INTRODUCTION

Course No. BT 331

Cr Hr. 2+1 (3)
Microbiology
3rd Semester
Prof. Dr. Farrukh Hussain

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The Mycology course will cover various
taxonomic, morphological, reproductive and
economic aspects of fungi.
Some major areas are taxonomic, morphology,
reproduction and life processes of some
important fungi.

TEACHING METHODS
Power point presentations will be frequently
used for definitions, illustrations, figures and
explanation of the topics.
The medium of instruction will be primarily
English. However, help in Urdu and Pushto can
not be denied.
The students will submit assignments as and
when required in hard and soft copies.
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Attend the classes regularly.

Revise the required topics.
Please come to the class on time as late
coming disturbs the class and teacher.
Keep on taking lecture notes.
Communicate on the following email:

farrukh.biotech@suit.edu.pk

INTRODUCTION TO COURSE
GRADING POLICY
Mid Term Exam= 25%
Final Term Exam= 50%
Practical, Quizzes,
Assignment=
25%

NOW WE COME
TO THE SUBJECT

LIFE ON EARTH
Living Environment
Non living Environment

Living Environment
includes organisms
of various
evolutionary
levels
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These include all organisms classified

in 5 Kingdoms
ANIMALS
PLANTS
FUNGI
BACTERIA (MONERA)
PROTISTS
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The collective study of all these groups of

organisms is called BIOLOGY.
This mean the study of the various
aspects of organism such as taxonomy,
ecology, behaviour & reproduction etc.
With advancement of knowledge the
subject Biology was over burdened.

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Thus, Biology was conveniently divided

into two traditional major branches
namely:

BOTANY: The study of plants.

ZOOLOGY: The study of animals.

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Even these two subjects got split in to

many new disciplines like:

Microbiology
Biotechnology
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics
Environmental Biology
Ethnobiology
etc etc.

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Botany by itself developed many branches:

Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant
Plant

Physiology
Taxonomy
Anatomy
Morphology
Morphogenesis
Ecology
Genetics
Pathology
Conservation

Limnology
Bryology
Pteridology
Phycology
Ethnobotany

Mycology
etc etc

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What is MYCOLOGY?
It is the study of Fungi
Mykos= mushroom
Logos = discourse
the scientist studying Mycologist is called
Mycologist.

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Then What is Fungi?

(Fungus: Singular)
The term fungus is restricted to:
thallophytes with:
nucleated, spore-bearing,
achlorophyllous, heterotrophic,
eukaryotic organisms
reproducing sexually and
asexually.
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Fungi are usually filamentous, branched

somatic structures
Filaments are normally surrounded by walls
containing cellulose or chitin or both.
non-motile and reproduce by spores.
They are not differentiated into root,
stem and leaves.
do not possess any vascular system
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Fungi generally take food by absorption.

They may be:
saprophytes or parasites

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Described species
more than 5000 genera
and 50,000 to 100,000 species
Estimated species
Approximately 1.5 million
This renders fungi one of the leastexplored biodiversity resources of our
planet.
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HABIT
Unicellular
diversified in their form. Yeast cells
may range in size from
unicellular microscopic forms
like yeast to macroscopic
fleshy agarics (mushrooms)
and polypores (bracket fungi)

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ASCOMYCOTA

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HABITAT
fungi are found in water, above and below
soil, inside and on the bodies of other
living things.
They are saprophytic or parasitic and
therefore can grow in light or darkness.

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HYPHA AND MYCELIUM

Typically, the fungal thallus consists

of microscopic thread like structure or
filaments.
The filaments branch in all directions
and spread over or into the substratum,
which is utilized for food.

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Each of these filaments is known as a

hypha (hyphe= web: plural hyphae).
A hypha is transparent and tube-like
structure filled with a layer of
protoplasm.
The chemical composition of the cell wall
is variable. In may be cellulose or chitin.

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Fungi possess
Cell wall
organized nuclei
with a nuclear
membrane,
a nucleolus,
Mitochondrion,
golgi apparatus
and chromosomes
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Hyhae are commonly colourless and their

mass has a whitish appearance in some
species.
Various pigments like green, black, yellow,
blue, violet or red may also be present in
cell wall, which impart colour to the
thallus.

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The hyphae of some fungi are coenocytic, i.e.

they have no septa and their nuclei are more or
less uniformly scattered throughout the
cytoplasm.
Such fungi are called as coenocytes, e.g. lower
fungi or Phycomycetes.
Coenocytic

Septate

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The hyphae of higher (Ascomycetes,

Basidiomycetes) are septate and
divided into large or short cells by
transverse walls or septa
The mass of the hyphae forming
the thallus of a fungus is
called the mycelium
(plural: mycelia; mykes= mushroom).

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Frequently the hyphae forming the

mycelium become closely woven
together into long string-like stands or
flat spreading sheets resembling soft
felt or tough leather.

