Which characteristics best defines fungi? describe the body of a fungi and how do they reproduce?
Answers
Fungi
Some 100,000 species of fungi have been identified, but the true number is probably larger.
Characteristics of Fungi
Most fungi grow as tubular filaments called hyphae. An interwoven mass of hyphae is called a mycelium.
The walls of hyphae are often strengthened with chitin, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine.
The linkage between the sugars is like that of cellulose and peptidoglycan and produces the same sort of structural rigidity.
Fungi disperse themselves by releasing spores, usually windblown. Fungal spores are present almost everywhere (and are a frequent cause of allergies). Spores of the wheat rust fungus have been found at 4000 m in the air and more than 1450 km (900 miles) from the place they were released. No wonder then that most fungi are worldwide in their distribution.
Fungi are heterotrophic
Some live as saprophytes, getting their nourishment from the surroundings (often having first digested it by secreting enzymes). They perform a crucial role in nature by decomposing dead organisms and releasing their nutrients for reuse by the living.
Some live in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with another organism, often a plant. The association of fungus and plant root is called a mycorrhiza. Some 80–90% of land plants benefit from symbiotic mycorrhiza.
The plant benefits by more-efficient mineral (chiefly nitrates and phosphates) uptake.
The fungus benefits by the sugars and other nutrients (e.g., lipids) translocated to the root by the plant.
Answer:
Fungus, plural fungi, any of about 144,000 known species of organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which includes the yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms. There are also many funguslike organisms, including slime molds and oomycetes (water molds), that do not belong to kingdom Fungi but are often called fungi. Many of these funguslike organisms are included in the kingdom Chromista. Fungi are among the most widely distributed organisms on Earth and are of great environmental and medical importance. Many fungi are free-living in soil or water; others form parasitic or symbiotic relationships with plants or animals.