Fungal Life Cycle

Basics

• Fungi are very similar to plants in their nature; they grow often in soil, require moisture, and are primarily incapable of movement. However, they have many characteristics that distinguish them from both plants and animals. Their vast disparity in size is one example; some fungi are composed of but a single cell that reproduces via binary fission while others can be enormous, taking up entire fields. Unlike plants, which contain cellulose in their cell walls, fungi utilize a combination of chitin and glucans. Their lifestyles and cycles can also be very dissimilar.

Birth

• Most of the more common fungi use spores for reproduction. Mature fungi release these spores and they subsequently begin to divide and eventually form a structure called hyphae, which are thread-like roots made of haploid cells. When hyphae meet from two different spores, they intertwine and form one cell with two distinct nuclei.

Growth

• The egg that is created will eventually sprout the fungus. In the case of mushrooms, the body will be composed entirely of cells that have two distinct nuclei, known as dikaryon. The fungus will continue to feed and grow. Unlike other organisms which may ingest food, fungi are heterotrophs; they instead extract nutrients from their environment and can often be found growing on decaying organic matter.

Anamoprhic Stage

• Fungi reproduction is very complex and the method by which they do so is dependent on the given stage in their life cycle, with many fungi using more than one. The stage which a fungus finds itself is highly dependent on the environment. The anamorphic stage means that the fungus is asexual, and reproduces by dropping a variety of spores with distinct hyphae that bond and eventually grow into a new fungus. This process is much faster than sexual reproduction and results in clonal environments.

Teleomorphic Stage

• The teleomorphic stage is just another way o saying sexual reproduction. Haploid hyphae of two individual fungi meet and fuse, resulting in a gametangium, which is essentially a structure designed to produce gametes. It eventually forms into a zygospore, and when this germinates it undergoes meiosis and forms new hyphae, which is then formed into a spore.

Spore Dispensing

• Fungi have specialized structures to eject spores into the air. Some fungi often simply drop them into the soil (as seen with asexual reproduction). Using fluid buildup, fungi can often eject spores about .02 centimeters, which is typically far enough for them to find other spores, thus beginning the process all over again.