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For other uses, see Algae (disambiguation) and Alga (disambiguation).
c


î
 , a marine genus of Red Algae from Hawaii.

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aomain: Eukaryota
   

2| Archaeplastida
?| ëhlorophyta (Green algae)
?| Rhodophyta (Red algae)
?| Glaucophyta
2| Rhizaria, Excavata
?| ëhlorarachniophytes
?| Euglenids
2| ëhromista, Alveolata
?| Heterokonts
^| uacillariophyceae (aiatoms)
^| Axodine
^| uolidomonas
^| Eustigmatophyceae
^| Œhaeophyceae (urown algae)
^| ëhrysophyceae (Golden algae)
^| Raphidophyceae
^| Jynurophyceae
^| £anthophyceae (Yellow-green algae)
?| ëryptophyta
?| ainoflagellates
 ?| Haptophyta

x    

2| ëyanobacteria
2| Œlantae

The lineage of algae according to Thomas ëavalier-Jmith. The exact number and placement of
endosymbiotic events is not yet clear, so this diagram can be taken only as a general guide[1][2] It
represents the most parsimonious way of explaining the three types of endosymbiotic origins of
plastids. These types include the endosymbiotic events of cyanobacteria, red algae and green
algae, leading to the hypothesis of the supergroups Archaeplastida, ëhromalveolata and ëabozoa
respectively. However, the monophyly of ëabozoa has been refuted and the monophylies of
Archaeplastida and ëhromalveolata are currently strongly challenged. Endosymbiotic events are
noted by dotted lines.

c
 (singular  / æl˜/, Latin for "seaweed") are a large and diverse group of simple,
typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and
most complex marine forms are called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic, like plants, and
"simple" because they lack the many distinct organs found in land plants.

Though the prokaryotic ëyanobacteria (commonly referred to as blue-green algae) were

traditionally included as "algae" in older textbooks, many modern sources regard this as
outdated[3] as they are now considered to be closely related to bacteria.[4] The term   is now
restricted to eukaryotic organisms.[5] All true algae therefore have a nucleus enclosed within a
membrane and plastids bound in one or more membranes.[3][6] Algae constitute a paraphyletic
and polyphyletic group,[3] as they do not include all the descendants of the last universal ancestor
nor do they all descend from a common algal ancestor, although their plastids seem to have a
single origin.[1] aiatoms are also examples of algae.
 Algae lack the various structures that characterize land plants, such as phyllids (leaves)
and rhizoids in nonvascular plants, or leaves, roots, and other organs that are found in
tracheophytes (vascular plants). Many are photoautotrophic, although some groups contain
members that are mixotrophic, deriving energy both from photosynthesis and uptake of organic
carbon either by osmotrophy, myzotrophy, or phagotrophy. Jome unicellular species rely
entirely on external energy sources and have limited or no photosynthetic apparatus.

Nearly all algae have photosynthetic machinery ultimately derived from the ëyanobacteria, and
so produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, unlike other photosynthetic bacteria such
as purple and green sulfur bacteria. Fossilized filamentous algae from the Vindhya basin have
been dated back to 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago.[7]

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Green Algae

These groups have green chloroplasts containing chlorophylls and . Their chloroplasts are
surrounded by

    , respectively, and were probably retained from
ingested Green Algae.

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, which belong to the phylum ëercozoa, contain a small nucleomorph,
which is a relict of the algae's nucleus.

x

, which belong to the phylum Euglenozoa, live primarily in freshwater and have
chloroplasts with only three membranes. It has been suggested that the endosymbiotic Green
Algae were acquired through myzocytosis rather than phagocytosis


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Jome species of algae form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In these symbioses,
the algae supply photosynthates (organic substances) to the host organism providing protection
to the algal cells. The host organism derives some or all of its energy requirements from the
algae. Examples are as follows.

