What is mycelium or mycelium. Mushroom mycelium: what is it and how to grow it? The mycelium of the fungus consists of thin filaments

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24.04.2018

The mycelium is the vegetative body of the fungus, which has the ability to change its structure, while forming special organs that ensure reliable attachment to the substrate, nutrition and subsequent reproduction. In fact, the mycelium is nothing more than the mycelium familiar to everyone. A mushroom actually begins to grow from it, therefore, taking, for example, a mycelium of a porcini mushroom or an oil can, you can very successfully grow them in any place adapted for this.

The mycelium most often looks like some kind of formation, which outwardly resembles cotton wool or fluff in the form of a fluffy plaque, or it can look like a light film or threads intertwined in the form of a fine mesh.

The branched mycelium filaments are very thin (1.5 to 10 microns thick) and have a light shade. Biologists call them hyphae. A small network of miniature lateral processes forms on the hyphae ( haustorium). With their help, the fungus easily penetrates into the internal tissues of plants, drawing nutrients and water from the substrate. It is noteworthy that the total length of hyphae in some types of mushrooms can reach 35 (!) Kilometers in length.

Thin and branching bundles of hyphae ( rhizoids) outwardly resemble the root system of plants, and they really help the fungus to securely anchor even on a very solid base.

Side by side and nutrient-rich hyphae can form filamentous branching clusters ( sclerotia), which are dense black formations and act as protective capsules. Due to their strong structure, they preserve the mycelium during the winter cold.

With the onset of heat, sclerotia germinate, releasing spore-forming organs.

From parallel and homogeneous hyphae, cords and strands can be folded, which are an intergrown ramified network of thin threads. With their help, the fungus attaches to the substrate.

For reproduction, mushrooms use special seeds - spores.

Fungal mycelium is generally divided into two classes:

· Immersed(if the mycelium is completely immersed in the nutrient substrate)

· Air(when the mycelium only partially touches the nutritional base)

Mycelium varieties

There are two main types of mushroom mycelium:

"Non-cellular" or cenotic (devoid of transverse septa between cells and representing one large cell with a large number of nuclei)

"Cellular" or septate, in which there are intercellular septa between the cells of the mycelium and in each cell there can be a certain number of nuclei

Typically, mushrooms are divided into three main groups:

Hat

This is the most common group, which in turn is divided into two types:

- Pipe mushrooms

- Lamellar mushrooms

Moldy

Yeast

Cooking mycelium at home

Useful mushroom mycelium can be easily grown independently at home, such as kombucha, known for its medicinal, nutritional and taste qualities, or traditional cultivated types of mushrooms, such as champignons, honey mushrooms, porcini mushrooms and so on.

The mycelium for the subsequent cultivation of mushrooms can be purchased in the retail network or obtained independently from mushroom legs.

Depending on the basis of the nutrient medium, the mycelium of edible mushrooms can be divided into three types:

Grain

Substrate

Liquid

To grow mycelium at home, initially it needs to create conditions for normal existence and, first of all, take care of two significant factors: sufficient humidity and ambient temperature, which should not rise above 25 ° C, otherwise the mycelium will die. A low temperature is also undesirable, as it will slow down the growth and normal development of fungi.

In addition to other conditions, the growing room should be sufficiently lit and well ventilated.

The easiest way to grow mycelium

Pour wheat grain into a large metal container and fill it with water so that it covers the seeds a couple of centimeters higher. We put the dishes on fire and cook for half an hour, after which the grain must be filtered, and then dried, sprinkled on a flat surface.

Pour the dried grain into liter jars (two quarters of the volume) and sterilize in a large bowl. When the jars are cool, you can put a little mycelium in each.

To prevent infection of mycelium with harmful microbes, it is advisable to perform all manipulations under the light of a quartz lamp.

The first signs of mycelium in the form of white fluff will appear on the fourth day, and after a week the mycelium can be sown on straw and begin to grow the mushroom crop. The main thing in this matter is desire and patience.

You can read in more detail about how to grow champignons at home.

Interesting facts about mushrooms and mycelium

It turns out that mushrooms are, on average, 90% water

The mycelium of fungi has the ability to use even such toxic substances as oil or E. coli as a nutrient medium.

