Portal:Fungi

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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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Amanita ocreata, commonly known as the death angel, destroying angel or more precisely Western North American destroying angel, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Occurring in the Pacific Northwest and California Floristic Provinces of North America, A. ocreata associates with oak trees. The large fruiting bodies (the mushrooms) generally appear in spring; the cap may be white or ochre and often develops a brownish centre, while the stipe, ring, gill and volva are all white.

Amanita ocreata resemble several edible species commonly consumed by humans, increasing the risk of accidental poisoning. Mature fruiting bodies can be confused with the edible A. velosa, A. lanei or Volvariella speciosa, while immature specimens may be difficult to distinguish from edible Agaricus mushrooms or puffballs. Similar in toxicity to the death cap (A. phalloides) and destroying angels of Europe (A. virosa) and eastern North America (A. bisporigera), it is a potentially deadly fungus responsible for a number of poisonings in California. Its principal toxic constituent, α-amanitin, damages the liver and kidneys, often fatally, and has no known antidote. The initial symptoms are gastrointestinal and include colicky abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. These subside temporarily after 2–3 days, though ongoing damage to internal organs during this time is common; symptoms of jaundice, diarrhea, delirium, seizures, and coma may follow with death from liver failure 6–16 days post ingestion.

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Handkea utriformis, synonymous with Lycoperdon utriforme or Calvatia utriformis, is a species of the puffball family Lycoperdaceae. A rather large mushroom, it may reach dimensions of up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) broad by 20 centimetres (7.9 in) tall. It is commonly known as the mosaic puffball, a reference to the polygonal-shaped segments the outer surface of the fruiting body develops as it matures. Widespread in northern temperate zones, it is found frequently on pastures and sandy heaths, and is edible when young. H. utriformis has antibiotic activity against a number of bacteria, and can bioaccumulate the trace metals copper and zinc to relatively high concentrations.

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Credit: JJ Harrison

Rigidoporus laetus, a species of plant pathogen from the genus Rigidoporus, photographed Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia.

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Did you know?

... that Mycena nargan was so named because its white speckles were like the eyes of the nargun of Australian aboriginal myth?
... that the Lulworthiaceae are a family of marine fungi that typically grow on submerged wood or seaweed?
... that the fruiting structures of Conidiosporomyces fungi grow in the ovaries of various grass species?
... that species in the aquatic fungus family Loramycetaceae have spores with gelatinous sheaths thought to act as flotation devices?
... that Aliquandostipitaceae members have the widest hyphae in the Ascomycetes?

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General images - show new batch

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

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