1. MIC 206
MYCOLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI

2. Sub-Topic
Brief Criteria of the Fungi Kingdom
Differences between the Old and
Modern Classification
Difficulties of Classifying Fungi
Introduction, Basic Characteristics and
Life Cycles

3. Definitions
MYCOLOGISTS
MYCOLOGY
MYCOSES
FUNGUS
FUNGI

4. Definitions
Mycologists : scientists who study
fungi.
Mycology : scientific discipline
dealing with fungi.
Mycoses : diseases caused in
animals by fungi.

5. Fungus versus Fungi
“Fungus” is used inclusively for a
heterogenous group of organisms
that have traditionally been studied
by mycologists .
“Fungi” refers to the organisms in the
Kingdom Fungi, the true fungi, also
called the “Eumycota”.

6. How many species of fungi exist?
- 90,000 species of fungi
described
- 1,700 new species
described each year

8. What is a fungus?
A eukaryotic organisms. Fungi are neither
a plants, nor animals
A heterotrophic organism devoid of
chlorophyll that obtains its nutrients by
absorption.
Heterotrophic by absorption.
Reproduced by spores.
The primary carbohydrate storage
product of fungi is glycogen.

9. Most fungi have a thallus composed of
hyphae (sing. hypha) that elongate by tip
growth.
The fungal thallus consists of hyphae; a
mass of hyphae is a mycelium.

10. The Characteristics of Fungi
Structure – hyphae, mycelium, thalus
Heterotrophic by Adsorption
Reproduced by Spores

11. Kingdom Fungi
Nutritional Type Heterotroph
Multicellularity All, except yeasts
Unicellular, filamentous,
Cellular Arrangement
fleshy
Food Acquisition Method Absorptive
Characteristic Features Sexual and asexual spores
Embryo Formation None

12. Structure of fungi

13. 1) The Structure - Hyphae
Hyphae = tubular units of
construction
 Tubular
 Hard wall of chitin
 Cross walls may form
compartments (± cells)
 Multinucleate
 Grow at tips

14. Modifications of hyphae

15. Hyphal growth
Hyphae grow from their tips
Mycelium = extensive, feeding web of
hyphae
Mycelia are the ecologically active bodies of
fungi
This wall is rigid Only the tip wall is plastic and stretches

16. Hyphal growth from spore
germinating
spore
mycelium

17. 2. Heterotrophic by Absorption
Fungi get carbon from organic sources
Hyphal tips release enzymes
Enzymatic breakdown of substrate
Products diffuse back into hyphae
Nucleus hangs back
and “directs”
Product diffuses back
into hypha and is used

18. 3. Reproduced by
spores
Spores are reproductive cells
Sexual
Asexual
Formed: Pilobolus sporangia
Directly on hyphae
Inside sporangia
Fruiting bodies
Amanita fruiting body Penicillium hyphae

19. OLD AND
MODERN
CLASSIFICATION
OF FUNGI

20. Old Classification
Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) the
“Father of Taxonomy”
“ Minerals exist; plants
exist and live; animals
exist, live and sense.”
Plants without obvious
sexual organs were
classified in Class
Cryptogamia (lichens,
fungi, mosses, ferns)
Fungi are primitive plants
under this classification of
organisms.

21. Old Classification
The Five kingdom system (Whittaker, 1969)
Eukarya (includes all organism with a
nucleus & membrane bound
organelles).
Plants and Animals are fairly obvious
Fungi, are very distinct from the other
kingdoms.
Kingdom Protista is a “dumping
ground” for organisms that don’t fit into
the other eukaryotic kingdoms.

22. R. H. Whittaker’s 1969 Classification

23. KINGDOM CHARACTERISTIC EXAMPLE
Monera Prokaryocyte Bacteria
Actinomyces
Protista Eukaryocyte Protozoa
Fungi Eukaryocyte * Fungi
Plants Eukaryocyte Plants
Moss
Animals Eukaryocyte * Arthropods
Mammals
Man

24. Modern Classification
At least 7 kingdoms are now recognized
(Patterson & Sogin 1992) :
 Eubacteria,
 Archaebacteria,
 Animalia,
 Plantae,
 Eumycota,
 Stramenopila (Chromista),
 Protoctista (Protozoa, Protista)

25. Based on molecular evidence: base sequences
from ribosomal RNA (Patterson & Sogin 1992)

26. Systems of classifying fungi
1) 1860
HOGG proposed the term PROTOCTISTA - fungi and neither
Plant or Animal.
This kingdom composed mostly of unicellular organisms.
The kingdom was later replaced by 2 kingdoms – MYCOTA &
MONERA (prokaryotes) and PROTOCTISTA(eukaryotes).
2) 1947
Microscopes enable study of complex structural
characteristics.
New classification (WOLF & WOLF, 1947)
3) 1969
Fungi in its own kingdom by WHITTAKER – FUNGI KINGDOM.