Fungal DNA differs from most plant DNA and is closer to the human DNA formula

In terms of amino acid content, mushrooms are ahead of such plants as peanuts, soybeans, beans and even corn.

In nature, there are more than 70 varieties of mushrooms that grow in complete darkness. The fact is that these types of mushrooms are capable of producing light using bioluminescence, so in ancient times people used them for lighting at night.

Mushrooms, like human skin, are able to produce vitamin D group when exposed to sunlight.

More than 80% of all terrestrial plants are similar to fungi, since the roots of most crops are similar to mycelium hyphae

There is a symbiosis of plants and fungi, in which mycorrhizal endo-fungi penetrate directly into the root of plants, forming mycelium in them. Thus, mycelium helps many crops to strengthen immunity, fight pathogens of various diseases, and also absorb water, phosphorus and other nutrients from the soil.

An antibiotic called penicillin was derived from a fungus ( lat. Penicillium)

The largest mushroom on the planet is considered to be a honey mushroom in the Blue Mountains (Oregon). It covers an area of \u200b\u200babout four square miles (!) And is, according to some experts, more than 8000 years old.

Currently, the production of champignons and oyster mushrooms is quite a popular and profitable business. A good product is obtained from a high quality and pure culture of mycelium, which can be grown at home if desired. The detailed information presented in the article answers the questions of what mycelium is and how to properly cultivate it.

Mycelium or its other name, the mycelium - the vegetative body of fungi (thallus) - is a system of the finest branching filaments or hyphae. Thallus is divided into two types:

• substratedesigned to attach to a substrate and transport nutrients and water;
• airforming organs of reproduction above the surface of the substrate.

The network of hyphae, forming the thallus, under favorable conditions can spread over long distances. You can see such plexuses in the soil with the naked eye, they look like a white cotton bloom.

Thallom - a network of hyphae, similar to a white cotton bloom

The mycelium performs a number of important functions:

• promotes attachment of organisms to nutrient substrates;
• with the help of enzymes, it processes cellulose, obtaining from it substances available for growth and development;
• has the function adaptation to the environment;
• participates in sporulation and is responsible for the preservation of the resulting disputes.

The mycelium is a very important organ, in addition to its transport and nutritional function, it is responsible for the vegetative reproduction of organisms.

Types of myceliums and how they look

There are 7 types of the vegetative body:

• Film, consisting of light, tightly woven hyphae of different sizes. The main function is to attach to the substrate and obtain nutrients from cellulose.
• Cord, formed due to the accretion of hyphae and is responsible for the attachment and spread of fungi due to strong branching.
• are powerful cord-like weaves of threads of different colors, which determine the resistance of organisms to adverse environmental conditions.
• , consisting of thin and airy filamentous accumulations of hyphae and serving for the attachment and spread of organisms.
• Sclerotia formed by tightly interwoven and highly branching threads. Like rhizomorphs, it helps to endure aggressive living conditions.
• are formed in the places of contact with the tissue of the host plant, tightly fused with it, and are intended to preserve fungal spores.
• Fruiting body is the place of formation and maturation of fungal spores.

Thus, the mycelium is a unique formation involved in the distribution, nutrition and reproduction of fungi.

Why get mycelium

The main purpose of thallus cultivation is harvesting edible mushrooms... As soon as people realized that hyphae clusters perform the function of reproduction, they began to use parts of wild mushrooms for breeding them at home. But such a product did not yield a high yield.

Over time, attempts have been made to grow pure mushroom crops to increase their yield and sustainability. At the end of the 19th century in France it was possible to obtain such a mushroom culture, grown on a special sterile substrate.

The grown mycelium showed excellent growth characteristics. Using the technology of obtaining thallus in laboratory conditions, it became possible to produce cultivated mushrooms on an industrial scale.

How to get quality mycelium

Before you start cultivating mushrooms, you need to find out where to get the mycelium from. The highest quality mycelium is obtained in laboratories... Such a product can be bought in specialized stores with good reviews.