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REPRODUCTION
Three methods
vegetative
asexual
sexual

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A. Vegetative Reproduction
It is accomplished by following methods.
1. By Fragmentation
2. By Fission
3. By Budding
3. By Spawn
5. By Sclerotia

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1. By Fragmentation
The hyphae break up into pieces or
fragments accidentally or through
external forces. Each piece grows into
new individual.

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2. By Fission
Like bacteria, fission takes place in yeast
cells.
The cell is split into two daughter cells by
simple constriction or transverse wall

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Budding Yeast Cells

3. By Budding
In Sacharomyces (Yeast) the
parent cell produces buds,
which separate from the parent
cell and develop into new individuals.
Sometimes, chains of buds forming a
short pseudomycelium are produced

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YEASTS BUDDING

Saccharomyces

4. Spawn
These are blocks of mycelium mixed with
a suitable substratum, which is used for
cultivation in a suitable growth medium or
beds.
Mushrooms are commercially cultivated
by this method.

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5. Sclerotia
These are compact hard masses of
hyphae, which serve as perennating
organs.
Sclerotia may be formed either singly as in
ergot (Claviceps) or a large number of
these may be produced in one mycelium,
e.g. in Botrytis, which causes a number of
plant diseases.
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B. Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction does not involve the
union of nuclei, sex cells or sex organs.
Almost all fungi reproduce asexually by
means of spores.
Spores may be colourless, green, yellow,
orange, red, brown or black.

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REPRODUCE BY SPORES

Spores may be Formed:

Directly on hyphae
Inside sporangia
On Fruiting bodies

Penicillium
hyphae

Amanita fruiting body

Pilobolus sporangia

Spores range in size from minute to large

structures.
The shape may be globose, oval, oblong,
needle-shaped or helical
There may be one or many thousand spores
in a spore forming body.
The spore producing body is called
sporophore.

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ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Types of
Fruiting Bodies:
Basidia
Sporangia
Ascus

Sporangia

Basidia
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Generally spores are surrounded by two

walls.
The external, known as exine or
exosporium, is often thick and
ornamental.
The inner wall, the intine or
endosporium, is generally thin and
transparent.

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The spores are of two main types on the

basis of their mode of origin.
a. Asexually produced spores
b. Sexually produced spores

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a. Asexually produced spores

Such spores originate asexually and

are most prevalent among all kinds of
fungi. These spores may be borne in
sporangia (singular= sporangium; sporos=
seed, spore+angeion=vessel).

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A sporangium is a sac-like structure whose

entire contents are converted into one or
more spores. Sporangiospores may be
motile and called zoospores or non-motile
and called aplanospores.
Zoospores have two flagella, which may be
of whiplash and tinsel types.

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ZYGOMYCOTA

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Asexually produced spores are of the

following types:
1. Endospores
2. Conidia
3. Oidia
4. Chlamydospores
5. Pycniospores

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1. Endospores
The division of the protoplasm within an
enlarged cell called sporangium produces
these spores endogenously. They are
borne at the end of a special hypha called
the sporangiophore. The endospores are
usually non-motile and bounded by cell
wall.

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2. Conidia
They are produced by the development
of a constriction at the end of special
hyphal branches called the conidiophores
These spores are non motile and may be
produced either singly or in chains. The
tip of the conidiophore may be spherical
(Aspergillus) and gives out a number of
small peg-like structures called sterigmata.
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These then bear chains of conidia, which

are arranged in a basipetal manner (i.e.
the youngest conidia are at the base).
In Penicillium, the sterigmata bearing
chains of conidia are simply ends of a
repeatedly dichotomous, branch-like
conidiophore, which bear conidia in
acropetal order (i.e. the youngest conidia
are at the tip).
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3. Oidia
In several fungi such as in Mucor, the hyphae
forming the mycelium often become divided by
transverse walls into a large number of short
segments, each of which is capable of
germinating and developing into a new plant.
These segments are called arthrospore or Oidia
(sing. oidium; oidion= small egg). They may
remain united in chains or become free from
each other
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4. Chlamydospores

Chlamydospores (Chlamps= mantle + sporos= seed,

spore) are produced like oidia but they are
thick-walled and black or brown in colour.
They are either terminal or produced at regular
intervals along the hyphae. Chlamydospores on
germination produce a short hypha bearing
sporangia or conidia.
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5. Pycniospores
These are small conidia-like bodies
produced in pear-shaped cavities called
pycnia or pycnidia. In the rusts, special
forms of binucleate summer spores called
uredospores and teleutospores are
produced in clusters called the uredosori
or uredinia and teleutosori or telia.

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b. Sexually produced spores

Sexually produced spores occur among
Phycomycetes and Ascomycetes.
They may be Zygospore (Zygomycetes),
Oospore (Oomycetes),
Ascospore (Ascomycetes) and
Basidiospores (Basidiomycetes).

