Fungal Structures and Asexual Growth and Development

1. What is the difference between a hypha and a mycelium. Are they related?

2. What is the difference between chitin and cellulose? How are they similar? What role do they play in the fungal cell?

3. What is meant by coenocytic? Are septate fungi coenocytic? Explain.

4. What is a Woronin body and what may it do?

5. What is the difference between a cell wall and a plasma membrane?

6. Do slime molds have a plasma membrane?

7. Define what is meant by a fungal cell. How does the definition of a fungal cell differ from that of a plant or animal cell?

8. How many nuclei does a fungal cell have?

9. What is considered to be the growth unit of a filamentous fungus?

10. The vast majority of fungi rely on dead organic matter for food. These fungi are called ___________________.

If fungi did not consume this food source, why would life on earth cease?

Name two organic compounds that fungi are important consumers of.
11. Are fungi consumers or producers of CO2? What is the importance of this?

12. What is a parasite? What is the difference between a facultative and an obligate parasite?

All parasites are pathogens. (True or false)

13. Fungi grow by hyphal tip growth.

a. How does turgor pressure play a role in this growth? b. What is the source of newly synthesized material for the growing tip wall and plasma membrane?

c. Besides just growing at the tip, how else do fungi increase the area they cover on their substrate?

d. Give two advantages of apical growth over yeast-like growth.

14. What is chitin synthetase and how does it contribute to hyphal tip growth?

15. How do filamentous fungi achieve exponential growth?

16. What is the purpose of a haustorium? Where do they grow (give details). Are they characteristic of a single phylum of fungi or found in different phyla?

17. Are rhizoids single hyphal filaments? What is one of their functions?

Are rhizomorphs single hypal filaments? What is their function?

18. Name two asexual means of reproduction in yeasts. How do they differ?

19. Are conidia and sporangiospores asexual spores? What is the difference between a conidium and a sporangiospore?

What is a sporangium?

20. Do thallic and blastic conidiation methods both require tip growth once the process of conidial cell formation has begun? Explain.

21. What is the source of the cell wall in holoblastic conidiation? How does enteroblastic conidiation differ in this respect?

22. Phialides are characteristic of what mode of conidiation? What do they do?

23. How do enteroblastic phialidic and enterobastic annellidic conidiation differ in terms of the conidiogenous cell?

24. In a series of drawings, draw a conidial chain growing in an acropetal manner (number the conidia with "1" being the first formed conidium). Do the same thing for a chain growing in a basipetal manner.

25. What is a survival structure formed by tight intertwining of hyphal strands to form a hard body?

26. What conditions favor increased hyphal branching? Why?

27. What are two types of flagella found in fungal species?

28. How does a spore differ from an embryo?


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