Justify- Why morphological characterization is adequate for fungal classification upto class level?
Answers
1. Fungi is a separate kingdom
2. Fungi are Eukaryotic organism
3. Morphology:
Fungi exists in two fundamental forms, filamentous or hyphal form (MOLD) and singe celled or budding form (YEAST).
But for the classification of fungi, they are studied as mold, yeast, yeast like fungi and dimorphic fungi.
Yeast is Unicellular while Mold is multicellular and filamentous
4. Fungi lacks Chloroplast.
5. Mode of nutrition:
Fungi are organotropic heterotrophs.
Mostly Fungi are saprophytic and some are Parasitic
6. Fungi grow best in acidic environment ( tolerate acidic pH).
7. Fungi can tolerate high sugar concentration and dry condition
8. Most of the fungi are Obligate aerobes (molds) and few are facultative anaerobes (yeasts)
9. Optimum temperature of growth for most saprophytic fungi is 20-30 C while (30-37) C for parasitic fungi.
10. Growth rate of fungi is slower than that of bacteria.
11. Cell wall is composed of chitin
12. Cell membrane consists of ergosterol
13. Reproduction: both asexual (Axamorph) and sexual (Teliomorph) mode of reproduction
Asexual methods: fragmentation, fsomatic budding, fission, asexual spore formation
Sexual methods: gametic copulation, gamate-gametangium opulation, gametangium copulation, somatic copulation and Spermatization.
14. More than 2,00,000 fungi species are known.
15. More than 100 fungi are responsible for human infection.
16. More than 20 species are responsible to cause severe systemic human infection, 35 species causes less severe systemic disease or might causes cutaneous or sub cutaneous infection and 45 species causes superficial cutaneous infection.
17. Some fungi shows mutualistic relationship with higher plants, eg Mycorrhiza is symbiotic associated with root of gymnosperm