It has been established that fungi populated the Earth even before the appearance of dinosaurs (more than 500 million years ago). These are the most unusual living organisms on the planet: they are neither plants nor animals, but are something in between, that is, they have features of both plant and animal organisms.
What is common in the characteristics of fungi and plants is that representatives of both of these kingdoms are associated with the substrate and cannot move. In addition, they, like plants, reproduce by spores, and are similar to plants in their method of nutrition, but, unlike plants, they do not have chlorophyll, and they cannot synthesize organic substances in their bodies, but feed on ready-made organic matter.
What is common in the characteristics of the kingdom and animals is the content of substances such as chitin and glycogen, characteristic of animal organisms. There are similarities in the method of feeding (mushrooms absorb ready-made organic substances). But, unlike animals, the peculiarity of mushrooms is that they cannot move. Mushrooms also have different methods of reproduction (representatives of this kingdom reproduce vegetatively and by spores).
When classifying mushrooms, their similar features are taken into account, according to which they are combined into a common group. All representatives of this kingdom have a vegetative body called mycelium (mycelium). The mycelium consists of many thin branching and intertwining threads called hyphae, and is located on the surface of the substrate or inside it. The mycelium usually occupies a fairly large area. The fungus absorbs nutrients through the entire surface of the mycelium. The general characteristic of the structure of fungi is the division of the mycelium into individual cells or a non-cellular structure, which is a bare protoplast. The peculiarity of fungal cells is that they are covered with a membrane and have a normal structure: cytoplasm and from one to several nuclei.
The main characteristic of fungal cells is the content of water, enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids in the cytoplasm. Another important characteristic of the structure of fungi is the inclusion of special formations in the cytoplasm: mitochondria, lysosomes and vacuoles. Fungal reserve nutrients (glycogen, lipids, volutin, etc.) accumulate in vacuoles. Unlike plant cells, fungal cells do not have starch reserves. What else should be noted when characterizing the fungal kingdom is the content of chromosomes containing DNA in the cell nucleus.
Types and characteristics of mushroom propagation
There are three types of fungal reproduction: vegetative (parts of mycelium, budding), asexual (through spores, by cell division) and sexual (by the fusion of sexual gametes, eggs and sperm, formed in special genital organs of the fungus, forming a zygote with a paired set of chromosomes) . All these reproduction processes have many features in different types of fungi.
There are about 100 thousand species of mushrooms known on Earth. The appearance and size of mushrooms are varied. In addition, different types of fungi differ in their habitats and the physiological functions performed by fungi. These organisms are widely distributed throughout the world. There is not a single place on Earth where mushrooms are not present.
The reproduction of fungi is not particularly selective; they colonize a variety of substrates: microscopic fungi settle on the surfaces of plants, animals and humans, on the mucous membranes of humans and animals, as well as inside the cells of a living organism. Actinomycetes fungi are constantly present in the plaque on our teeth, without harming us. Some types of microscopic fungi are always present in our intestines.
Method of propagation of mushrooms by spores
During the reproduction period, one mushroom can produce up to several tens of millions of spores, which are carried over long distances by wind, water currents, insects (flies, ants, beetles, etc.), animals, including rodents, birds and humans. An insect or animal can spread these spores on the surface of its body or in the intestines, since the spores of many fungi are not digested in the gastrointestinal tract and are transported over long distances in feces, thus helping the fungi to colonize more and more new territories.
Fungi can reproduce by spores and with the help of humans: people transfer spores and pieces of hyphae on the surface of their clothes and shoes, on various tools and other objects, on seedlings and seeds.
It is difficult to imagine how many fungal spores are constantly present in the environment. In addition to spores, tiny pieces of mycelium can also be transported over long distances.
One of the main characteristics of fungi is that representatives of this kingdom inhabit all ecological niches on our planet, including those where other living organisms cannot exist.
