Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell, unlike unicellular organisms. [1] All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- and partially multicellular, like slime molds and social amoebae such as the genus Dictyostelium. [2] [3]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fungi and mycology: . Fungi – "Fungi" is plural for "fungus". A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes unicellular microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as multicellular fungi that produce familiar fruiting forms known as mushrooms.
Many eukaryotes are multicellular, but some are unicellular such as protozoa, unicellular algae, and unicellular fungi. Unicellular organisms are thought to be the oldest form of life, with early protocells possibly emerging 3.5–4.1 billion years ago. [1] [2]
Fungi appear to have had the chance to flourish due to the extinction of most plant and animal species, and the resultant fungal bloom has been described as like "a massive compost heap". [38] The lack of K-T extinction in fungal evolution is also supported by molecular data.
Zoopagomycotina are microscopic and are typically obligate parasites of other zygomycete fungi and of microscopic soil animals such as nematodes, rotifers and amoebae. [3] Some species are endoparasites that live mostly within the bodies of their hosts and only exit the host when they are producing spores .
Amorphea [1] is a taxonomic supergroup that includes the basal Amoebozoa and Obazoa.That latter contains the Opisthokonta, which includes the Fungi, Animals and the Choanomonada, or Choanoflagellates.
Mating in fungi is a complex process governed by mating types. Research on fungal mating has focused on several model species with different behaviour. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Not all fungi reproduce sexually and many that do are isogamous ; thus, for many members of the fungal kingdom, the terms "male" and "female" do not apply.