi, puffball, wood-decay fungus
- Fungal orders: Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Zygomycota, Glomeromycota. Dikarya: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota
- Fungi lists: Species: Agaricus species, Amanita species, Boletus species, Cortinarius species, Cyathus species, Hygrocybe species, Hygrophorus species, Inocybe species, Lactarius species, Mycosphaerella species, Panaeolus species, Psilocybe species, Russula species, Scleroderma species Other lists: Mycology journals, psilocybin mushrooms
- Uses: Edible mushroom, mushroom poisoning, psilocybin mushrooms, mushroom hunting, fungiculture, fermentation, baker's yeast, mycoremediation, lichenometry, mushroom dye
Categories
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