Higher and lower mushrooms: information on the classification of departments
The kingdom of mushrooms is very diverse, it is difficult to systematize them. There is currently no generally accepted classification of mushrooms. Mycological scientists systematize these organisms each in their own way, so in the literature you can find many different classifications of the fungal kingdom, but none of them is generally accepted.
Due to the structural features of the vegetative body, all fungi existing on Earth are conventionally divided into unicellular (or lower), yeast and multicellular (or higher).
In higher fungi, the mycelium is divided by partitions into individual cells, each of which has one or more nuclei. In yeast, the vegetative body is represented by a single cell, which reproduces by budding. The vegetative body of lower fungi is one huge cell, which includes a huge number of nuclei.
Higher fungi, in addition to multicellular mycelium, also have fruiting bodies. Representatives of these mushrooms are all cap mushrooms.
A typical representative of lower fungi is white mold (mukor).
The classification of lower and higher fungi includes both species that are harmless to humans, animals and plants, and species that cause various diseases in other organisms.
Representatives of pathogenic lower fungi are the causative agent of late blight of tomatoes and potatoes, the causative agent of potato cancer, the causative agent of black leg of cabbage and many others.
The classification of higher and lower fungi is based primarily on differences in methods of reproduction and the degree of development of the mycelium. According to one of the most modern classifications of mushrooms, they are divided into the following sections (groups):
- Chytridiomycetes ( Chytridiomycota)
- Zygomycetes ( Zygomycota)
- Ascomycetes ( Ascomycota)
- Basidiomycetes ( Basidiomycota)
- Deuteromycetes ( Deuteromycota)
They all differ in the development of mycelium, method of reproduction and other characteristics. Each department in turn is divided into classes, and the classes into types.
This department includes more than 120 genera and about 1 thousand species. Most often, representatives of this department of fungi are found in an aquatic environment (on plants, aquatic insects and animals) or on moist soil. Among them are many pathogens that cause diseases of plants, humans and animals. For example, the causative agents of cabbage blackleg belong to this department of fungi.
Zygomycetes ( Zygomycota) . These fungi sometimes have a small number of cellular partitions, and in the most primitive representatives of this group the vegetative body is single-celled, with rhizoids, and looks like a naked lump of protoplasm. They are characterized by reproduction by budding, sporangiospores and zygogamy.
Ascomycetes ( Ascomycota), or marsupial mushrooms. The mycelium of these fungi is well developed, multicellular, with a haploid set of chromosomes. They are capable of budding and form sclerotia and bags with ascospores. This is one of the most numerous groups of fungi (about 30% of all currently known fungi). Among them there are both microscopic species and species with large fruiting bodies.
Deuteromycetes ( Deuteromycota) , or imperfect fungi. This group includes all fungi with developed mycelium, reproducing by parts of mycelium and conidia, with a sexual process unknown to date. In total, about 30 thousand species of these mushrooms are known. This department includes three classes and a huge number of species. Most representatives of this department are saprophytes and most often live in the soil.
The departments of ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and deuteromycetes are combined into the group of higher fungi (Dikarya), and fungi with large fruiting bodies are combined into the group of macromycetes (representatives of basidiomycetes and ascomycetes).
In recent years, from the departments of chytridiomycetes and zygomycetes, some groups of fungi have been separated into separate independent departments: blastocladies (Blastocladiomycota, 5 families, 14 genera and 179 species), glomeromycetes (Glomeromycota, mycorrhiza-formers, 1 class and 200 species) and neocallimastigaceae (Neocal/imastigomycota , 1 family and 6 genera; these are anaerobic fungi found mainly in the digestive system of herbivores).
In addition, the department of protozoa (Protozoa), which had previously been separated into a separate independent department, was transferred to the kingdom of mushrooms.
According to another modern classification, the fungal kingdom is divided into two divisions: oomycota (about 4% of all fungi) and eumycota (true mushrooms, up to 96% of the total number of species of all fungi on Earth).
