Portal:Fungi

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The Fungi Portal

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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Mycena haematopus, commonly known as the bleeding fairy helmet, the burgundydrop bonnet, or the bleeding Mycena, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae, of the order Agaricales. It is widespread and common in Europe and North America, and has also been collected in Japan and Venezuela. It is myco-heterotrophic—meaning that it obtains nutrients by consuming decomposing organic matter—and the fruit bodies appear in small groups or clusters on the decaying logs, trunks, and stumps of deciduous trees, particularly beech. The fungus, first described scientifically in 1799, is classified in the section Lactipedes of the genus Mycena, along with other species that produce a milky or colored latex.

The fruit bodies of M. haematopus have caps that are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, whitish gills, and a thin, fragile reddish-brown stem with thick coarse hairs at the base. They are characterized by their reddish color, the scalloped cap edges, and the dark red latex they "bleed" when cut or broken. Both the fruit bodies and the mycelia are weakly bioluminescent. M. haematopus produces various alkaloid pigments unique to this species. The edibility of the fruit bodies is not known definitively.

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Clathrus ruber is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family, and the type species of the genus Clathrus. It is commonly known as the latticed stinkhorn, the basket stinkhorn, or the red cage, alluding to the striking fruit bodies that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval hollow sphere with interlaced or latticed branches. Although considered primarily a European species, Clathrus ruber has a widespread distribution that includes northern Africa, Asia, and Australia. It has been introduced to many areas, such as North America, through human activity.

The fruit body initially appears like a whitish "egg" attached to the ground by long cords. The egg has a delicate, leathery outer membrane enclosing the compressed lattice that surrounds a layer of olive-green spore-bearing slime called the gleba, which contains high levels of calcium that help protect the developing fruit body during development. As the egg ruptures and the fruit body expands, the gleba is carried upward on the inner surfaces of the spongy lattice, and the egg tissue remains as a volva around the base of the structure. The gleba has a fetid odor, somewhat like rotting meat, that attracts flies and other insects to help disperse the spores.

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Join Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi or ask on the talk page.
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Credit: Mike Young

Two mature Aseroë rubra, lacking the dark coloured, strong smelling gleba on their surface.

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