Portal:Fungi

The Fungi Portal

A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and further specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.

Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.

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Suillus brevipes is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae. First described by American mycologists in the late 1800s, it is commonly known as the stubby-stalk or the short-stemmed slippery Jack. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) produced by the fungus are characterized by a chocolate to reddish-brown cap covered with a sticky layer of slime, and a short whitish stem that does not have a partial veil. The cap can reach a diameter of about 10 cm (3.9 in), while the stem is up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long and 2 cm (0.8 in) thick. Like other bolete mushrooms, S. brevipes produces spores in a vertically arranged layer of spongy tubes with openings that form a layer of small yellowish pores on the underside of the cap.

Suillus brevipes grows in a mycorrhizal association with various species of coniferous trees, especially lodgepole and ponderosa pine. The fungus is found throughout North America, and has been introduced to several other countries via transplanted pines. In the succession of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the regrowth of jack pine after clearcutting or wildfires, S. brevipes is a multi-stage fungus, found during all stages of tree development. The mushrooms are edible, and are high in the essential fatty acid linoleic acid.

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Lactarius alnicola, commonly known as the golden milkcap, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. The fruit bodies produced by the fungus are characterized by a sticky, vanilla-colored cap up to 20 cm (7.9 in) wide with a mixture of yellow tones arranged in faint concentric bands. The stem is up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and has yellow-brown spots. When it is cut or injured, the mushroom oozes a white latex, which has an intensely peppery taste. The acrid taste of the fruit bodies renders them unpalatable. The fungus is found in the western United States and Mexico, where it grows in mycorrhizal associations with various coniferous trees species, such as spruce, pine and fir, and deciduous species such as oak and alder. It has also been collected in India. Two varieties have been named: var. pitkinensis, known from Colorado, and var. pungens, from Michigan.

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Credit: JJ Harrison

A young and a mature Cortinarius archeri, photographed Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia.

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Did you know?

... that Spinellus fusiger is a pin mold that parasitizes several species of mushrooms?
... that the mushrooms Boletus zelleri, B. mirabilis, Suillus americanus, S. brevipes, S. lakei, and Leccinum manzanitae are all examples of edible boletes?
... that application of iron salts will turn a white coral green?
... that despite its name, the edibility of the rhubarb bolete is unknown?
... that the mica cap mushroom has glistening particles on top that are remnants of a universal veil?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Agaricus bisporus, a cultivated edible mushroom with various names including "button mushroom", "portobello" and "champignon" (from Mushroom)
Image 2Close-up cross section of mushroom gills (from Mushroom)
Image 3A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 4Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 5Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 6Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 7Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 8Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 9Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 10Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 11The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 12Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 13Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 14Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 15The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 16Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 17Coprinopsis atramentaria, commonly known as the "ink cap" (from Mushroom)
Image 18Pholiota squarrosa growing at the base of a tree (from Mushroom)
Image 19
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 20Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 21
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
Image 22Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 23Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 24
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 25Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 26Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
Image 27Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 28
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
Image 29Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey. This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 30Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
Image 31Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 32Amanita muscaria, a psychotropic mushroom commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 33A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 34Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 35Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 36Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 37Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 38Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 39Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 40Workup algorithm of fungal infection at a microbiology lab at a New England community hospital. (from Fungal infection)
Image 41Mature Mycena leaiana, a kind of Mushroom, in Mount Field National Park. (from Mycology)
Image 42
Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)
Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
Image 43Lycoperdon perlatum (the "common puffball") has a glebal hymenium; when young, the interior is white, but it becomes brown containing powdery spores as the fungus matures. (from Mushroom)
Image 44Agaricus bitorquis (the "pavement mushroom") emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 45There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 46Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, commonly known as the "flowerpot parasol", at various stages of development (from Mushroom)
Image 47The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)