27. Systems of classifying fungi
4) 1998
Modification by MARGUILIS & SCHWARTZ – used characteristics
(structure & function).
• MONERA: Prokaryotes – bacteria, actinomycetes, blue-green
algae.
• PROTOCTISTA: Eukaryotes – protozoa and other unicellular and
colonial organisms such as water moulds, slime moulds and
slime nets.
• FUNGI : Eukaryotes – organisms that lack flagella that develop
from spores such as yeast, molds, rusts and mushrooms.
• PLANTAE: Eukaryotes – organisms that develop from embryos
such as liverworts, mosses and vascular plants.
• ANIMALIA: Eukaryotes – organisms that develop from a
blastula (hollow ball of cells) such a sponges, worms,
arthropods and mammals.

28. Marguilis and Schwartz (1998)
Classify the fungi into 3 phyla : Zygomycota,
Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.
Chytrids (CHYTRIDIOMYCOTA) in the
Kingdom Proctista.
Deuteromycota with their closest relatives
that are the Ascomycota and
Basidiomycota.
Lichen with the Phylum Ascomycota.

29. Other classifications
MOORE, 1998 (quoted from Pfieffer, M., et al.,
2001) states that plants, animals and fungi
can be separated based on how they
obtain energy.
Plants possess chloroplasts as photosynthetic
structures used to produce food.
Animals possess mitochondria used for
internalized digestion.
Fungi excrete enzymes into the food source
they live within external digestion.

30. Classification using molecular
research techniques
BALDAUF & PALMER (1993), WAINWRIGHT et
al. (1993) and HASEGAWA et al (1993)
The above current schemes agree that the
three major kingdoms are separated
→ thereby confirmed that there are no
connection between the fungi-plant
kingdom.

31. Question
Fill in the blanks of the systematic of classification
1) Kingdom
2) Division / Phylum
3) ___________
4) Order
5) ___________
6) Tribe
7) ___________
8) Species
Sometimes there are subdivisions and subclasses

32. Question
Fill in the blanks of the systematic of classification
1) Kingdom
2) Division / Phylum
3) Class
4) Order
5) Family
6) Tribe
7) Genus
8) Species
Sometimes there are subdivisions and subclasses

33. Hierarchical Classification
Kingdom Fungi
Phylum Basidiomycota
Class Basidiomycetes
Order Agaricales
Family Agaricaceae
Genus Agaricus
Species:
Agaricus campestris L.

34. How are fungi named?
To determine the correct name for a
taxon, certain steps must be
followed, including:
 Effective publication
 Valid publication
• Description or diagnosis in Latin
• Clear indication of rank
• Designated type

35. Nomenclature
Nomenclature: the “allocation of
scientific names to the units a systematist
considers to merit formal recognition.”
(Hawksworth et al., 1995. The Dictionary of
the Fungi).
The nomenclature of fungi is governed by
the International Code for Botanical
Nomenclature, as adopted by the
International Botanical Congress.

36. Reasons why it is not easy to
classify fungi
Fungi comprise of a broad number of organisms.
Fungi have various forms depending on the
environment and conditions in which they grow.
Many terms being used to describe the
morphological structures of fungi.

37. Basic Characteristics and
Life Cycles
Ascomycota
(inc.Deuteromycota)
Basidiomycota
Zygomycota

38. Ascomycota – “sac fungi”
Teleomorphic fungi
 Produce sexual and
asexual spores
Sex. – asci
Asex. – common
Cup fungi, morels, truffles
Important plant parasites &
saprobes
Yeast - Saccharomyces
Septate
Most lichens
A cluster of asci with spores inside

39. Basidiomycota – “club fungi”
Produce basidiospores and
sometimes conidiospores
Sex – basidia
Asex – not so common
Long-lived dikaryotic mycelia
Rusts & smuts – primitive plant
parasites
Septate
Mushrooms, polypores, puffballs
Enzymes decompose wood
Mycorrhizas
SEM of basidia and spores

40. Zygomycota – “zygote fungi”
Conjugation fungi
Coenocytic
Sex - zygosporangia
Asex - common
Produce sporangiospores
and zygospores
Hyphae have no cross walls
Grow rapidly
Rhizopus, Mucor
(opportunistic, systemic
Fig 31.6 Rhizopus on
mycoses)
strawberries
Mycorrhizas

41. True Fungi versus Slime Moulds
True fungi:
- those that are hyphal
- possess cell walls throughout most of their life cycle
- are exclusively absorptive in their nutrition.
Slime moulds:
- those that do not form hyphae
- lack cell walls during the phase that they obtain
nutrients and grow
- are capable of ingesting nutrients by phagocytosis. So
they are more common to Protista although they
produce fruiting bodies like fungi.
- The most studied of them are the cellular slime moulds
and the plasmodial slime moulds or Myxomycetes.

42. QUESTION
The fungus can never be classified in
Plantae or Animalia?
EXPLAIN WHY?
(Hint ! LOOK AT ITS MOBILITY,
REPRODUCTION & NUTRITION)