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î are defined by the International Association for Lichenology to be "an association of a
fungus and a photosynthetic symbiont resulting in a stable vegetative body having a specific
structure."[24] The fungi, or mycobionts, are from the Ascomycota with a few from the
uasidiomycota. They are not found alone in nature but when they began to associate is not
known.[25] One mycobiont associates with the same phycobiont species, rarely two, from the
Green Algae, except that alternatively the mycobiont may associate with the same species of
ëyanobacteria (hence "photobiont" is the more accurate term). A photobiont may be associated
with many specific mycobionts or live independently; accordingly, lichens are named and
classified as fungal species.[26] The association is termed a morphogenesis because the lichen has
a form and capabilities not possessed by the symbiont species alone (they can be experimentally
isolated). It is possible that the photobiont triggers otherwise latent genes in the mycobiont.[27]

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ëoral reefs are accumulated from the calcareous exoskeletons of marine invertebrates of the
Jcleractinia order; i.e., the Jtony ëorals. As animals they metabolize sugar and oxygen to obtain
energy for their cell-building processes, including secretion of the exoskeleton, with water and
carbon dioxide as byproducts. As the reef is the result of a favorable equilibrium between
construction by the corals and destruction by marine erosion, the rate at which metabolism can
proceed determines the growth or deterioration of the reef.

Algae of the ainoflagellate phylum are often endosymbionts in the cells of marine invertebrates,
where they accelerate host-cell metabolism by generating immediately available sugar and
oxygen through photosynthesis using incident light and the carbon dioxide produced in the host.
Endosymbiont algae in the Jtony ëorals are described by the term zooxanthellae, with the host
Jtony ëorals called on that account hermatypic corals, which although not a taxon are not in
healthy condition without their endosymbionts. Zooxanthellae belong almost entirely to the
genus J   
.[28] The loss of J   
 from the host is known as coral bleaching, a
condition which unless corrected leads to the deterioration and loss of the reef.

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Green Algae live close to the surface of some sponges, for example, breadcrumb sponge
(     ). The alga is thus protected from predators; the sponge is provided with
oxygen and sugars which can account for 50 to 80% of sponge growth in some species.[29]
Red Algae

These groups have chloroplasts containing chlorophylls and , and phycobilins. The latter
chlorophyll type is not known from any prokaryotes or primary chloroplasts, but genetic
similarities with the Red Algae suggest a relationship there.

In the first three of these groups (ë

), the chloroplast has four membranes, retaining a
nucleomorph in ëryptomonads, and they likely share a common pigmented ancestor, although
other evidence casts doubt on whether the Heterokonts, Haptophyta, and ëryptomonads are in
fact more closely related to each other than to other groups.[2][15]

The typical
 
  chloroplast has three membranes, but there is considerable diversity in
chloroplasts within the group, and it appears there were a number of endosymbiotic events.[1]
The Apicomplexa, a group of closely related parasites, also have plastids called apicoplasts.
Apicoplasts are not photosynthetic but appear to have a common origin with ainoflagellate
chloroplasts.[






 


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"Fungi" redirects here. You may be looking for Fungi (music), Fungus (£M) or Fungus the
uogeyman.





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basidiomycete; J    , an
ascomycete; bread covered in mold; a chytrid; a

 conidiophore.
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aomain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Opisthokonta
Kingdom: 

(L., 1753) R.T. Moore, 1980[1]

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ulastocladiomycota
ëhytridiomycota
Glomeromycota
Microsporidia
Neocallimastigomycota

aikarya (inc. aeuteromycota)

Ascomycota
Œezizomycotina
Jaccharomycotina
Taphrinomycotina
uasidiomycota
Agaricomycotina
Œucciniomycotina
Ustilaginomycotina

Jubphyla Incertae sedis

Entomophthoromycotina
Kickxellomycotina
Mucoromycotina
 Zoopagomycotina

A 
 (pronounced / f *˜s/) is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that

includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The


(pronounced / f nd´aË/ or / f *aË/) are classified as a kingdom that is separate from
plants, animals and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal cells have cell walls that contain
chitin, unlike the cell walls of plants, which contain cellulose. These and other differences show
that the fungi form a single group of related organisms, named the x
  (


 or
x
 ), that share a common ancestor (a  
). This fungal group is distinct
from the structurally similar slime molds (myxomycetes) and water molds (oomycetes). The
discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology, which is often
regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more
closely related to animals than to plants.

Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures,
and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other
fungi. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or molds. Fungi perform
an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient
cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms
and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as
wine, beer, and soy sauce. Jince the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of
antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in
detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species
produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are
toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic
compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can
break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans
and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g. rice blast disease) or food
spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies.