Depending on the type of reproductive organs and the structure of the vegetative body, the departments are divided into classes.
The oomycota division includes two classes - oomycetes and hyphochytriomycetes, differing in the composition of cell walls and the number of flagella.
The department Eumycota is conventionally divided into five classes (chytridiomycetes, zygomycetes, ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and deuteromycetes).
Edible, inedible and conditionally edible mushrooms (with photo)
Cap mushrooms are divided into tubular (the lower part of the cap consists of a large number of small tubes), lamellar (the lower part of the cap has many radially arranged plates) and marsupials.
Representatives of tubular mushrooms are:
- and etc.
Lamellar mushrooms include:
- and etc.
Marsupial fungi have a special bag in which spores ripen. Marsupial fungi include:
- Truffles
- Morels.
Based on edibility, all cap mushrooms are conventionally divided into edible, inedible and conditionally edible.
Edible mushrooms include mushrooms that do not require prolonged boiling or soaking. Mushrooms that contain weak toxins are considered conditionally edible, so they must be soaked or boiled for a long time before consumption (these toxins are destroyed by prolonged soaking, boiling or storage). Mushrooms that contain strong toxins, have an unpleasant odor, or have very hard fruiting body pulp are considered inedible.
One of the most poisonous mushrooms is toadstool, the consumption of which ends in death in 70% of cases.
This classification is very conditional, since under certain conditions even edible mushrooms become poisonous. For example, in very hot weather, mushrooms accumulate large amounts of toxins. In addition, old, overgrown mushrooms also become poisonous.
According to nutritional value, edible mushrooms are divided into three categories: first, second and third.
These photos show edible and inedible mushrooms of different types:
White mushroom in the photo 
Boletus in the photo
Boletus in the photo 
Boletus in the photo
Flywheels in the photo 
Milk mushrooms in the photo
Waves in the photo 
Russula in the photo
Chanterelles in the photo 
Stitches in the photo
Truffles in the photo 
Morels in the photo
Methods of feeding mushrooms: characteristics and features
Mushrooms are also classified according to their nutritional types.
Among them are:
- Xylophiles (feed on wood, grow on dead wood)
- Soil saprophytes (feed on plant debris, humus, etc.)
- Coprophiles (feed on animal dung)
- Mycorrhizal fungi (form mycorrhiza with tree roots)
- Carbophiles (settle in fireplaces and fires)
- Bryotrophs (decompose dead areas of mosses in sphagnum bogs)
- Mycophiles (settle on other mushrooms).
In the group of xylophiles, there is a group of house mushrooms that settle on walls and other parts of wooden bathhouses, houses, barnyards and other buildings.
There are mushrooms that settle on paper and cardboard.
Representatives of xylophilous fungi, which, due to the characteristics of their nutrition, settle on wood, are:
- Shiitake and some others.
Soil saprophytes include most lower and higher fungi. Mycorrhizal mushrooms include boletus, boletus and many other cap mushrooms. Representatives of coprophiles are dung beetles, champignons and many types of lower fungi.
Carbophils include:
- coal,
- Coal-loving fireweed and some others.
Mycophiles are mainly various molds.
Chaga in the photo 
Tinder fungi in the photo
Honey mushrooms in the photo 
Oyster mushrooms in the photo
Shiitake in the photo 
Coal flake in the photo
There is also such a feeding feature of mushrooms as predation. Among the representatives of this kingdom there are species whose representatives are able to hunt bacteria, microscopic animals (nematodes, protozoa, rotifers) or small insects. These mushrooms mainly belong to the genus Arthrobotrys. They develop special devices for hunting (compressible rings, sticky nets, etc.). These mushrooms release toxins that kill the victim, and then the fungus decomposes and sucks out its tissue.
Many legends and myths among different peoples of the world are associated with the so-called “witch circles” - an anomaly when mushrooms grow in almost regular circles with a diameter of one to several hundred meters. Since ancient times, some peoples have associated such circles with evil spirits, calling them “witch circles.” They believe that witches gather in these circles, from where they then fly around the world to do their dirty deeds.
