Fungal Growth

and
Reproduction
Members:
Aiman Javed – 70145615
Ibrahim Khalid – 70144994
Rauf Khalid – 70145903
Hira Khan – 70145015
Malaika Khan – 70146151
M. Aadis Khan – 70145801
M. Moaz Khan – 70145567
Zara Ali Liaquat – 70144802
Linta Maqbool – 70150477
Muneeb Hassan Lodhi – 70145595

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Submitted by: Group 4

Submitted to: Maria Fareed Siddiqui
 Fungal Growth
Introduction:
Fungi, like every living thing, need energy and food sources to complete their development. hey
also need suitable environmental conditions (such as pH, temperature, humidity, oxygen) to
grow and develop.

Animal and Vegetable Sources for Growth:

Fungi can consume vegetable and animal carbon sources thanks to their hydrolytic enzymes.
They can use monosaccharides and polysaccharides such as glucose, fructose, chitin, cellulose,
hemicellulose, and lignin.

Nitrogen Sources:
Like all living things, fungi need a nitrogen source for their growth and development, and fungi
can metabolize many different nitrogen sources. Especially ammonium and glutamine are the
first nitrogen sources they use. In addition, they can easily use other nitrogen sources.

Vitamin Source(co-factors):
Vitamins are cofactors of enzymes and growth factors of many organisms. Fungi need vitamins
for their growth and development. Some of these vitamins are; thiamine, biotin, riboflavin,
nicotinic acid, vitamin K and pantothenic acid.
 Hyphae
Under favorable environmental conditions, fungal spores germinate and form hyphae. During
this process, the spore absorbs water through its wall, the cytoplasm becomes activated, nuclear
division takes place, and more cytoplasm is synthesized. The wall initially grows as a spherical
structure. Once polarity is established, a hyphal apex forms, and from the wall of the spore a
germ tube bulges out, enveloped by a wall of its own that is formed as the germ tube grows.

Characteristics:
The hypha may be roughly divided into three regions:
• The apical zone: 5–10 micrometers (0.0002–0.0004 inch) in length.
• The Subapical region: extending about 40 micrometers (0.002 inch) back of the apical
zone
• The Zone of Vacuolation: characterized by the presence of many vacuoles and the
accumulation of lipids.

Growth of hyphae in most fungi takes place almost exclusively in the apical zone (i.e., at the
very tip). This is the region where the cell wall extends continuously to produce a long hyphal
tube. The cytoplasm within the apical zone is filled with numerous vesicles.
The growing tip eventually gives rise to a branch. This is the beginning of the
branched mycelium. Growing tips that come in contact with neighboring hyphae often fuse with
them to form a hyphal net. In such a vigorously growing system, the cytoplasm is in constant
motion, streaming toward the growing tips. Eventually, the older hyphae become highly
vacuolated and may be stripped of most of their cytoplasm. All living portions of a thallus are
potentially capable of growth. If a small piece of mycelium is placed under conditions favorable
for growth, it develops into a new thallus, even if no growing tips are included in the severed
portion.
 Septa
Septa are formed by ringlike growth from the wall of the hypha toward the center until the septa
are complete. In the higher fungi the septum stops growing before it is complete; the result is a
central pore through which the cytoplasm flows, thus establishing organic connection throughout
the thallus. In contrast to plants, in which the position of the septum separating two daughter
cells determines the formation of tissues, the fungal septum is always formed at right angles to
the axis of growth. As a result, in fungal tissue formation, the creation of parallel hyphae cannot
result from longitudinal septum formation but only from outgrowth of a new branch.

Fungal Reproduction
Fungi reproduce sexually and/or asexually. Perfect fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually,
while imperfect fungi reproduce only asexually (by mitosis). In both sexual and asexual
reproduction, fungi produce spores that disperse from the parent organism by either floating on
the wind or hitching a ride on an animal. Fungal spores are smaller and lighter than plant seeds.
The giant puffball mushroom bursts open and releases trillions of spores. The huge number of
spores released increases the likelihood of landing in an environment that will support growth.

The release of fungal spores: The (a) giant puff ball mushroom releases (b) a cloud of spores
when it reaches maturity.
 Asexual Reproduction
Fungi reproduce asexually by fragmentation, budding, or producing spores. Fragments of hyphae
can grow new colonies. Mycelial fragmentation occurs when a fungal mycelium separates into
pieces with each component growing into a separate mycelium. Somatic cells in yeast form buds.
During budding (a type of cytokinesis), a bulge forms on the side of the cell, the nucleus divides
mitotically, and the bud ultimately detaches itself from the mother cell.
The most common mode of asexual reproduction is through the formation of asexual spores,
which are produced by one parent only (through mitosis) and are genetically identical to that
parent. Spores allow fungi to expand their distribution and colonize new environments. They
may be released from the parent thallus, either outside or within a special reproductive sac called
a sporangium.

There are many types of asexual spores. Conidiospores are unicellular or multicellular spores
that are released directly from the tip or side of the hypha. Other asexual spores originate in the
fragmentation of a hypha to form single cells that are released as spores; some of these have a
thick wall surrounding the fragment. Yet others bud off the vegetative parent cell.
Sporangiospores are produced in a sporangium.
 Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction introduces genetic variation into a population of fungi. In fungi, sexual
reproduction often occurs in response to adverse environmental conditions. Two mating types
are produced. When both mating types are present in the same mycelium, it is called
homothallic, or self-fertile. Heterothallic mycelia require two different, but compatible, mycelia
to reproduce sexually.

Although there are many variations in fungal sexual reproduction, all include the following three
stages. First, during plasmogamy (literally, “marriage or union of cytoplasm”), two haploid cells
fuse, leading to a dikaryotic stage where two haploid nuclei coexist in a single cell. During
karyogamy (“nuclear marriage”), the haploid nuclei fuse to form a diploid zygote nucleus.
Finally, meiosis takes place in the gametangia (singular, gametangium) organs, in which gametes
of different mating types are generated. At this stage, spores are disseminated into the
environment.