Last night for homework you read an article about the organization, Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life project (AFTOL), which is a federally funded group dedicated to gaining an understanding of Kingdom Fungi. They say that 80,000 different species of fungi have been identified but that there are very likely over 1.5 million species out there. Why is it so crucial that they make progress in this work?
The internet is becoming an extremely useful tool in the process of classification. People from all over the world now have a resource to share and compare their understanding of the organisms in the natural world. One site, the Tree of Life Web Project, is a place to collect and classify the life on the planet. This site is still being built, so not all of the information on specific organisms are available yet.
The internet is becoming an extremely useful tool in the process of classification. People from all over the world now have a resource to share and compare their understanding of the organisms in the natural world. One site, the Tree of Life Web Project, is a place to collect and classify the life on the planet. This site is still being built, so not all of the information on specific organisms are available yet.
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Go to Tree of Life Web Project.
Click on the mushroom on this page.
Your assignment is to research one type of fungi from this list. Your best bet is to pick one of the top four choices (Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, Glomeromycota, or Zygomycota). Take some time to look through this site before you settle on one species.
Write a detailed paragraph (1/2 page) describing one aspect of the fungi.
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Zygomycota is a small group of fungi that is found all around us, but is very small. It usually grows quickly and can grow on many of our foods like fruit. It also can be harmful to humans by causing disease. Zygomycota is separated from other fungi by forming a zygosporangium through specialized hyphae to asexually reproduce. They also grow sporangiophores in specialized compartments, which eventually break down to release its contents. These containers take very unique shapes. Other Zygomycota have variations in this process and tend to live in the arthropods’ stomachs. But other Zygomycota are also heterotrophic, which means they get food from other organisms, and they often live within plants and animals.
Zygomycota is one of the most common species of fungi. They are microscopic, so although they are alll around us, we can't notice them. They are very distinguishable on account of how they sexually reproduce, which is asexually, but it is still quite different from other fungi in the way it does this act. they are attracted towards many foods, but its prime attraction is food. They can also cause many diseases in the human body, so they are best to be avoided. Even though they can't because they are everywhere and they are microscopic.
Glomermycota are very important because they have a symbiotic relationship with plants. The fungi connect with the roots of the plant and bring it nutrients from the ground. In return, the plant gives the fungus carbohydrates. The presents of glomermycota in the root system has no harmful side effect on the host plant. This relationship is not just mutually beneficial, but also essential to the life of the fungus. No one has yet succeeded in growing glomermycota without a host plant.
Ustilaginomycetes
The Ustilaginomycetes class has more then than 1400 species of plant parasites, which are in 70 different categories.Ustilaginomycetes live in most of the world, but mostly in tropical, temperate, and arctic places.
Zygomycota is a microsopic fungi that you would usually find on molded strawberries or other foods or fruits that are high in sugar.
It grows and spreads very fast for its size. If a human consumes this they can become very sick and infected, sometimes without treatment can be fatal to people with weak amune systems. It is one of the most ecologically diverse species of fungi because it reproduces by creating a 'zygosporangium'to reproduce asexually.
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