Mycology

thumb|A tree covered with leafy foliose lichens and shrubby fruticose lichens

thumb|300px| Mature Mycena leaiana, a kind of [[Mushroom, in Mount Field National Park.]]

thumb|Phylogenetic tree of bacteria and archaea, highlighting those that carry out fermentation. Their end products are also highlighted. Figure modified from Hackmann (2024). Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism that harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and their electrons are transferred to other organic molecules (cofactors, coenzymes, etc.). Anaerobic glycolysis is a related term used to describe the occurrence of fermentation in organisms (

The Basidiomycota () are one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. This division includes: agarics, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, chanterelles, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, mirror yeasts, and Cryptococcus, the human pathogenic yeast.

The Ascomycota are a phylum in the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, form the subkingdom Dikarya. Members of Ascomycota are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the ascus (), a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cu

Fungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in losses of yield and quality. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals, including humans. Fungicides are also used to control oomycetes, which are not taxonomically/genetically fungi, although sharing similar methods of infecting plants. Fungicides can either be contact, translaminar or systemic. Contact fungicides are not taken up into the plant tissue and protect only the plant where the spray is deposited. Translaminar fu

fungal structure on which spore-producing structures are borne

cap-like part of a mushroom

thumb|Earthworms are soil-dwelling detritivores. Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants that eat detritus or carry out coprophagy. By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles. Detritivores should be distinguished from other decomposers, such as many species of bacteria, fungi and protists, which are unable to ingest discr

thumb|Lichen

food produced by a method converting substrates to fermentation end products

231x231px|thumb|Some common air-borne spores

thumb|300px|right|Asci of Morchella elata, [[Phase contrast image]] thumb|400px|There are eight ascospores in each ascus of Sordaria fimicola.

group of genetically identical plants, fungi, or bacteria, originating vegetatively from a single ancestor, growing at a single site

thumb|Heterokont zoospore of [[Saprolegnia with tinsel and whiplash flagella.|271x271px]] A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion in aqueous or moist environments. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some protists, bacteria, and fungi to propagate themselves. Certain zoospores are infectious and transmittable, such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungal zoospore that causes high rates of mortality in amphibians.

Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 11 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin.

A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke in 1665.

mushroom flesh

fungus that causes disease in humans or other organisms

thumb|230px|Monotropa uniflora, an obligate myco-heterotroph known to parasitize fungi belonging to the [[Russulaceae.]]

thumb|right|upright=1.2|alt=Microscope view of a transparent sac (ascus) holding four oval, golden-brown spores. The spores are covered with a raised, net-like pattern that looks like a mosaic of tiny scales.|Four ornamented ascospores of the Oregon white truffle (Tuber oregonense) inside a single ascus. Each [[ellipsoid spore shows the typical honey-gold colour and ornamentation of polygonal pits bordered by low ridges.]] In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus, a sac-like cell. Asci define the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse division of fungi. Afte

thumb|right|300px|Agaricus bisporus basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia. Typically, four basidiospores develop on appendages from each basidium, of which two are of one strain and the other two of its opposite strain. In gills under a cap of one common species, there exist millions of basidia.

thumb|Diagram of situation of the fungal organelle parenthesome in the cell Within the cells of some members of basidiomycetes fungi are found microscopic structures called parenthesomes or septal pore caps. They are shaped like parentheses and found on either side of pores in the dolipore septum which separates cells within a hypha. Their function has not been established, and their composition has not been fully elucidated. The variations in their appearance are useful in distinguishing individual species. Generally, they are barrel shaped, with an endoplasmic reticulum covering.

An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body (sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are most commonly bowl-shaped (apothecia) but may take on a spherical or flask-like form that has a pore opening to release spores (perithecia) or no opening (cleistothecia).

endomycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules

A zygospore is a diploid reproductive stage in the life cycle of many fungi and protists. Zygospores are created by the nuclear fusion of haploid cells. In fungi, zygospores are formed in zygosporangia after the fusion of specialized budding structures, from mycelia of the same (in homothallic fungi) or different mating types (in heterothallic fungi), and may be chlamydospores. In many eukaryotic algae, including many species of the Chlorophyta, zygospores are formed by the fusion of unicellular gametes of different mating types.

Plasmogamy is a stage in the sexual reproduction of fungi, in which the protoplasm of two parent cells (usually from the mycelia) fuse without the fusion of nuclei, effectively bringing two haploid nuclei close together in the same cell. This state is followed by karyogamy, where the two nuclei fuse and then undergo meiosis to produce spores. The dikaryotic state that comes after plasmogamy will often persist for many generations before the fungi undergoes karyogamy. In lower fungi however, plasmogamy is usually immediately followed by karyogamy. A comparative genomic study indicated the prese

thumb|right|Gram stain of Candida albicans from a vaginal swab, showing hyphae, and chlamydospores, which are 2–4 μm in diameter. A chlamydospore is the thick-walled large resting spore of several kinds of fungi, including Ascomycota such as Candida, Basidiomycota such as Panus, and various Mortierellales species. It is the life-stage which survives in unfavourable conditions, such as dry or hot seasons. Fusarium oxysporum which causes the plant disease Fusarium wilt is one which forms chlamydospores in response to stresses like nutrient depletion. Mycelia of the pathogen can survive in this m

thumb|right|Mycelial cord of fungi made up of a collection of [[hyphae; an essential part in the process of saprotrophic nutrition, it is used for the intake of organic matter through its cell wall. The network of hyphae (the mycelium) is fundamental to fungal nutrition.]]

thumb|Phoma-Coelomycetes Pycnidium A pycnidium (plural pycnidia) is an asexual fruiting body produced by mitosporic fungi, for instance in the order Sphaeropsidales (Deuteromycota, Coelomycetes) or order Pleosporales (Ascomycota, Dothideomycetes). It is often spherical or inversely pearshaped (obpyriform) and its internal cavity is lined with conidiophores. When ripe, an opening generally appears at the top, through which the pycnidiospores escape.

