Fungus


A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source.

The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap.

Mushroom

Mycology

- Hyphae
- Pseudophyphae
- Dimorphic Fungi
-  Chitin

Physical Characteristics of Different Fungi

Fungi can reproduce both sexually and asexually. The specific reproductive types and mechanisms they employ are key characteristics used to distinguish different fungal groups.

Reproduction of Fungi

Fungi is a diverse kingdom that can be broken down into seven phyla:
- Ascomycota
- Basidiomycota
- Blastocladiomycota
- Chytridiomycota
- Glomeromycota
- Microsporidia
- Neocallimastigomycota

Fungal Diversity 

Yeasts are a type of unicellular fungi that are included in the study of microbiology. There are over $${}1000$$ known species that exist in a wide variety of environments, ranging from the deep sea to the human body. While some yeasts have beneficial applications, such as causing bread to rise and facilitating beverage fermentation, they can also cause food spoilage and lead to human diseases, such as oral thrush and vaginal yeast infections.

Yeasts

Molds are multicellular fungi consisting of long filaments that combine to form visible colonies. They are ubiquitous in diverse environments, such as soil, rotting food, and damp indoor spaces, and they serve an essential ecological role in decomposing dead plants and animals. While some molds can cause allergies or produce disease-causing metabolites called mycotoxins, others have critical pharmaceutical uses, such as the production of the antibiotic penicillin and the immunosuppressant cyclosporine used to prevent organ rejection.

Molds

Fungi play vital roles as environmental decomposers and are critical for the production of certain foods, such as cheeses.

Human and Ecological Importance of Fungi

Fungi are included in the field of microbiology because, despite the existence of macroscopic structures like mushrooms and molds, many unicellular yeasts and the reproductive spores of macroscopic fungi are microscopic.

Fungi in Microbiology

Fungi have significant medical relevance; while some pathogenic species cause mycoses, others are opportunistic pathogens that lead to infections primarily when the host's immune system is compromised. Conversely, fungi are also medically beneficial as major sources of antibiotics, such as penicillin.

Medical Relevance of Fungi

Urediniomycetes is a class of fungi that includes plant rusts, which form reddish masses on plants and can cause significant economic damage by reducing crop yields.

Urediniomycetes

Ustilagomycetes is a class of fungi that includes plant smuts, which form dark masses on plants and can cause substantial economic loss by reducing crop yields.

Ustilagomycetes

Lichens are symbiotic associations between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, which can be either an alga or a cyanobacterium. They are characteristically slow-growing organisms that can survive for centuries in a variety of habitats.

Lichens

Fungi are a diverse group of saprotrophic eukaryotic organisms with cell walls containing chitin. They can be unicellular or multicellular, with some forms (such as yeasts and reproductive spores) being microscopic, while others are large and conspicuous.

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Types of Pathogens

A kingdom made up of all funguses, characterized by their cell walls that absorb nutrients, rather than using photosynthesize as members of some other kingsdoms do.

Fungi (Kingdom)

https://openstax.org/details/books/microbiology/

Microbiology covers the scope and sequence requirements for a single-semester microbiology course for non-majors. The book presents the core concepts of microbiology with a focus on applications for careers in allied health. The pedagogical features of the text make the material interesting and accessible while maintaining the career-application focus and scientific rigor inherent in the subject matter. Microbiology’s art program enhances students’ understanding of concepts through clear and effective illustrations, diagrams, and photographs.

Microbiology is produced through a collaborative publishing agreement between OpenStax and the American Society for Microbiology Press. The book aligns with the curriculum guidelines of the American Society for Microbiology.

OpenStax Microbiology Textbook

Bacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms found in nearly every habitat on Earth, including within and on the human body. As prokaryotes, their genetic material (DNA) is not housed within a true nucleus. Most bacterial cells feature cell walls containing peptidoglycan. While many bacteria are harmless or beneficial, some act as pathogens and cause diseases in humans and other animals.

Bacteria

Viruses are simple microorganisms that infect cells with the potential to cause disease. A virus particle, or virion, is made of RNA or DNA and an outer protein shell called a capsid. Viruses are dependent on an infected host cell in order to reproduce; they cannot reproduce by themselves.

Viruses

A parasite is an organism that takes from and hurts its host organism in order to survive. 

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