If desired, the mycelium can be grown at home on your own, having properly prepared the substrate, ensuring comfortable environmental conditions and sanitation. It is quite possible to implement this idea.

The main requirement for successful cultivation of mushrooms at home is compliance with temperature conditions, lighting and cleanliness.

Getting mycelium with your own hands is a suitable way for novice mushroom growers, because it makes it possible to try the method on a small batch and without high costs.

Features of growing technology

The technology of growing mycelium for the purpose of breeding champignons, oyster mushrooms, honey agarics involves the sequential implementation of several procedures.

The first technique for obtaining a pure culture from champignon spores is still widely used for the cultivation of high-quality mycelium, called uterine. This method allows you to grow pure, strong crops that give good yields and have excellent characteristics.

The main task of the mushroom grower in obtaining the uterine thallus is maintaining aseptic conditions, so as not to infect the culture with microorganisms present in the environment. Compliance with this rule guarantees a quality product with excellent taste.

Mature spores or part of the fruiting body are planted on a substrate, which is a sterile nutrient medium wort agar, oat or carrot agar.

The media are prepared in test tubes, and after they have solidified, the culture is introduced there with a sterile instrument, which can be a wire or knitting needle with a loop at the end. To maintain sterility, all manipulations are performed over fire.

The tubes are sealed with a sterile cotton-gauze stopper and stored at a constant temperature about 24 degrees within 2 weeks until the formation of a full-fledged mycelium. The stock culture in test tubes can be stored for a long time at a temperature 1-2 degrees with periodic reseeding (once a year) to maintain the good properties of the mycelium.

The next step is obtaining seed from compost or grain mycelium. The highest quality compost is formed from the following ingredients:

• manure, preferably horse or cow;
• straw;
• gypsum;
• urea;
• superphosphate;
• alabaster flour.

Convenient to use as a substrate ready compost... It is placed in three-liter cans for 2/3 of the volume, a depression is made in the middle, the cans are rolled up with a metal lid with a 2-3 cm hole in the middle. The hole is sealed with a cotton-gauze stopper and the containers are sterilized.

Under aseptic conditions, the uterine mycelium is planted in a depression in the compost through a hole in the lid, which is closed again after the end of the procedure. The cultivation of the seed mycelium is carried out in the same way as for the mother.

For growing mushrooms at home, it is convenient to get grain mycelium... For this, it is important to properly prepare the grain:

1. Boil the grain in water in a ratio of 1: 1.5 for 30-60 minutes and cool it down.
2. Dry the grain and place it in jars or polypropylene bags, half full.
3. Sterilize the prepared materials.
4. Sow mycelium, as in the case of compost.

A pure culture has the appearance of a white fluffy bloom without green or brown spots. The ready-made sowing mycelium is used to grow the harvest of mushrooms on substrates.

The production of quality mycelium requires some skill and careful preparation of the conditions. Therefore, before getting down to business, it is best to try to grow a small batch of crops and harvest the first crop. The experience gained will be very useful and will allow you to evaluate all the pros and cons of a mushroom growing project.

From this article you will learn what a mycelium is. This structure is an indispensable part of the representatives of the kingdom of living nature, which occupies an intermediate position between plants and animals. Who are we talking about? Let's figure it out together.

Characteristic features of mushrooms

What do we know about these organisms? Their uniqueness lies in the fact that they combine the characteristics of two kingdoms. Mushrooms, like plants, are attached to the substrate; their cells contain vacuoles with a supply of nutrients. Animal features include a heterotrophic diet, the absence of chloroplasts, and the presence of a chitinous membrane. Fungi reproduce sexually and vegetatively, but the most characteristic is sporulation.

What is mycelium?

Many of us picked mushrooms. But what we are used to eating is called the fruiting body. And what is mycelium? If you dig up the soil near the base of the stem of the fruiting body, you can see many white threads. This is the mycelium. It is also called mycelium or vegetative body. Mycelium filaments are called hyphae. They are closely intertwined.

Unlimited growth is characteristic of mushrooms. Therefore, the mycelium can be up to 35 km long. Mycelium grows apically - top.

