Introduction

Large group of fungi with over 30,000 species and

constitutes 37% of the fungi.
They include many familiar mushrooms,
toadstools, bracket fungi, puffballs, earth balls,
earth stars, stinkhorns, false truffles, jelly fungi,
rust and smut fungi
 They are saprophytic, but some grow in freshwater
or marine habitats
 Growth form: Mycelial, yeast-like, dimorphic
 Most of them possess highly deve­loped
fructifications, known as basidiocarps which may
be fleshy or woody
 Basidium Morphology
It is a spore-bearing cell which produces
basidiospores externally through curved, tapering
sterigmata
 Stages in the development
of basidia
a) Young basidium with numerous vacuoles
b) Appearance of a clear apical cap.
(c) Localization of vacuoles towards the base of the
basidium
(d) Development of sterigmata and spore initials.
Abasal vacuole is enlarging.
(e) Fully developed basidium. The spores are full of
cytoplasm, whilst the body of the basidium
contains only a thin lining of cytoplasm
surrounding an enlarged vacuole
(f) Discharged basidiospores
The fungi of this group are characterized
by the production of spores known as
basidiospores

It is formed from karyogamy and meiosis,

and are borne externally on slender
protuberances, the sterigmata

Sterigmata are developed from a more or

less club-like structure, called a basidium
(pl. basidia) for which the
Basidiomycetes have been frequently
named as club fungi.
Usually there are 4 spores. However, in few there are
2 or more than 4 spores from the basidium
Basiodiospores are exogenous spores resulting from
karyogamy and meiosis
 Basidiospore Discharge
 Shortly before discharge, dissolution of the abscission layer occurs,
indicated by a slight wobble in the position of the spore
 A minute quantity of mannitol and hexose sugars is secreted from a
small area at the base of the spore, forming a hydroscopic spot on
which water condenses from the saturated air surrounding the
basidium

 Then a spherical drop of liquid, Buller’s drop, forms at the hilar

appendix and a shallower liquid deposit, the adaxial drop (adaxial
blob), appears on the face of the spore above the hilar appendix

 Both drops increase in size until they eventually coalesce, and spore
discharge then immediately occurs
 Life cycle
(a) Primary mycelium
It is formed by the germination of a basidiospore and contains
a single haploid (n) nucleus in each cell.
It bears neither sex organs nor any basidia and basidiospores.
It is short-lived.

(b) Secondary or dikaryotic mycelium

It constitutes the main food absorbing phase and consists of
cells each containing two haploid nuclei (n+n).
It is long-lived and plays prominent role in the life cycle.
Life cycle of the basidiomycete Coprinus
The basidiocarp develops from a dikaryotic
secondary mycelium and produces numerous
basidia on the surface of its gills beneath the
cap.
Progressive stages of basidium maturation
involving karyogamy (K) and meiosis (M) are
indicated.
Eventually, each basidium forms four
basidiospores, each containing a single haploid
nucleus.
In many basidiomycetes there is a post-meiotic
mitosis, giving rise to two identical haploid nuclei in
each basidiospore
Discharged basidiospores germinate to form haploid
(monokaryotic) mycelia with simple transverse septa.
In Coprinus, these often produce upright
conidiophores which form numerous sticky haploid
oidia.
The apex of amonokaryotic hypha in the vicinity of an
oidium of compatible mating type will respond
chemotropically by growing towards the compatible
oidium
Fusion (plasmogamy, P) between the hypha and the
oidium initiates the formation of a dikaryotic
mycelium bearing clamp connections

Nuclear fusion does not occur at this stage

The dikaryotic mycelium can develop basidiocarps

under appropriate environmental conditions

Open and closed circles represent haploid nuclei of

opposite mating type; the diploid nucleus is drawn
larger and half-filled.
 DOLIPORE SEPTA
Septal pore is surrounded by a barrel-shaped flange of
thickened wall material

This kind of septa is a characteristic feature of

basidiomycete known as “DOLIPORE SEPTA”

It can be viewed by electron microscope

• Septal development begins by centripetal ingrowth of a
membrane on which cell wall material (glucan and
chitin) is deposited
• The pore itself may be blocked by an occlusion
Dolipore Septum
 On both the sides of the dolipore septum a double
membrane structure (ER) called as “Septal Pore
cap/Parenthosome” occurs
 It acts as valves which can regulate the passage of cell
contents between the cells
 The septa contains small vesicles. Tubular ER, filamentous
structures
An important role of the dolipore/parenthesome
complex is to
1. Secure the integrity of hyphal cells
2. To maintain intercellular communication and transport of
some organelles
3. Repair of hyphal damage
 Teliomycetes 577
• This class includes many economically important
plant pathogens commonly known as rusts and
smut fungi
• Mycelial hyphae septate
• Basidiocarps absent
• The class is characterized by thick walled, dikaryotic
resting spores commonly called as teliospores in
rusts and chlamydospores in smuts
 Rusts
Produces all 5 spore stages: Aeciospores,
Uredospores, Teliospores, Basidiospores, Spermatia
Example: Puccinia and Gymnosporangium
These pathogens infect most groups of vascular plants, including
Pteridophytes (ferns), Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms (both
monocots and dicots).
Smuts
Produces only basidiospores & teliospores
Example-:Ustilago
Infects only Angiosperms
 Rust- 611
 It is called “Rust fungi” due to the characteristic reddish
brown colour of some of their spores.
 These are obligate parasites and cause great losses to
many cultivated crops.
 The mycelium is septate without clamp connections
Types
• Microcyclic Rust: life cycle is short and completed
by only two types of spores (teliospores
• and basidiospores)
• Macrocyclic Rust: which has all the five spore
stages
• Stage I : Aecia with aeciospores
• These are single celled dikaryotic spores produced in
chains in cup-like structures known as aecia.
• The spores are yellow to orange in colour with a hyaline
characteristically verrucose wall.
 Stage II: Uredia with uredospores
These are single celled binucleate, emerging out
from the host epidermis, commonly called as
uredia or uredinia.
They are brown in color.
They spread infection on the wheat
 Stage III: Telia with teleutospores
• These are binucleate; pedicellate or sessile
• Embedded in the host tissue
• They may be single celled, bicelled or more than 2-celled,
with dark brown walls
• They produce basidium and basidiospores upon
germination
• They begin their life cycle by infecting
barberry
 Stage IV: Basidia with basidiospores
They are haploid, unicellular spores borne on
sterigma.
These arise from cylindrical to club-shaped 2 to 4
celled basidia.
Depending on the reproductive stages present in the
life cycle of rusts, rusts can be termed as
'macrocyclic'(all 5 stages present),
'demicyclic'(uredial stage absent) or
microcyclic'(teliospore only as the binucleate spore).
Rusts are either homothallic or heterothallic.
 Smut Fungi - 640
Contain about 1500 species
Monophyletic, obligate plant pathogens
Autoecious, basidiospores not discharged,
 clamps common, resting spores intercalary;
Can be grown in culture
The word ‘smut’ describes the causal fungus or the
symptoms of a particular group of plant diseases in
which loose masses (sori) of dark spores are
produced in infected plant organs
 Leaves, stems, flowers and seeds of grasses and other
herbaceous plants are particularly frequently attacked
 The term ‘bunt’ is sometimes used for smut fungi
infecting the ovaries of their hosts, the seed becoming
filled with teliospores in place of the embryo
 Various names have been given to these spores,
 e.g. Teliospore
Chlamydospore
Brand spore
Melanospore
Ustospore or ustilospore.
Thank You