Kingdom Fungi Concept Questions

1. What are some similarities and differences between fungi and plants? (chitin vs. cellulose; both sessile; fungus - spores, plants - spores and seeds; both asexual and sexual reproduction)

2. Aniline blue stains the cell walls of fungi more easily than plant cell walls. What substance in fungi do you think aniline blue binds to? Explain your answer. (binds to chitin which is common in fungal cell walls but not in that of plants)

3. Given your knowledge of fungi, what growth conditions might favor the fungus that causes athlete’s foot? (humid, warm)

4. Explain the difference between a saprobe and a parasite. (saprobe - feed on dead; parasite - feed on living host)

5. How are fungi important to other forms of life? (they are decomposers that recycle nutrients from dead animals)

6. What characteristic of yeast makes it an unusual fungus? (microscopic, individual cells, no hyphae)

7. Most mushroom mycelia grow in the soil. Why do mushroom fruiting bodies (the reproductive parts) grow above ground? (to aid in spore dispersal)

8. Other than mushrooms, what are uses humans have found for fungi? (food, beer, wine, bread, antibiotics)

9. A spore may develop hundreds of kilometers away from its origin. Explain how this is so. (wind dispersal)

10. Both humans and fungi are heterotrophs. Contrast the way fungi obtain food with the way humans do. (fungi absorb nutrients from decaying matter in their environment. Humans obtain nutrients by eating food)

11. Why are fungi a more serious problem to agriculture in tropical regions of the world than they are in temperate regions? (tropical regions are warmer and have more moisture and these conditions are ideal for fungi)

12. Tissues from several mushrooms were collected near the base of a tree were tested and found to be genetically identical. How can you explain this? (these were all part of the same mycelium, which means they were part of the same organism)

13. The antibiotic penicillin is a natural secretion of a certain kind of fungus called Penicillium. Penicillin kills bacteria. Why might a fungus have evolved a way to kill bacteria? (maybe bacteria compete for resources; natural selection would favor a fungus that could produce an antibiotic to reduce competition)