Yeast

Not all mushrooms have mycelium. Yeast is a clear proof of this. They are made up of rounded cells. They can be chained together to form colonies. But this is not a multicellular organism. Each cell is able to reproduce independently by budding. First, a small protrusion forms on it, which gradually increases in size, and then completely separates. Such a cell goes over to independent existence. The budding result was seen by every housewife who prepared the yeast dough. If its quantity increases, it means that the conditions for the reproduction of this type of mushroom are favorable.

Forms and types of mycelium

By the structure of the mycelium, cellular and non-cellular mycelium are distinguished. The first is also called septate. There are septa between its cells, which contain nuclei. These are the septa. They contain pores that can be simple or complex. The latter have hook-like outgrowths called buckles. They take part in the process of cell division.

In the non-cellular, or coenotic, mycelium, there are no partitions between the walls. This structure is one large cell that contains many nuclei. In actinomycetes, which are bacterial organisms, mycelium can be represented as one or many cells.

Depending on the structural features, several types of mycelium are distinguished:

• Cords are formed by fused hyphae. Their function is to ensure the attachment of the fungi to the substrate.
• Films are a collection of flat hyphae. Such structures are capable of secreting enzymes that break down and absorb the polysaccharide cellulose.
• Rhizomorphs are represented by thickened cords, the length of which reaches 5 m. This name of the mycelium is due to the similarity with rhizoids - threadlike structures of algae that attach them to the substrate. The structure of such a mycelium is heterogeneous. Outside there are dark dense hyphae, and inside - light and friable.
• Stromas are a collection of fungal hyphae and tissue of the host plant, the main function of which is to store cells of asexual reproduction - spores.
• Sclerotia - differ in plexus density and a large number of threads. Such structures ensure the preservation of viability during unfavorable periods.
• Rhizoctonia - with the help of thin threads, they provide both attachment and spread of fungi.

So what is mycelium? This is a set of filamentous formations of the fungus that ensure its growth, reproduction and distribution. This structure is also called the mycelium, or vegetative body.

Kira Stoletova

Mushrooms isolated in a separate kingdom have a special structure and vital activity. An important role in the life of fungi is played by the mycelium - a branched underground organ or partially protruding beyond the substrate, providing the fruiting body with access to nutrition and fixation in the environment.

General information and structure

The mycelium is a formation organized in the form of filaments called hyphae.

From the Greek language, the word "mycelium" is translated as "mushroom". It is a vegetative body, consisting of branched thinnest filaments and performing several functions. Outwardly, the appearance of the fungal mycelium of the highest representatives of the kingdom is similar to the root system of herbaceous plants. However, these structures have many fundamental differences:

• filament thickness from 0.5 to 10 microns;
• hyphae grow only apically (apex);
• have good growth potential - up to 35 km / y;
• the speed is different: mucoral species are fast-growing.

The growth of hyphae is radial, which is why from time to time in some species of higher fungi so-called. "Witch circles". The dense interlacing of hyphae in the fruiting body gives rise to the false feeling that this is a tissue, about the same. like plants. This formation is called "plectenchyma" or false tissue.

The mycelium of mushrooms is just one of the possible ways to form a vegetative body.

Other forms:

1. Naked protoplast.
2. Rhizomycelium.
3. Yeast-like thallus.
4. Pseudomycelium.

The second is the usual outgrowths of hyphae in organisms with a form of body organization in the form of congested cells, with or without a membrane.

Such features can only be considered under a microscope. The mycelium of the fungus of the genus Penicillus is similar to the mycelium of the fungus of the genus Mukor, but only similar. Non-cellular forms - naked protoplast. Their cells do not have a dense membrane of their own, and cannot be represented by mycelium.

Yeast thallus in its simplest form is a single cell. This cell has all the basic structures found in fungi. Sometimes cells can combine into various more or less strong structures in the form of a false (pseudo) or real mycelium. The sizes of single yeast cells range from 1-10 microns, more often 3-7 microns. When mycelium or elongated pseudomycelium cells are formed, their length can reach 20-50 microns, while the width remains constant and does not usually exceed 10 microns.

