1
Plant Family Summaries
Fungi:
Basidiomycota:
Morphology:
- Clamp connection at the septum
- Tremellomycetes (class) opportunistic disease pathogen
- Agaricomycetes (class)
– Agarics: macro fungi w. lamella (eg. mushrooms)
– Boletes: macro fungi w. hymenium - lined tubes/pores
- Agarics: above-ground fruiting bodies, hymenium covers, lamellas, active
spore discharge.
- False Truffles: below ground, fruiting bodies, lack hymenium & active spore
discharge
Life Cycle:
- Predominantly haploid (n) life cycle
- Separation of plasmogamy & karyogamy
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual
- Spores:
– Spores on the exterior of basidia
– 4- single nuclei spores
– Active/passive dispersal from hymenium
- 1-2 loci
- 2+ mating type factors (alleles) per locus
, 2
Ascomycota:
Morphology:
- Septate hyphae w/o clamp connection
– Central pore surrounded by Woronin Bodies - vesicles w. dense core
– Acts to seal the pores of damaged
- Asci:
– Unitunicate - one wall, operculum opening
– Bitunicate - 2 walls
– Brittle outer wall – ectotunica
– Elastic inner wall – endotunica
– Prototunicate - no wall, breaks down to release spares
- Ascocarp:
– Cleistothecium: thick-walled globulus ascocarp, ruptures to release
scores
– Perithecium: flask-shaped ascocarp, opening-ostiole, hymenium in
base
– Apothecium: disk/cup-shaped ascocarp, hymenium on the upper
surface
Life Cycle:
- Predominantly haploid (n) life cycle
- Separation of plasmogamy & karyogamy
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual reproduction
- Spores:
– Spores on the interior of the asci-sac
– 4-8 unikaryotic spores (4 from meiosis, four from post-meiotic mitosis)
– Active/passive dispersal from hymenium
- Asexual spores:
– ‘Mitospores’
– Anamorph: asexual life cycle stage
– Teleomorph: sexual life cycle stage
– Occur at different times /in different environments
– Holamorph: whole fungus life cycle, anamorph + teleomorph.
– Synanamophs: 2 or more anamorph forms w. a common teleomorph
form
- Heterothallic: 2 different mating types in 2 different organisms
- Homothallic: both mating types in 1 organism (fusion)
Lichen:
- The mutualistic relationship between fungi & algae/cyanobacteria
– Fungi = mycobiont
– Algae/cyanobacteria = photobiont
, 3
Morphology:
- Thallus: body
- Cortex: upper land (and sometimes lower) surface
- Photobiont layer: just beneath the cortex
- Medulla: internal, composed of loosely interwoven hyphae
- Rhizines: attachment organs on the underside of foliose lichens
- Thallus forms:
– Crustose: flat, paint-like, closely ad hearing to surface and no lower
cortex
– Foliose: frat, leaf-like, not closely adhering to the surface, upper lover
cortexes
– Fruticose: erect, often branched & ‘bushy’
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual
- Vegetative propagation (asexual):
– Soredia: photobiont cells enveloped by the mantle of fungal hyphae,
dispersed across the thallus or in soralia
– Insidia: outgrowths of the cortex, fragile - break off and disperse
quickly, increase SA:V ratio for photosynthesis/ gas exchange
- Sexual reproduction:
– Sexual spores produced as in non-lichenised fungi
– Lichenised Ascomycota produce asci in apothecia or perithecia
Land Plants:
Morphology:
- Cuticle: waxy surface, reduces water loss
- Stomata: pores that can open and close to facilitate gas exchange.
- Vascular Tissue: structures that allow the transport of resources/nutrients
throughout the plant
- Stems, Roots & Leaves: specialised structures for support, water balance &
photosynthesis
- Secondary growth: woody, cambium growth for support & vascular capacity
- Embryos & seeds: protection & dormancy of embryo
- Pollination: spreading gametes between plants by a vector
- Sporophyte Complexity: increasing dominance of sporophyte generation in
the life cycle
Plant Family Summaries
Fungi:
Basidiomycota:
Morphology:
- Clamp connection at the septum
- Tremellomycetes (class) opportunistic disease pathogen
- Agaricomycetes (class)
– Agarics: macro fungi w. lamella (eg. mushrooms)
– Boletes: macro fungi w. hymenium - lined tubes/pores
- Agarics: above-ground fruiting bodies, hymenium covers, lamellas, active
spore discharge.
