Portal:Fungi

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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 futher 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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Lactarius volemus is a species of fungus in the genus Lactarius. It is distributed in warm temperate regions and northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere, and has been collected in Europe, North America, Central America, and Asia. A mycorrhizal fungus, its fruit bodies grow on the ground at the base of various species of trees from summer to autumn, either individually or in groups. It is considered a choice edible mushroom, and is sold in markets in Asia. There are several other Lactarius mushrooms that resemble L. volemus, such as the closely related edible species L. corrugis, but they can be distinguished by differences in distribution, visible morphology, or microscopic characteristics. L. volemus produces a white spore print and has roughly spherical spores about 7–8 micrometres in diameter.

The colour of the L. volemus mushroom varies from apricot to tawny, and the cap may be up to 11 cm (4.3 in) wide. The pale golden yellow gills on the underside of the cap are closely spaced and sometimes forked. One of the mushroom's most distinctive features is the large amount of latex ("milk") that it exudes when the gills are damaged, leading to the common names weeping milk cap and voluminous-latex milky. It also has a distinctive fishy smell, which does not affect the taste. The fruit bodies have been chemically analysed and found to contain several sterols related to ergosterol, some of which are unique to this species. The mushroom also contains a natural rubber that has been chemically characterized. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Lactarius volemus represents several species or subspecies, rather than a single taxon.

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Mycena leptocephala, commonly known as the nitrous bonnet, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. The mushrooms have conical grayish caps that reach up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, and thin fragile stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. The gills are gray and distantly spaced. The spores are elliptical, typically measure 7–10 by 4–6 μm, and are white in deposit. When viewed under a light microscope, the gills has abundant spindle-shaped cystidia on the gill edges, but few on the gill faces. The mushroom is found in North America and Asia, where it grows singly or in groups on conifer needles, cones and sticks on the forest floor. It has a distinctive odor of bleach; the edibility is unknown. Similar species include Mycena alcalina, M. austera, and M. brevipes.

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Assess some fungi articles.
Join Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi or ask on the talk page.
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Credit: JJ Harrison

A collection of Mycena interrupta, a saprobic mushroom species.

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Did you know?

... that Lactarius pallidus is typically found half-buried in leaf litter at the base of beech or birch trees?
... that the mushroom Cortinarius triumphans has a cap which is slimy in wet weather and sticky in dry?
... that detection of fungal infection by the wood-decay fungus Fuscoporia torulosa can be performed in six hours using the polymerase chain reaction?
... that applying potassium hydroxide to the blue and yellow Australian mushroom Cortinarius rotundisporus will turn it pinkish-purple?
... that the first reported sighting of the bird's nest fungus Cyathus helenae was on mountain scree in the Canadian Rockies?

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General images - show new batch

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

Image 1Amanita 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 2Pennate 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 3A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 4Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey . This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 5Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 6Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 7Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 8Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 9Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ. (from Mycology)
Image 10Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 11Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 12Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 13Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 14Chytrid 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 15Neurospora 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 16The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 17Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 18Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 19
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 20Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 21Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 22Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a cultivated edible mushroom for foods and has many names such as "champignon", " button mushroom", "white mushroom", and " portobello" (from Mushroom)
Image 23A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 24Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 25Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 26Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 27Agaricus bitorquis mushroom emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 28
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 29The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 30Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
Image 31Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) has a glebal hymenium; the interior is white when it is young, but as it matures, the interior becomes brown containing spores (from Mushroom)
Image 32Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 33Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 34
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 35Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 36The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 37Psychotropic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 38Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 39Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 40Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 41
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 42
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 43Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
Image 44Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 45Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 46There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)