Classifications of Fungi

Free Response

What is the advantage for a basidiomycete to produce a showy and fleshy fruiting body?

Hint:

By ingesting spores and disseminating them in the environment as waste, animals act as agents of dispersal. The benefit to the fungus outweighs the cost of producing fleshy fruiting bodies.

For each of the four groups of perfect fungi (Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota), compare the body structure and features, and provide an example.

Hint:

Chytridiomycota (Chytrids) may have a unicellular or multicellular body structure; some are aquatic with motile spores with flagella; an example is the Allomyces. Zygomycota (conjugated fungi) have a multicellular body structure; features include zygospores and presence in soil; examples are bread and fruit molds. Ascomycota (sac fungi) may have unicellular or multicellular body structure; a feature is sexual spores in sacs (asci); examples include the yeasts used in bread, wine, and beer production. Basidiomycota (club fungi) have multicellular bodies; features includes sexual spores in the basidiocarp (mushroom) and that they are mostly decomposers; mushroom-producing fungi are an example.