- False Truffles: below ground, fruiting bodies, lack hymenium & active spore
discharge
Life Cycle:
- Predominantly haploid (n) life cycle
- Separation of plasmogamy & karyogamy
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual
- Spores:
– Spores on the exterior of basidia
– 4- single nuclei spores
– Active/passive dispersal from hymenium
- 1-2 loci
- 2+ mating type factors (alleles) per locus
, 2
Ascomycota:
Morphology:
- Septate hyphae w/o clamp connection
– Central pore surrounded by Woronin Bodies - vesicles w. dense core
– Acts to seal the pores of damaged
- Asci:
– Unitunicate - one wall, operculum opening
– Bitunicate - 2 walls
– Brittle outer wall – ectotunica
– Elastic inner wall – endotunica
– Prototunicate - no wall, breaks down to release spares
- Ascocarp:
– Cleistothecium: thick-walled globulus ascocarp, ruptures to release
scores
– Perithecium: flask-shaped ascocarp, opening-ostiole, hymenium in
base
– Apothecium: disk/cup-shaped ascocarp, hymenium on the upper
surface
Life Cycle:
- Predominantly haploid (n) life cycle
- Separation of plasmogamy & karyogamy
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual reproduction
- Spores:
– Spores on the interior of the asci-sac
– 4-8 unikaryotic spores (4 from meiosis, four from post-meiotic mitosis)
– Active/passive dispersal from hymenium
- Asexual spores:
– ‘Mitospores’
– Anamorph: asexual life cycle stage
– Teleomorph: sexual life cycle stage
– Occur at different times /in different environments
– Holamorph: whole fungus life cycle, anamorph + teleomorph.
– Synanamophs: 2 or more anamorph forms w. a common teleomorph
form
- Heterothallic: 2 different mating types in 2 different organisms
- Homothallic: both mating types in 1 organism (fusion)
Lichen:
- The mutualistic relationship between fungi & algae/cyanobacteria
– Fungi = mycobiont
– Algae/cyanobacteria = photobiont
, 3
Morphology:
- Thallus: body
- Cortex: upper land (and sometimes lower) surface
- Photobiont layer: just beneath the cortex
- Medulla: internal, composed of loosely interwoven hyphae
- Rhizines: attachment organs on the underside of foliose lichens
- Thallus forms:
– Crustose: flat, paint-like, closely ad hearing to surface and no lower
cortex
– Foliose: frat, leaf-like, not closely adhering to the surface, upper lover
cortexes
– Fruticose: erect, often branched & ‘bushy’
Reproduction:
- Sexual & asexual
- Vegetative propagation (asexual):
– Soredia: photobiont cells enveloped by the mantle of fungal hyphae,
dispersed across the thallus or in soralia
– Insidia: outgrowths of the cortex, fragile - break off and disperse
quickly, increase SA:V ratio for photosynthesis/ gas exchange
- Sexual reproduction:
– Sexual spores produced as in non-lichenised fungi
– Lichenised Ascomycota produce asci in apothecia or perithecia
Land Plants:
Morphology:
- Cuticle: waxy surface, reduces water loss
- Stomata: pores that can open and close to facilitate gas exchange.
- Vascular Tissue: structures that allow the transport of resources/nutrients
throughout the plant
- Stems, Roots & Leaves: specialised structures for support, water balance &
photosynthesis
- Secondary growth: woody, cambium growth for support & vascular capacity
- Embryos & seeds: protection & dormancy of embryo
- Pollination: spreading gametes between plants by a vector
- Sporophyte Complexity: increasing dominance of sporophyte generation in
the life cycle