Other peoples, on the contrary, believe that fairies dance in these circles, and this will bring happiness to the person who finds such a circle.
As we studied the development of fungi, a fairly simple explanation was found for this fact: under the same conditions, the mycelium of the fungus grows from the center at the same speed, forming a circle. Over time, the central part of the mycelium dies off due to lack of nutrition, and fungal fruiting bodies continue to form along the periphery.
In Holland these mushrooms are not collected as they are considered witch mushrooms.
In Scotland, these circles are considered indicators of a charmed treasure hidden in the ground.
Most often, such circles form:
- Champignon
- Meadow honey fungus
- Chanterelles
Mushrooms are amazing creatures, they were even included in the Guinness Book of Records. Here are some interesting facts about mushrooms.
- The largest puffball mushroom was found in 1985 in the USA. Its fruiting body had a girth of about 2 m. Also in the USA in 1946, a tinder fungus was found with a fruiting body diameter of about 1.5 m and a weight of about 136 kg.
- The mushroom can be considered the largest creature in the world, since the mycelium of one mushroom can cover an area of up to several hundred hectares.
- It is believed that there are about 2 million species of fungi on Earth, many of which have not yet been studied. Thus, for each type of plant on our planet there are 6 types of mushrooms.
- Scientists suggest that mushrooms are one of the most ancient organisms, appearing on Earth long before dinosaurs.
- Another interesting fact: there are types of mushrooms that glow in the dark.
- There is a belief that when picking mushrooms you should not swear or talk loudly, as the mushrooms can hide.
- Interestingly, mushrooms, like people, can “sunbathe” in the sun, while accumulating vitamin D in their bodies (just like humans).
- It is also a fact that the most expensive mushroom in the world is the black truffle, which costs more than $2,000 per 1 kg.
- It is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest growing mushroom in the world, which is often found in our forests. The growth rate of its fruiting body is about 5 mm per minute.
- When the fruiting body of the fungus grows, such high pressure is created in it that this fruiting body breaks through asphalt and even concrete.
- got their name not because they can be eaten raw, but because they are quickly salted and ready for use within a day after salting.
- For a long time, people could not understand where mushrooms that do not have seeds come from (until it became known that they reproduce by spores), so in ancient times many legends and myths appeared about the origin of mushrooms. Some peoples believed that mushrooms appeared as a result of a lightning strike on the ground, others were sure that they were the “children” of the gods, and still others that mushrooms were creatures of evil spirits.
The Aztecs and Incas considered some mushrooms to be magical and used them in various religious rituals.
The ancient Slavs believed that mushrooms were living creatures that should be treated with respect and could drain a person's life force. They also believed that mushrooms could turn into gold, worms or frogs.
Since ancient times, the attitude towards mushrooms has not been the same among different peoples. Some peoples have consumed mushrooms since ancient times (for example, in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome), others (the British) began to eat mushrooms relatively recently, others consumed only certain types of mushrooms, and some considered all mushrooms poisonous (for example, in France for a very long time only truffles were eaten).
Many northern peoples still hardly eat mushrooms (Nenets, Sami, Yakuts), as well as Tatars, Bashkirs and some others. The Nenets consider mushrooms to be food for deer.
In some Muslim countries, eating mushrooms is considered a sin, as it is prohibited by the Koran.
There are various misconceptions about how you can tell if mushrooms are poisonous, but myths must be separated from reality, otherwise the consequences can be fatal.
For example, it is believed that to determine the edibility of a mushroom, you simply need to dip a silver spoon into the decoction of this mushroom. If the mushroom is poisonous, the spoon should turn black. This is wrong. A spoon will turn black in a decoction of any mushrooms, even edible ones, since silver darkens under the influence of amino acids containing sulfur, and these amino acids are found in both poisonous and edible mushrooms.