Varieties

The structure of the mycelium of fungi differs in different classes, one common system does not exist. The kingdom is not completely ordered: those who are dissimilar in appearance, mode of reproduction, structure, behavior, and features of the vegetative body are included there. Therefore, the classification is extensive and illogical.

These organisms are called multicellular and unicellular formations. In the first type, each component is clearly separated from the other, but constitutes a single tissue.

Mycelium types:

1. The septic multicellular type of mycelium consists of hyphae, separated by septa - septa, in which holes are located and cytoplasm cords pass through them, connecting the cells to each other.
2. Non-septate does not have such partitions and is a single whole.

According to the methods of adaptation of fungi to the environment and the characteristics of behavior, scientists have recorded modifications in the structure of the mycelium.

Responsive forms

With additional formations, the fungus improves the chances of survival and reproduction (obtaining "offspring"). Types found:

1. Rhizomorphs or mycelial strands, the simple name for cords.
2. Rhizoids, apressoria, also films.
3. Sclerotia.
4. Haustoria and trapping hyphae.

Rhizomorphs differ from mycelial strands in power and strength, they are usually darker in color. These are hyphae growths that perform 3 functions:

• resettlement;
• protection;
• supply of nutrients.

Sclerotia are thickened hyphae covered with a dense membrane. Needed to endure extreme or adverse conditions. The basis for the germination of fruit bodies. Contain nutrient reserves inside.

They help to survive in the most adverse conditions. Therefore, the kingdom is one of the most widespread and long-lived on Earth.

Organ functions

Mushroom mycelium has different functions:

To get an abundance of boletus, white, chanterelles on the site, you need to stock up on planting material. Will fit:

• grain mycelium;
• liquid mycelium;
• mycelium on wooden sticks.

There are advantages and disadvantages to the grain type of mycelium. Plus - the grains are light and dry material. It is used to saturate the substrate with seeds (spores). Suitable for growing fruit bodies on the ground and sawdust. Disadvantage - it works only in conditions of technological landing.

If you need to plant fruiting bodies in natural conditions (on the bark of trees), stick hyphae are suitable. They are used to infect wood cuts, and the fungus is cultivated in its natural environment on stumps. The disadvantage is that it is impossible to get large volumes of the product, it is only suitable for hardwood.

Liquid mycelium grows first in a nutrient medium - honey, fructose. Then he moves into the external environment. The use of sealed containers and a nutrient substrate avoids the appearance of mold.

• in the refrigerator at a temperature from -1 to + 3 ℃ for no more than a month;
• at 5 ℃ no more than 3 weeks.

Violation of storage conditions leads to the fact that the cultivation of fruit mycelium is ineffective due to cell death or their premature germination.

Growing methods

Mushroom lovers very often tend to grow oyster mushroom mycelium or honey agarics with their own hands. Success depends on many factors, so you need to prepare for the procedure. The first attempts will be unsuccessful, but after observing all the rules, there is a chance of success.

Self cultivation

For growing mushrooms from mycelium in the country or in the garden, forest species are chosen. Not only the quality of the mycelium is important, but also the growing substrate. Many grow only on peat, coniferous, deciduous substrates, dry or swampy areas.

For the site, part of the mycelium is dug out together with the ground. Then it is placed in a wooden box with a large drainage volume. Fill in the soil of the future substrate. For domestic autumn species, the procedure is carried out in late spring or early summer.

It is necessary to maintain a certain humidity and temperature in the "incubator". Once the fine filaments have spread throughout the box, they can be transplanted into open soil. If the conditions are unfavorable, the area with the planted mycelium is covered with a film. Remember that spores of adults actively scatter and germinate; it is not easy to destroy a developed mycelium.

Individuals of the Psilocybe group are bred for different purposes - hallucinogenic fruits. During cultivation, mycelium must be kept in an airtight and sterile environment:

1. Buy a jar of normal saline solution for droppers.
2. The liquid is squeezed out with a syringe.
3. Then a nutrient medium is placed inside - fructose.
4. The presence of sterile conditions ensures that the hyphae grows for only about two days.

Champignons on cardboard

Growing mycelium at home has the following benefits:

• unfavorable for other forms;
• there is an opportunity to breathe;
• retains moisture.

