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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Coprinellus micaceus is a common species of fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae with a cosmopolitan distribution. The fruit bodies of the saprobe typically grow in clusters on or near rotting hardwood tree stumps or underground tree roots. Depending on their stage of development, the tawny-brown mushroom caps may range in shape from oval to bell-shaped to convex, and reach diameters up to 3 cm (1.2 in). The caps, marked with fine radial grooves that extend nearly to the center, rest atop whitish stems up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long. In young specimens, the entire cap surface is coated with a fine layer of reflective mica-like cells that provide the inspiration for both the mushroom's species name and the common names mica cap, shiny cap, and glistening inky cap. Although small and with thin flesh, the mushrooms are usually bountiful, as they typically grow in dense clusters. A few hours after collection, the gills will begin to slowly dissolve into a black, inky, spore-laden liquid—an enzymatic process called autodigestion or deliquescence. The fruit bodies are edible before the gills blacken and dissolve, and cooking will stop the autodigestion process.

The microscopic characteristics and cytogenetics of C. micaceus are well known, and it has been used frequently as a model organism to study cell division and meiosis in Basidiomycetes. Chemical analysis of the fruit bodies has revealed the presence of antibacterial and enzyme-inhibiting compounds. Formerly known as Coprinus micaceus, the species was transferred to Coprinellus in 2001 as phylogenetic analyses provided the impetus for a reorganization of the many species formerly grouped together in the genus Coprinus. Based on external appearance, C. micaceus is virtually indistinguishable from C. truncorum, and it has been suggested that many reported collections of the former may be of the latter.

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Amanita aestivalis, commonly known as the white American star-footed Amanita, is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Amanitaceae. The fungus is distributed in the eastern United States, south to Florida, and reaches north into the southeastern provinces of Canada. The cap of the fruit body is medium-sized, 5 to 8.5 cm (2.0 to 3.3 in) in diameter and white. It sits atop a stem that is 8.5 to 16 cm (3.3 to 6.3 in) long and has a rounded bulb its the base. The entire fruit body will slowly stain a reddish-brown color in response to bruising or aging. It remains unknown whether Amanita aestivalis is a distinct species from A. brunnescens, another similar Amanita with a comparable distribution. There are several other white-bodied amanitas with which A. aestivalis may be confused, including A. virosa, A. phalloides, and A. bisporigera.

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Credit: JJ Harrison

Several Marasmius elegans fruit bodies, photographed in Wielangta Forest, Tasmania.

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Did you know?

... that the mushroom Cystodermella cinnabarina can only be distinguished from similar fungi by performing chemical tests and microscopic analysis of spores, basidia and cystidia?
... that the bolete eater which attacks boletes is actually another type of fungus?
... that the mushroom species Russula albidula is commonly known as the "boring white Russula"?
... that infection by pistil smut induces the development of female sex organs in a male?
... that hairy black cups use toxic chemicals to kill living things?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 2Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 3Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 4A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 5Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
Image 6Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 7Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 8Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 9Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 10Amanita 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 11Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 12There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 13Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
Image 14Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ. (from Mycology)
Image 15Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 16
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 17Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 18Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 19Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 20Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 21Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 22The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 23Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey . This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 24Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 25Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 26Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 27Neurospora 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 28
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles 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 29Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 30Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 31Common 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 32Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 33
Diagram 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 34A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 35
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐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 36Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 37Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 38The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 39Psychotropic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 40Agaricus 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 41The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 42Agaricus bitorquis mushroom emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 43Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 44Pennate 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 45Chytrid 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 46
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)