List some of the economic importance of Fungi.

Dikaryon [GK: di- two, karyon- nucleus] refers to the pair of two genetically different nuclei present in a single cell and such cell is called dikaryotic cell.

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.

Pseudo parenchyma mycelium refers to the fungal tissue made up of an interwoven mass of hyphae that closely resembles plant parenchyma.

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"

Name of antibiotics	Fungi
Aspergillin	Aspergillus niger
Penicillin	Penicillium chrysogenum
Penicillin B	P.notatum
Notatin	P.natatum

Poisonous Mushroom	Non poisonous Mushroom
They don't grow on wood.	They grow on wood and are edible.
No presence of work or insects	Presence of worm or insects.
Turns green or purple on cutting.	No changes in colour while cutting.
Silver spoon turns into black on cooking.	No change in colour on cooking
Upon tasting, burns or stings the tongue.	No action on tongue
Eg: A.phallioides, A.citrine, A.muscaria, Agaricus phacomyces etc.	Eg: Agaricus bisporous, Agaricus campestris,...

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.

Sporangiospores	Germspores
They are produced after mitosis in sporangium	They are produced by meiosis in the nucleus of zygospore.
They are multinucleate.	They are uninucleate.
They are formed in sporangia on the tip of sporangiophores.	They are formed in sporangia on the tip of promycelium
Sexual reproduction is not required.	They are formed only after conjugation.
They are mitospores	They are meiospores

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:

Algae	Fungi
1. The word "alga" means "seaweed"	1. The word "Fungus means "sponge"
2. Belongs to kingdom Plantae but the unicellular blue green algae are kept under the kingdom Protista.	2. Belongs to a separate kingom Fungi.
3. They are autotrophic.	3. They are heterotrophic.
4. They have chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis.	4. They are dependent on others for their nutrients requirement, feed on dead...

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

Rhizopus	Mucor
Commonly grows on bread, hence called bread mould.	Commonly grows on dung hence called dung mould.
Sporangiophore arises in a tuft of 3-5 from one node	Sporangiophore arises singly.
Meiosis occurs during the germination of the zygospore after resting period.	Meiosis occurs soon after karyogamy before the period of zygospore.