Cultivation instruction:

1. Soak pieces of cardboard in boiled water for an hour.
2. Divide the stems of the fruiting bodies into fibers.
3. Drill a drain in a plastic container.
4. Divide the wet material into layers, wring out.
5. Put the chopped champignon legs on paper, cover with a thin layer of cardboard.
6. Press down to release air.
7. Cover the container tightly with a bag.

Every day, the structure is ventilated and moistened as needed. You need a temperature of 20 ℃, no sunlight. The term for growth is from 20 to 60 days. Finished hyphae are placed in a nutrient medium. Stick options are also sown on cardboard in a box. The growth of mycelial cells requires a renewal of the environment, with a lack of care it stops.

Irina Selyutina (Biologist):

Why is it better to use cardboard for growing mycelium? There are many reasons for this:

• Cardboard is made from cellulose, i.e. wood and it is familiar to mycelium, which has already grown on wood chips or sawdust.
• Corrugated cardboard allows the developing mycelium to breathe freely.
• This substrate perfectly retains moisture.
• It doesn't need to be sterilized: just make sure there is no smell, stains, glue or writing. Just cut out these areas.
• Cardboard is available everywhere.
• It doesn't take a lot of effort and time to work with it.

By the way. Cardboard mycelium is a very convenient thing for growing on the balcony.

Cultivation of lower species

The lower ones are a group that is a microscopic body consisting of elongated spore-bearers and heads with spores. In a lichen - a symbiosis of fungus and algae. They are also represented by mold and yeast. More often these are pathogenic forms that threaten human health.

They are characterized by:

• fast reproduction;
• capture of the nutrient medium and its destruction;
• endurance to external conditions;
• closed-loop development.

Breeding the lower ones is much easier, they often get tea and kefir mushrooms.

To grow them at home, you need to take a base - a small part of hyphas that are already ready for independent existence. They are sold at the pharmacy or by hand. Further? must be placed in their nutrient medium - sweet tea, milk. Feeding on carbohydrates or milk components, fungi begin to ferment liquid.

You need to collect the resulting infusion, rinse the overgrown mushrooms and update the environment.

1. The tea specimen is slimy, brownish, light yellow, layered on the cut.
2. The kefir specimen is spherical, always white without inclusions, non-porous and not slimy inside.

You can grow kombucha endlessly - on an industrial scale, the mass reaches 100 kg. But kefir is aging and spoils the product, so it is updated from time to time. The process is similar for mold, only the medium is not liquid. Certain types are actively used in winemaking and the production of noble cheeses (some species of the genus Penicillum).

Self-produced hyphae are 60% cheaper. In the case of oyster mushrooms (taking into account the cost of electricity, disinfection and planting material), it turns out to win an amount equal to the cost of 170 g of the product.

Transplanting stick hyphae into grain conditions is not worth it. Because you can infect cells with mold or aggressive bacteria - and the process of growing mycelium will not work. For an output of 10 kg of product, it is better to use 300–350 g of mycelium.

Conclusion

Breeding bends at home using hyphae is an effective way. This growing method is suitable for most of the Mushroom kingdom and has a high success rate.

Currently, there are about 100,000 species of fungi described, but according to some estimates, there may be about 1.5 million.

Taxonomy

Kingdom of Mushrooms

Subkingdom Mushroom

Subkingdom Real mushrooms (do not form mobile cells at any stage of the life cycle)

Department of Zygomycetes (belong to the lower fungi)

Department of Ascomycetes, or Marsupial mushrooms

Department of Basidiomycetes

Department of Deuteromycetes (Imperfect Mushrooms)

General characteristics of the kingdom of mushrooms

Eukaryotes: cells have one or more nuclei.

Heterotrophs: feed on ready-made organic matter (there are no plastids in the cells).

Fungal cells have a cell wall made of nitrogen-containing polysaccharide chitin.

Osmotrophic type of nutrition: absorption of low molecular weight substances dissolved in water.

Capable of unlimited growth.

Reserve nutrient: polysaccharide glycogen.

In ecosystems, they play the role of consumers or reducers.

