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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Lycoperdon echinatum, commonly known as the spiny puffball or the spring puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. The saprobic species has been found in Africa, Europe, Central America and North America, where it grows on soil in deciduous woods, glades, and pastures. It has been proposed that North American specimens be considered a separate species, Lycoperdon americanum, but this suggestion has not been followed by most authors. Molecular analysis indicates that Lycoperdon echinatum is closely related to the puffball genus Handkea.

The fruit bodies of L. echinatum are 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide by 2–3.5 cm (0.8–1.4 in) tall, supported by a small base, and densely covered with spines that are up to 0.6 cm (0.2 in) long. The spines can fall off in maturity, leaving a net-like pattern of scars on the underlying surface. Initially white in color, the puffballs turn a dark brown as they mature, at the same time changing from nearly round to somewhat flattened. Young specimens of L. echinatum resemble another edible spiny puffball, Lycoperdon pulcherrimum, but this latter species does not turn brown as it ages. The fruit bodies are edible when young, when the interior is white and firm and before it has turned into a powdery brown mass of spores. Laboratory tests have shown that extracts of the fruit bodies can inhibit the growth of several bacteria that are pathogenic to humans.

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Lactarius repraesentaneus, commonly known as the northern bearded milkcap, the northern milkcap, or the purple-staining milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It has a northerly distribution, and is found in temperate regions of North America and Europe, associated with spruce trees. Distinguishing features of its fruit body include the large orange-yellow cap up to 18 cm (7.1 in) wide, cream to pale yellow gills, and a yellow coarsely-pitted stem that is up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) thick. Cut fruit bodies ooze a white latex that will stain mushroom tissue lilac to purple. Several chemicals have been isolated and identified from the fruit bodies that can modify the growth of plants, and the mushroom also has antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus aureus. L. repraesentaneus is poisonous, and consumption causes stomach aches.

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Join Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi or ask on the talk page.
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Credit: Dan Molter

The highly reticulate cap surface of Rhodotus palmatus, the wrinkled peach mushroom.

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Did you know?

... that though fruiting as a typical "little brown mushroom", Inocybe lacera is easily identifiable microscopically due to its extremely long, distinctive spores?
... that the hexagonal-pored polypore mushroom produces the antifungal polypeptide alveolarin?
... that several species in the mushroom order Pezizales, such as Geopyxis carbonaria, Peziza violacea, Peziza praetervisa, and Rhizina undulata, grow on burned-over ground?
... that the mushroom Lactarius quietus is found exclusively under oak trees in Europe?
... that a study of lichen growth in the Canadian Rockies showed that Xanthoria elegans expands at a rate of 0.5 mm per year for the first century before slowing down?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

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