The fungus kingdom encompasses an enormous diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle
strategies, and morphologies ranging from single-celled aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms.
However, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at
around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified. Ever since
the pioneering 18th and 19th century taxonomical works of ëarl Linnaeus, ëhristian Hendrik
Œersoon, and Elias Magnus Fries, fungi have been classified according to their morphology (e.g.,
characteristics such as spore color or microscopic features) or physiology. Advances in
molecular genetics have opened the way for aNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy,
which has sometimes challenged the historical groupings based on morphology and other traits.
Œhylogenetic studies published in the last decade have helped reshape the classification of
Kingdom Fungi, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla.

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uefore the introduction of molecular methods for phylogenetic analysis, taxonomists considered
fungi to be members of the Œlant Kingdom because of similarities in lifestyle: both fungi and
plants are mainly immobile, and have similarities in general morphology and growth habitat.
Like plants, fungi often grow in soil, and in the case of mushrooms form conspicuous fruiting
bodies, which sometimes bear resemblance to plants such as mosses. The fungi are now
considered a separate kingdom, distinct from both plants and animals, from which they appear to
have diverged around one billion years ago.[6][7] Jome morphological, biochemical, and genetic
features are shared with other organisms, while others are unique to the fungi, clearly separating
them from the other kingdoms:

Jhared features:

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Most fungi lack an efficient system for long-distance transport of water and nutrients, such as the
xylem and phloem in many plants. To overcome these limitations, some fungi, such as
c  , form rhizomorphs,[23] that resemble and perform functions similar to the roots of
plants. Another characteristic shared with plants includes a biosynthetic pathway for producing
terpenes that uses mevalonic acid and pyrophosphate as chemical building blocks.[24] However,
plants have an additional terpene pathway in their chloroplasts, a structure fungi do not
possess.[25] Fungi produce several secondary metabolites that are similar or identical in structure
to those made by plants.[24] Many of the plant and fungal enzymes that make these compounds
differ from each other in sequence and other characteristics, which indicates separate origins and
evolution of these enzymes in the fungi and plants.[24][26]

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Most fungi grow as hyphae, which are cylindrical, thread-like structures 2±10 µm in diameter
and up to several centimeters in length. Hyphae grow at their tips (apices); new hyphae are
typically formed by emergence of new tips along existing hyphae by a process called  ,
or occasionally growing hyphal tips bifurcate (fork) giving rise to two parallel-growing
hyphae.[38] The combination of apical growth and branching/forking leads to the development of
a mycelium, an interconnected network of hyphae.[19] Hyphae can be either septate or
coenocytic: septate hyphae are divided into compartments separated by cross walls (internal cell
walls, called septa, that are formed at right angles to the cell wall giving the hypha its shape),
with each compartment containing one or more nuclei; coenocytic hyphae are not
compartmentalized.[39] Jepta have pores that allow cytoplasm, organelles, and sometimes nuclei
to pass through; an example is the dolipore septum in the fungi of the phylum uasidiomycota.[40]
ëoenocytic hyphae are essentially multinucleate supercells.[41]

Many species have developed specialized hyphal structures for nutrient uptake from living hosts;
examples include haustoria in plant-parasitic species of most fungal phyla, and arbuscules of
several mycorrhizal fungi, which penetrate into the host cells to consume nutrients.[42]

Although fungi are opisthokonts²a grouping of evolutionarily related organisms broadly

characterized by a single posterior flagellum²all phyla except for the chytrids have lost their
posterior flagella.[43] Fungi are unusual among the eukaryotes in having a cell wall that, in
addition to glucans (e.g., ȕ-1,3-glucan) and other typical components, also contains the
biopolymer chitin.[44]

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Fungal mycelia can become visible to the naked eye, for example, on various surfaces and
substrates, such as damp walls and on spoilt food, where they are commonly called mold.
Mycelia grown on solid agar media in laboratory petri dishes are usually referred to as colonies.
These colonies can exhibit growth shapes and colors (due to spores or pigmentation) that can be
used as diagnostic features in the identification of species or groups.[45] Jome individual fungal
colonies can reach extraordinary dimensions and ages as in the case of a clonal colony of
c   , which extends over an area of more than 900 ha, with an estimated age of
nearly 9,000 years.[46]

The apothecium²a specialized structure important in sexual reproduction in the ascomycetes²

is a cup-shaped fruiting body that holds the hymenium, a layer of tissue containing the spore-
bearing cells.[47] The fruiting bodies of the basidiomycetes and some ascomycetes can sometimes
grow very large, and many are well-known as mushrooms.