They can enter into symbiosis with seed plants and form mycorrhiza (fungus root).

Similarities of mushrooms to plants and animals

The structure of mushrooms

The body of the fungus consists of long filaments - hyphae.

The hyphae grow apically (apex) and can branch out, forming a dense interwoven network - mycelium, or mycelium.

The mycelium is located in the substrate (soil, wood, living organism) or on its surface.

The growth rate of mycelium depends on environmental conditions and can reach several centimeters per day.

In basidiomycetes, mycelium is often perennial, in other fungi it is annual. Since the mycelium grows apically, its growth is centrifugal. The oldest part of the mycelium in the center gradually dies off and the mycelium forms a ring. In addition, some fungi secrete substances that inhibit plant growth (amensalism), and the vegetation cover forms rounded "bald spots".

Figure: "Witch's Ring"

mycelium types

non-cellular (non-septic) mycelium: formed by one multinucleated giant cell (for example, in zygomycetes);

cellular (septate) mycelium: there are intercellular septa (septa); cells are mononuclear or multinucleated. Openings may remain in the cell walls through which cytoplasm and organelles (including nuclei) freely flow from cell to cell.

Asco- and basidiomycetes dikaryotic mycelium (consists of binucleated cells).

Figure: Mycelium: 1 - unicellular (non-septic); 2 - multicellular (septate); 3 - dikaryotic (yeast).

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Functions of hyphae (mycelium):

PHYSIOLOGY OF FUNGI

Eating mushrooms

According to the sources of organic matter used, mushrooms are divided into 4 groups.

Saprophytic mushrooms: feed on dead organic matter, decomposing the remains of animals and plants. This makes them the most important group of decomposers. There are many such fungi in the soil, especially in the forest floor.

Molecules of organic substances that make up living organisms and their debris cannot pass through the cell wall of fungi, therefore, fungi secrete digestive enzymes into the substrate. These enzymes break down organic substances to low molecular weight compounds that the fungus can absorb on its surface (osmotrophic type of nutrition). So it happens external digestion mushrooms.

Predatory mushrooms: actively catch prey with the help of modified hyphae (trapping loops, etc.).

Symbiotic mushrooms: enter into symbiosis with various autotrophic organisms (lower and higher plants), receiving organic substances from them, and in return supply them with mineral nutrition.

SYMBIOSIS

DEPARTMENT OF ZYHOMYCETA

They belong to the lowest mushrooms.

Some form mycorrhiza on the roots of higher plants.

The mycelium is non-septic, multinucleated.

All stages except the zygote are haploid.

The zygote is formed when the outgrowths of two different mycelium join, expanding, undergoing meiosis and giving rise to sporangia.

Representative: mucor (white bread mold).

Figure: Mukor and his sporangium

REPRODUCTION OF FLOUR

Figure: Reproduction of mucor: 1 - mycelium of the fungus; 2 - sporragiophores; 3 - sporangia; 4 - spores of asexual sporulation; 5 - the formation of gametangia; 6 - separation of gametangia of mucor; 7 - multinucleated zygote; 8 - spores of sexual sporulation

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DEPARTMENT OF ASKOMITSETA (SUMCHATI)

About 30,000 species.

Saprotrophic soil and mold fungi that settle on bread, vegetables and other foods.

Representatives: penicillus, yeast, morels, lines, ergot.

The mycelium is haploid, septate, branching. Through the pores, the cytoplasm and nuclei can pass into neighboring cells.

Asexual reproduction using conidia or budding (yeast).

During sexual reproduction, asci are formed, in which, during meiosis, haploid spores of sexual sporulation are formed.

YEAST

Yeast is represented by a large number of species that are widespread in nature.

One-celled or two-celled fungi, the vegetative body of which consists of mononuclear oval cells.

Different types of yeast can exist in diploid or haploid phases.

Yeast is characterized by an aerobic metabolism. They use various sugars, simple and polyhydric alcohols, organic acids and other substances as a carbon source.

The ability to ferment carbohydrates, breaking down glucose to form ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, served as the basis for the introduction of yeast into culture.

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Yeast reproduces by budding and sexually.

