A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a green plant and a fungus. The plant makes organic molecules such as sugars by photosynthesisand supplies them to the fungus, and the fungus supplies to the plant water and mineral nutrients, such as phosphorous, taken from the soil. This type of association is well observed in root of pine.

It is a term that refers to theconjugation between mycelia of two different mating types.

Zygospores : They arethick-walled spores of some algae and fungi that is formed by union of two similar sexual cells, usually serves as a resting spore, and produces the sporophytic phase.

Zoospores: They are thin walled, uninucleated motile spores formed in zoosporangium. They are formed by the fusion of two coneocytic gametes.

Deutromycetes are called as fungi impefecti as they lack the sexual or perfect phase in their lifecycle while the asexual stage or imperfect stage is well defined.

Haplontic lifecycle: The lifecycle in which the main form is haploid with diploid zygote being formed briefly. However, haploid stage is dominant.

Diplontic lifecycle: The lifecycle in which the sporophytes are diploid but the gametophyte are diploid. Diploid phase is dominant.

Haplodiplontic lifecycle: The lifecycle in which sporophytic cells undergo meiosis to produce haploid spores and each spore undergo mitotic division to form a haploid gametes is haplodiplontic lifecycle.

During unfavorable condition with scarcity of food and moisture, the mycelium becomes septate and protoplast of hyphae forms round thin walled structures which are known as conidia. They are non motile resting spores.

Fungi imperfecti lacks sexual phase in its lifecycle. However, it reproduces asexually by conidia along with some other types of spore like chalmydospores.

The common name for Zygomycetes is "The conjugation fungi" and for Oomycetes is "The water moulds"

The lifecycle in which plasmogamy, karyogamy and hapolidization takes place at unspecified time and unspecified points is called parasexual lifecycle. This type of lifecycle is found in Deutromycetes.

The physiological resemblances between algae and fungi are as follows:

1) Vascular tissues are absent in both of them.

2) They reproduce by spores during favourable conditions.

3) Sex organs are unicellular, simple and non jacketed.

4) Embryo is not formed after fertilization.

5) Asexual reproduction by mitospores is quite common.

Differeneces between algae and fungi are listed below:

Fungi is a type of eukaryotic organism belonging to the kingdom fungi, alongside plants, animas, protozoa, and monera which includes yeast, mushroom, molds etc.

They reproduce by forming spores that can survive extreme conditions such as cold and lack of water both sexual and asexual spores may be produced on the species.

Some economic importance of fungi are :

1. They play an important role in medicine by yielding antibiotics.
2. In agriculture by maintaining soil fertility, are also consumed as...

Those fungi that reproduce through asexual spores and sexually produced spores are called perfect stage of fungi.

fig. perfect fungi

Those fungi that reproduce only by asexual spores are called imperfect stage of fungi.

fig. imperfect fungi

Examples of perfect fungi :

Ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, zygomcetes

Examples of imperfect fungi :

Hyphomycetes, Deuteromycota, coelomycetes

Difference between perfect and imperfect fungi

Zygomycota