Alternative titles: fungi; Fungi

fungus, plural fungipanther cap mushroom [Credit: © asfloro/Fotolia]panther cap mushroom© asfloro/Fotoliaany of about 99,000 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.

kingdom Fungi [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]kingdom FungiEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Fungi are eukaryotic organisms; i.e., their cells contain membrane-bound organelles and clearly defined nuclei. Historically, fungi were included in the plant kingdom; however, because fungi lack chlorophyll and are distinguished by unique structural and physiological features (i.e., components of the cell wall and cell membrane), they have been separated from plants. In addition, fungi are clearly distinguished from all other living organisms, including animals, by their principal modes of vegetative growth and nutrient intake. Fungi grow from the tips of filaments (hyphae) that make up the bodies of the organisms (mycelia), and they digest organic matter externally before absorbing it into their mycelia.

porcini mushroom [Credit: © Henk Bentlage/Fotolia]porcini mushroom© Henk Bentlage/FotoliaWhile mushrooms and toadstools (poisonous mushrooms) are by no means the most numerous or economically significant fungi, they are the most easily recognized. The Latin word for mushroom, fungus (plural fungi), has come to stand for the whole group. Similarly, the study of fungi is known as mycology—a broad application of the Greek word for mushroom, mykēs. Fungi other than mushrooms are sometimes collectively called molds, although this term is better restricted to fungi of the sort represented by bread mold. (For information about slime molds, which exhibit features of both the animal and the fungal worlds, see protist.)

Importance of fungi

Humans have been indirectly aware of fungi since the first loaf of leavened bread was baked and the first tub of grape must was turned into wine. Ancient peoples were familiar with the ravages of fungi in agriculture but attributed these diseases to the wrath of the gods. The Romans designated a particular deity, Robigus, as the god of rust and, in an effort to appease him, organized an annual festival, the Robigalia, in his honour.

fungi: role in organic decomposition [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]fungi: role in organic decompositionEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Fungi are everywhere in very large numbers—in the soil and the air, in lakes, rivers, and seas, on and within plants and animals, in food and clothing, and in the human body. Together with bacteria, fungi are responsible for breaking down organic matter and releasing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus into the soil and the atmosphere. Fungi are essential to many household and industrial processes, notably the making of bread, wine, beer, and certain cheeses. Fungi are also used as food; for example, some mushrooms, morels, and truffles are epicurean delicacies, and mycoproteins (fungal proteins), derived from the mycelia of certain species of fungi, are used to make foods that are high in protein.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Credit: A to Z Botanical Collection/EB Inc.]Saccharomyces cerevisiaeA to Z Botanical Collection/EB Inc.Studies of fungi have greatly contributed to the accumulation of fundamental knowledge in biology. For example, studies of ordinary baker’s or brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) led to discoveries of basic cellular biochemistry and metabolism. Some of these pioneering discoveries were made at the end of the 19th century and continued during the first half of the 20th century. From 1920 through the 1940s, geneticists and biochemists who studied mutants of the red bread mold, Neurospora, established the one-gene–one-enzyme theory, thus contributing to the foundation of modern genetics. Fungi continue to be useful for studying cell and molecular biology, genetic engineering, and other basic disciplines of biology.

Penicillium [Credit: Walter Dawn]PenicilliumWalter DawnThe medical relevance of fungi was discovered in 1928, when Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming noticed the green mold Penicillium notatum growing in a culture dish of Staphylococcus bacteria. Around the spot of mold was a clear ring in which no bacteria grew. Fleming successfully isolated the substance from the mold that inhibited the growth of bacteria. In 1929 he published a scientific report announcing the discovery of penicillin, the first of a series of antibiotics—many of them derived from fungi—that have revolutionized medical practice.

ergot [Credit: burgkirsch]ergotburgkirschAnother medically important fungus is Claviceps purpurea, which is commonly called ergot and causes a plant disease of the same name. The disease is characterized by a growth that develops on grasses, especially on rye. Ergot is a source of several chemicals used in drugs that induce labour in pregnant women and that control hemorrhage after birth. Ergot is also the source of lysergic acid, the active principle of the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Other species of fungi contain chemicals that are extracted and used to produce drugs known as statins, which control cholesterol levels and ward off coronary heart disease. Fungi are also used in the production of a number of organic acids, enzymes, and vitamins.

Form and function of fungi

Size range

shelf fungus [Credit: H.S. Knighton]shelf fungusH.S. KnightonThe mushrooms, because of their size, are easily seen in fields and forests and consequently were the only fungi known before the invention of the microscope in the 17th century. The microscope made it possible to recognize and identify the great variety of fungal species living on dead or live organic matter. The part of a fungus that is generally visible is the fruiting body, or sporophore. Sporophores vary greatly in size, shape, colour, and longevity. Some are microscopic and completely invisible to the unaided eye; others are no larger than a pin head; still others are gigantic structures. Among the largest sporophores are those of mushrooms, bracket fungi, and puffballs. Some mushrooms reach a diameter of 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 inches) and a height of 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 inches). Bracket, or shelf, fungi can reach 40 cm (16 inches) or more in diameter. A specimen of the bracket fungus Fomitiporia ellipsoidea discovered in 2010 on Hainan Island in southern China had a fruiting body measuring 10.8 metres (35.4 feet) in length and 82–88 cm (2.7–2.9 feet) in width. It may have held some 450 million spores and weighed an estimated 400–500 kg (882–1,102 pounds), at the time making it the largest fungal fruiting body ever documented. Puffballs also can grow to impressive sizes. The largest puffballs on record measured 150 cm (5 feet) in diameter. The number of spores within such giants reaches several trillion.

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