Fungal cell wall (chitin), hyphae, mycelium, yeast/filamentous dimorphism, mycorrhizae, lichens.
Fungal Biology
Fungus
Eukaryotic heterotrophic kingdom with chitinous cell walls, external digestion via secreted enzymes + osmotrophic absorption. Yeast…
Hypha / mycelium
Tubular apically-growing filament (5-10 μm diameter) with septa (or coenocytic in Mucoromycota). Network of hyphae = mycelium. High…
Yeast
Unicellular fungus reproducing by budding or fission. S. cerevisiae: budding yeast, model eukaryote. S. pombe: fission yeast. C. albicans:…
Mycorrhiza
Mutualistic symbiosis between fungal mycelium + plant root. Arbuscular (AM, ~80% land plants) + ectomycorrhizal. Fungus supplies P/N/water;…
Lichen
Stable symbiosis of ascomycete (or basidiomycete) with green-algal or cyanobacterial photobiont. Extremophile (Antarctica, rock); indicator…
Chitin cell wall
Fungal cell wall built from chitin (β-1,4-GlcNAc polymer) + β-glucans + mannoproteins. Target of antifungals (echinocandins inhibit…
Fruiting body (basidiocarp/ascocarp)
Macroscopic sexual structure producing meiospores. Mushroom = basidiocarp; morel/truffle = ascocarp. Diagnostic for species identification.
Mycotoxin
Toxic secondary metabolites (aflatoxin, ochratoxin, ergot alkaloids). Aflatoxin B1 (Aspergillus flavus) is hepatocarcinogen; contaminant of…
Antibiotic production (fungal)
Secondary metabolites used in chemical warfare against bacteria. Penicillin (Penicillium 1928 Fleming), cephalosporin, statins (Aspergillus…
Dimorphic fungi
Species that switch between hyphal (mold) and yeast forms depending on temperature (Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Coccidioides, Candida).…
Mycelial network branching growth
Edelstein-Keshet 1982 / Boswell 2007: hyphal density n(x,t) and tip density p(x,t) obey reaction-diffusion-advection PDEs with branching,…
Stokes spore dispersal aerodynamics
Stokes 1851: terminal velocity v_s = (2/9)(ρ_s-ρ_a)g r²/η for Re<1. Fungal spore (1-50 μm) trajectories follow advection-diffusion with…
Dikaryon (Buller 1933)
A H R Buller 1933 dikaryon-mycelium 2 unfused-haploid nuclei; basidiomycete life-cycle; modern molecular-genetics genome-stability.
Yeast cell-cycle (Hartwell 1970s)
L Hartwell 1970s S cerevisiae cdc-mutants (Nobel 2001); modern CDK-cyclin-engine universally conserved.
Fungal SM (Keller 2005)
N Keller 2005 + 2019 fungal-secondary-metabolism BGCs; modern penicillin + statin + tacrolimus drug-discovery.
Mycorrhiza (Smith-Read 1997)
Smith-Read 1997 'Mycorrhizal Symbiosis'; modern AMF + ectomycorrhiza global-soil-N+P cycling; CMN common-mycorrhizal-network.
White-rot (Blanchette 1991)
R Blanchette 1991 white-rot fungi degrade lignin; modern lignin-peroxidase + lac + P450; biofuel + bioremediation applications.
Fungal pathogen (Howlett)
Howlett 1981 + Casadevall 2009 fungal-pathogenesis; modern Candida-auris MDR-emergence 2009; chytrid-frog Bd / panzootic.
Mating types (Blakeslee 1904)
A Blakeslee 1904 + Lindegren 1942 sexual-mating-types; modern modern foundational + MAT-locus 4-letter + Heitman 2003 evolution mating.
Penicillium (Fleming 1928)
A Fleming 1928 (Nobel 1945) Penicillium notatum lysing-Staphylococcus; modern modern foundational + β-lactam + Heatley +…
Mycotoxin (Forgacs 1968)
J Forgacs 1968 + Lacey 1991 mycotoxin; modern modern aflatoxin Wogan + ochratoxin + 2024 ELISA-array global-grain food-safety.
Yeast genome (Goffeau 1996)
A Goffeau 1996 first-eukaryote-genome S cerevisiae 12 Mb 6275 ORFs; modern modern foundational + 2024 1011-yeast pan-genome.
Mycorrhiza (Frank 1885)
A Frank 1885 + Smith-Read 1997 mycorrhiza; modern modern foundational + AMF Glomales + ectomycorrhizal + 2024 below-ground network.
Candida auris (2009)
K Satoh 2009 + multi-drug-resistant; modern modern emerging-pathogen + WHO-priority-2022 + 2024 outbreak-clade-V genomic surveillance.