Fungi

Study Guide

Terms

Terms

Terms Terms

Antheridium

A male reproductive organ found in ascomycota.
Ascogonium

The female reproductive organ of ascomycota
Ascogonius hypha

A dikaryotic hypha that grows out of a fertilized ascogonium.
Ascus

The reproductive structure of ascomycota in which fusion, meiosis, and spore formation take place.
Basidioma

The fruiting body of basidiomycota in which basidia form.
Basidium

The club-shaped reproductive structure of basidiomycota in which fusion, meiosis, and spore formation take place.
Binucleate

Having two nuclei.
Budding

Asexual reproductive process in which a small portion of the cell membrane and cytoplasm receive a nucleus and pinch off from the parent cell.
Cellulose

A major component of plant and algal cell walls. Compare with chitin.
Chitin

A major component of fungal cell walls that is not found in the cell walls of any other group. Compare with cellulose.
Clamp connection

The structure by which basidiomycota cells divide while retaining their binucleate dikaryotic condition.
Conidiophore

Structure in which asexually-produced spores called conidia are formed.
Dikaryotic

Having two distinct sets of genetic information.
Gametangia

In zygomycota, the cells which fuse to become the zygote.
Fruiting body

A general term for elaborate structures that contain spore-forming cells.
Hypha

Individual filaments of fungal cells; compare with mycelium.
Karyogamy

The fusion of two nuclei.
Mycelium

The usually underground portion of a fungus that is haploid and sprouts from a spore.
Plasmogamy

Fusion of the plasma membranes of two cells.
Rhizoid

The sub-surface hyphae of zygomycota specialized for food absorption
Sporangiophores

Filamentous stalk on which a sporangium forms.
Sporangium

Spore producing structure of zygomycota.
Stolon

The hyphae that connect groups of rhizoids and sporangiophores, usually above the surface.
Symbiont

An organism that lives in close association with another, to the benefit of one or both organisms.
Trichogyne

Specialized cell on the end of the ascogonium. During mating, the trichogyne grows to connect the ascogonium to the antheridium.
Zygospore

The heavily encasulated structure that forms from the zygote of zygomycota
Zygote

The diploid cell that results from the fusion of two gametes or gametangia during fertilization.

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