Under favorable conditions, yeast reproduces for a long time in a vegetative way - by budding. A kidney occurs at one end of the cell, begins to grow, and separates from the mother cell. Often, the daughter cell does not lose its connection with the mother cell and itself begins to form kidneys. As a result, short chains of cells are formed. However, the connection between them is fragile, and when shaken, such chains break up into separate cells.

With a lack of nutrition and an excess of oxygen, sexual reproduction occurs: two cells merge to form a diploid zygote. The zygote divides by meiosis to form a bursa with 4 ascospores. The spores fuse to form a new diploid yeast cell.

Figure: Yeast budding and sexual reproduction.

LIFE CYCLE OF ASCOMYCETES

Figure: Reproduction of ascomycetes

During the sexual process, the fusion of the cells of the two mycelium leads to the formation of a binuclear form, which forms the fruiting bodies. In the fruiting body, special cells turn into a zygote by nuclear fusion, after which they undergo meiosis. As a result, haploid spores (most often 8) are formed under the membrane of the mother cell, called asca, or bursa. Ripe asci burst, spores spill out and give rise to new haploid mycelium.

Outwardly, it resembles black-purple horns (sclerotia) protruding from the ear. They are composed of tightly intertwined hyphae.

Figure: Ergot

DEPARTMENT OF BASIDIOMYCETA (HAT MUSHROOMS)

About 30,000 species.

The vegetative body is formed by a branched multicellular dikaryotic mycelium: in each cell of the mycelium there are two haploid nuclei.

Most form fruiting bodies. Fruit body function: spore formation.

Double-core mycelium forms fruiting bodies, known as cap mushrooms.

Figure: The structure of cap mushrooms

On the underside of the cap there is a spore-forming layer ( hymenophore), on which special structures are formed - basidia.

To increase the surface of the hymenophore, the lower part of the cap is modified:

in lamellar mushrooms, the hymenophore has the form of radially diverging plates (russula, chanterelle, milk mushroom, champignon);

in tubular mushrooms, the hymenophore has the form of tubes that fit tightly to each other (boletus, boletus, oiler, boletus).

lIFE CYCLE OF BASIDIOMYCETES

In young basidia, the haploid nuclei merge and a diploid nucleus is formed, which soon divides by meiosis, as a result of which 4 nuclei are formed, which migrate to the terminal outgrowths of the basidium. When the basidiospores mature, the pressure inside the basidium rises and the basidiospores are “shot off” and spread by air currents.

From the spores of sexual reproduction, a haploid mycelium grows, which enters into the sexual process. As a result, a binuclear mycelium is formed, which can exist for years and decades.

When smut, instead of grain, black dust is obtained, which is a spore of the fungus. The ears become like charred embers. Infection with some species occurs at the stage of flowering of cereals, when spores from the affected plant fall on the stigmas of the pistils of healthy plants. They germinate, the hyphae of the fungus penetrate into the embryo of the seed, and a grain is formed that looks healthy. The next year begins at the time of flowering.

SPREADING OF FUNGI, FLOWERS ARE NOT FORMED, AND THE FLOWER TAKES A CHARRED APPEARANCE.

Figure: Smut

Polypores have a tubular perennial hymenophore that grows from below every year.

The spore of a tinder fungus, once it hits a wound in a tree, grows into the mycelium and destroys the wood.

After a few years, perennial hoof-shaped or disc-shaped fruiting bodies are formed.

Polypores secrete enzymes that destroy wood and turn it into dust. Even after the death of a tree, the fungus continues to live on a dead substrate (like a saprotroph), producing a large number of spores every year and infecting healthy trees.

Therefore, dead trees and fruiting bodies of polypores are recommended to be removed from the forest.

Figure: Pine tinder fungus (bordered tinder fungus) Fig. Scaly polypore (motley)

Chemical raw materials for the production of citric acid and enzymes.

Getting antibiotics (such as penicillin).

Molds spoil food.

Poisonous mushrooms cause poisoning.

Polypores and molds cause rotting of materials, especially wood.

Pathogenic fungi cause diseases in humans and animals (mycoses)

Many mushrooms are allergens.