Another misconception is the following: if you cook onions or garlic with mushrooms, the vegetables will turn brown. The fact is that the heads of onions or garlic will turn brown even when boiled together with edible mushrooms.
Some people believe that if poisonous mushrooms are cooked for several hours, they become edible. This is wrong. Many toxins contained in poisonous mushrooms are not destroyed by cooking.
There is an opinion that if you put a poisonous mushroom in milk, it will turn sour. Milk turns sour not only from poisonous mushrooms, but also from edible mushrooms.
Many mushroom pickers believe that all poisonous mushrooms have an unpleasant odor. This is wrong. For example, the smell of raw mushroom is almost no different from the smell of the most poisonous mushroom - pale mushroom.
There is an opinion that if a mushroom contains worms (larvae of fungus gnats and some flies), then this mushroom is edible, and also that snails do not eat poisonous mushrooms. This is not true. For some insects and snails, mushroom toxins can be harmless, and they calmly eat these mushrooms, and at the same time, they do not touch such an edible mushroom as the chanterelle, since this mushroom contains substances that are non-toxic to humans, which are very poisonous to insects and various worms.
The most dangerous misconception is the treatment of mushroom poisoning with alcohol. This should never be done, as alcohol will increase the rate of absorption of mushroom toxins in your stomach and intestines.
- All wild animals (elks, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, etc.) eat and treat cap mushrooms, and some even store them for the winter (for example, a squirrel hangs them on tree branches to dry).
- Currently, several types of mushrooms are cultivated in different countries of the world: oyster mushrooms, champignons, truffles, morels, honey mushrooms and some others. The oldest cultivated mushroom is considered to be shiitake, which people have been growing in China, Japan and some other Asian countries for more than 2 thousand years. Growing mushrooms in your dacha is not at all difficult if you create optimal conditions for them: a suitable substrate, temperature and humidity. The limited space of the book does not allow me to consider this interesting issue, but you can familiarize yourself with this in the specialized literature.
Fungi are ancient heterotrophic organisms that occupy a special place in the general system of living nature. They can be either microscopically small or reach several meters. They settle on plants, animals, humans or on dead organic matter, on the roots of trees and grasses. Their role in biocenoses is great and varied. In the food chain, they are decomposers - organisms that feed on dead organic remains, subjecting these remains to mineralization into simple organic compounds.
In nature, mushrooms play a positive role: they are food and medicine for animals; forming a fungal root, they help plants absorb water; Being a component of lichens, fungi create a habitat for algae.
Fungi are chlorophyll-free lower organisms that unite about 100,000 species, from small microscopic organisms to giants such as tinder fungi, giant raincoat and some others.
In the system of the organic world, mushrooms occupy a special position, representing a separate kingdom, along with the kingdoms of animals and plants. They lack chlorophyll and therefore require ready-made organic matter for nutrition (they belong to heterotrophic organisms). In terms of the presence of urea in the metabolism, chitin in the cell membrane, and a reserve product - glycogen, and not starch - they are close to animals. On the other hand, in their method of nutrition (by absorption, not ingestion of food), and unlimited growth, they resemble plants.
Mushrooms also have characteristics that are unique to them: in almost all mushrooms the vegetative body is a mycelium, or mycelium, consisting of threads - hyphae.
These are thin, thread-like tubes filled with cytoplasm. The threads that make up the mushroom can be tightly or loosely intertwined, branched, fused with each other, forming films like felt or strands visible to the naked eye.
In higher fungi, the hyphae are divided into cells.
Fungal cells can have from one to several nuclei. In addition to nuclei, cells also have other structural components (mitochondria, lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.).
Structure
The body of the vast majority of fungi is built from thin filamentous formations - hyphae. Their combination forms the mycelium (or mycelium).