{| style="float:right;" |- | | |thumb|Panellus stipticus, Mt. Vernon, Wisconsin (long exposure) |- | | |thumb|right|Omphalotus olearius

thumb|Two-celled teliospore of Gymnosporangium globosum Teliospore (sometimes called teleutospore) is the thick-walled resting spore of some fungi (rusts and smuts), from which the basidium arises.

thumb|Virions of "Sclerotinia sclerotiorum negative-stranded RNA virus 1" (SsNSRV-1), a mycovirus of family "Mymonaviridae".

thumb|Dikaryons shown in a Basidiomycete mitosis cycle

thumb|Heterokaryon in fungal mitosis In biology, a heterokaryon is a multinucleate cell that contains genetically different nuclei. This is a special type of syncytium. This can occur naturally, such as in the mycelium of fungi during sexual reproduction, or artificially as formed by the experimental fusion of two genetically different cells, as e.g., in hybridoma technology.

Heterothallic species have sexes that reside in different individuals. The term is applied particularly to distinguish heterothallic fungi, which require two compatible partners to produce sexual spores, from homothallic ones, which are capable of sexual reproduction from a single organism.

molecular mechanisms that regulate compatibility in sexually reproducing eukaryotes

staining fungus parts to identify them

A mycotroph is a plant that gets all or part of its carbon, water, or nutrient supply through symbiotic association with fungi. A holomycotroph gets all its nutrition solely from a mycorrhizal symbiosis. The term can refer to plants that engage in either of two distinct symbioses with fungi: Many mycotrophs have a mutualistic association with fungi in any of several forms of mycorrhiza. The majority of plant species are mycotrophic in this sense. Examples include Burmanniaceae. Some mycotrophs are parasitic upon fungi in an association known as myco-heterotrophy.

In fungi and algae, homothallism refers to the condition in which a single individual or thallus carries the genetic determinants (i.e., both mating types or sexes) required to undergo sexual reproduction without the need for a distinct mating partner. The opposite sexual functions are performed by different cells of a single mycelium.

terminology used with fungi

thumb|Zone lines in spalted woodSpalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. Although primarily found in dead trees, spalting can also occur in living trees under stress. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the wood, the unique coloration and patterns of spalted wood are sought by woodworkers.thumb|right|Heavily spalted mango wood is often used in the construction of ukuleles. thumb|Spalted Bowl|beech bowl thumb|Spalted oak bowl thumb|Macro photography|Macro of spalting in beech showing white rot and zone lines thumb|Spalted maple electric guitar thumb|righ

thumb|right|250px|Fungi are the primary decomposers in most environments, illustrated here [[Mycena interrupta.]] Saprophages are organisms that obtain nutrients by consuming decomposing dead plant or animal biomass. They are distinguished from detritivores in that saprophages are sessile consumers while detritivores are mobile. Typical saprophagic animals include sedentary polychaetes such as amphitrites (worms of the family Terebellidae) and other terebellids.

Nonsexual mechanism for transferring genetic material without meiosis

agricultural amendment

mushroom cap protuberance

thumb|Urediniospores of 11 Milesina (fungus)|Milesina species. a [[Milesina blechni on Struthiopteris spicant b Milesina blechni on Struthiopteris spicant, cracked spore with released plasma, germ pores scattered c Milesina carpatica on Dryopteris filix-mas d Milesina exigua on Polystichum braunii, smooth surface e Milesina exigua on Polystichum braunii, smooth surface, plasma-free spore, germ pores bipolar f Milesina feurichii on Asplenium septentrionale with smooth areas on surface g Milesina feurichii on Asplenium septentrionale, cracked plasma-free spore, germ pores scattered h Milesina kr

Paleomycology is the study of fossil fungi. Paleomycology is considered a subdiscipline of paleobotany, centered on mushrooms, fungal spores, and hyphae preserved in sediment layers and rock. Fungi have been found in the palaeoecological record as far back as the Paleozoic era, with evidence of influencing the evolutionary processes of early flowering plants.

Blight is a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism.

chemical tests used to identify mushrooms

Amastigomycota or Eufungi is a clade of fungi. It includes all fungi without flagella or centrioles, and with unstacked Golgi apparatus cisternae. Members of this clade are Dikarya and the traditional paraphyletic assemblage "Zygomycota", now divided into several monophyletic phyla.

Barnaviridae is a family of non-enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses. Cultivated mushrooms serve as natural hosts. The family has one genus, Barnavirus, which contains one species: Mushroom bacilliform virus (Barnavirus agarici). Diseases associated with this family includes La France disease.

name of a fungus treated as if conserved against earlier homonyms and competing synonyms, through acceptance in a sanctioning work

thumb|upright=1.2|Amanita species are [[ectomycorrhizal with many trees.]]