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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.
Even among fungi that reproduce both sexually and asexually, often only one method of reproduction can be observed at a specific point in time or under specific conditions. Additionally, fungi typically grow in mixed colonies and sporulate amongst each other. These facts have made it very difficult to link the various states of the same fungus.
Most fungi can produce asexually and sexually. Currently, sexual selection has been studied to occur more predominantly in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota phyla. Although different sexes are not present within fungi, sexual selection can act due to the presence of different sex roles as well as different mating types as most fungi are hermaphroditic. [1]
Monogonont rotifers of the genus Brachionus reproduce via cyclical parthenogenesis: at low population densities females produce asexually and at higher densities a chemical cue accumulates and induces the transition to sexual reproduction. Many protists and fungi alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction.
It is estimated that a third of all fungi reproduce using more than one method of propagation; for example, reproduction may occur in two well-differentiated stages within the life cycle of a species, the teleomorph (sexual reproduction) and the anamorph (asexual reproduction). [87]
Asexual reproduction is the dominant form of propagation in the Ascomycota, and is responsible for the rapid spread of these fungi into new areas. Asexual reproduction of ascomycetes is very diverse from both structural and functional points of view.
Basidiomycota are filamentous fungi composed of hyphae (except for basidiomycota-yeast) and reproduce sexually via the formation of specialized club-shaped end cells called basidia that normally bear external meiospores (usually four). These specialized spores are called basidiospores. [4] However, some Basidiomycota are obligate asexual ...
Phylogenetic classification of asexually reproducing fungi now commonly uses molecular systematics. Phylogenetic trees constructed from comparative analyses of DNA sequences, such as rRNA, or multigene phylogenies may be used to infer relationships between asexually reproducing fungi and their sexually reproducing counterparts. With these ...