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ZYGOMYCOTA

Sexual spores are produced by

conjugation when (+) hyphae and (-)
hyphae fuse
Sexual spores are called ZYGOSPORES
Zygospores can endure harsh
environments until conditions improve
zygospore

1. Zygospore

Fusion of haploid
cells produces one
zygospore

2. Ascospore

Formed in a sac
(ascus)

3. Basidiospore

Formed externally on
a pedestal
(basidium)

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C. Sexual Reproduction
The union of two nuclei characterizes
sexual reproduction. In the formation of
reproductive organs, either asexual or
sexual, the entire thallus may be
converted into one or more reproductive
structures.
Sexual reproduction occurs under stress
and poor habitat conditions
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In this way the somatic and reproductive

phases do not occur together in the same
individual.
Such fungi are known as holocarpic (holo=
whole+karpos= fruit).
There are no male and female fungus

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In the majority of fungi, the reproductive

organs arise from a portion of the thallus
only, while the remainder continues its
normal somatic (vegetative) activities.
Such fungi are termed as eucarpic (eu=
good+karpos= fruit).
Holocarpic fungi are usually less
differentiated and considered to be
primitive than the eucarpic.
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Sexual reproduction consists of three

distinct phases.
Phase I: Plasmogamy
Plasmogamy (plasm= a model object i.e.
being+gamos= union, marriage) involves
union of two protoplasts, thus bringing
two haploid nuclei together.
This phase is then followed by the next
phase.
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Phase II: Karyogamy

Karyogamy (karon=nut, nucleus+gamos=
marriage) involves the fusion of two
haploid nuclei and formation of a diploid
nucleus called synkaryon.
In lower fungi, karyogamy follows the
plasmogamy immediately.

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However, in higher fungi these two

processes are separated in time and
space.
Plasmogamy simply results in the
formation of a binucleate cell containing
one nucleus of each sex. Such a pair of
nuclei is known as dikaryon
(di=two+karyon= nut, nuclei). These two
nuclei fuse considerably late in the life
history of the fungus.
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Meanwhile, during growth and cell

division of the binucleate cell, the
dikaryotic condition may be perpetuated
from cell to cell by simultaneous division
(conjugate division of two closely
associated nuclei and by the separation
of resulting sister nuclei into two
daughter cells).

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Phase III: Meiosis

Meiosis means reduction. Ultimately
nuclear fusion takes place in all sexually
reproducing fungi and produce the
Diploid Zygote. This nuclear fusion is
then followed by meiosis, which reduces
the number of chromosomes to haploid in
the daughter nuclei to produce haploid
nuclei.
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Thus fungi have haploid or haplophase (1n)

and diploid or diplophase (2n).
The hyphae are called as haplont or diplont
according to the number of chromosomes
in their nuclei.
In a true sexual cycle, these three phases
occur in a regular sequence and usually at
specified points.

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When both the sexes occur on the same

thallus, they are called as monoecious or
homothallic. Such fungi are bisexual and
represented by + sign.
When the male and female sexes occur on
different thalli, they are called as
dioecious or heterothallic and are
represented by + or - signs depending
upon their sexual tendencies.
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The sex organs of fungi are called

gametangia (sing. gametangium: gametes=
husband+angion= vessel).
These may form differentiated sex cells
called gametes or instead may contain
one or more gamete nuclei.

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If the gametes and gametangia are

morphologically identical they are known
as isogametes and isogametangia
Anisogametes are morphologically similar
bur differ in size

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When the gametes are not identical in

size and structure, they are called
heterogametes and heterogametangia
In this case the male gametangium is
called the antheridium (antheros=
flowery), while the female is called as
oogonium (egg).
The male gamete is known as antherozoid
and the female as an egg or oosphere.
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Plasmogamy brings two compatible nuclei

together. This may be done by one of
the following methods.
1. Planogametic copulation
2.Gametangial copulation
3. Gametangial contact
4. Spermatization
5. Somatogamy

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1. Planogametic copulation
This involves fusion of two naked gametes.
One or both may be motile Motile gametes are
called Plasmogametes. The most primitive fungi
produce isogamous plasmogametes.
Anisogamous plasmogametes differ in size.
When the female gamete is non-motile and
male motile, the latter enters the oogonium
and fertilizes the egg. This is known as
oogamy.
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2. Gametangial copulation
In this method the entire contents of
contacting gametangia fuse.

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3. Gametangial contact

The gametes are reduced to undifferentiated

protoplasts. Each consists of a nucleus. Such
gametes are never released from the
gametangium but transferred directly from one
gametangium into the other through a pore or
tube developed in the gametangial wall.
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4. Spermatization
Numerous minute, uninucleate, sporelike male structures are produced in
various ways. These are then carried by
insects, wind or water to female
gametangia. A pore develops at place of
contact and the spermatia pass into the
female organ.

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5. Somatogamy
Many higher fungi do not produce sex
organs, but the somatic cells take over
the sexual function

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Thanks for hearing me

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