By branching, the mycelium forms a large surface, which ensures the absorption of water and nutrients. Conventionally, mushrooms are divided into lower and higher. In lower fungi, hyphae do not have transverse partitions and the mycelium is one highly branched cell. In higher fungi, the hyphae are divided into cells.
The cells of most fungi are covered with a hard shell; zoospores and the vegetative body of some protozoal fungi do not have it. The cytoplasm of the fungus contains structural proteins and enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids not associated with cell organelles. Organelles: mitochondria, lysosomes, vacuoles containing storage substances - volutin, lipids, glycogen, fats. There is no starch. A fungal cell has one or more nuclei.
Reproduction
In fungi, vegetative, asexual and sexual reproduction are distinguished.
Vegetative
Reproduction is carried out by parts of the mycelium, special formations - oidia (formed as a result of the disintegration of hyphae into separate short cells, each of which gives rise to a new organism), chlamydospores (formed in approximately the same way, but have a thicker dark-colored shell, tolerate unfavorable conditions well), by budding of mycelium or individual cells.
For asexual vegetative reproduction, no special devices are needed, but not many offspring appear, but few.
With asexual vegetative reproduction, the cells of the filament, no different from their neighbors, grow into a whole organism. Sometimes, animals or environmental movement tear the hypha apart.
It happens that when unfavorable conditions occur, the thread itself breaks up into individual cells, each of which can grow into a whole mushroom.
Sometimes growths form on the thread, which grow, fall off and give rise to a new organism.
Often, some cells grow a thick membrane. They can withstand drying out and remain viable for up to ten years or more, and germinate in favorable conditions.
During vegetative propagation, the DNA of the offspring does not differ from the DNA of the parent. This type of reproduction does not require special devices, but the number of offspring is small.
Asexual
During asexual spore reproduction, the fungal filament forms special cells that create spores. These cells look like twigs that are unable to grow and separate spores from themselves, or like large bubbles within which spores form. Such formations are called sporangia.
In asexual reproduction, the DNA of the offspring is no different from the DNA of the parent. Less substances are spent on the formation of each spore than on one offspring during vegetative propagation. Asexually, one individual produces millions of spores, so the fungus has a greater chance of leaving offspring.
Sexual
During sexual reproduction, new combinations of characteristics appear. In this type of reproduction, the DNA of the offspring is formed from the DNA of both parents. In fungi, DNA combining occurs in different ways.
Different ways to ensure DNA unification during sexual reproduction of fungi:
At some point, the nuclei and then the DNA strands of the parents merge, exchange pieces of DNA and separate. The descendant's DNA contains sections received from both parents. Therefore, the descendant is in some ways similar to one parent, and in some ways - like the other. A new combination of traits can reduce or increase the viability of the offspring.
Reproduction consists of the fusion of male and female sex gametes, resulting in the formation of a zygote. Fungi are distinguished between iso-, hetero- and oogamy. The sexual product of lower fungi (oospore) germinates into a sporangium in which spores develop. In ascomycetes (marsupial fungi), as a result of the sexual process, bags (asci) are formed - single-celled structures usually containing 8 ascospores. Bags formed directly from the zygote (in lower ascomycetes) or on ascogenous hyphae developing from the zygote. In the bag, fusion of the zygote nuclei occurs, then meiotic division of the diploid nucleus and the formation of haploid ascospores. The bursa is actively involved in the spread of ascospores.
Basidial fungi are characterized by a sexual process - somatogamy. It consists of the fusion of two cells of vegetative mycelium. The reproductive product is a basidium, on which 4 basidiospores are formed. Basidiospores are haploid; they give rise to haploid mycelium, which is short-lived. By fusion of haploid mycelium, dikaryotic mycelium is formed, on which basidia with basidiospores are formed.
In imperfect fungi, and in some cases in others, the sexual process is replaced by heterokaryosis (heterogeneity) and a parasexual process. Heterokaryosis consists of the transition of genetically heterogeneous nuclei from one segment of mycelium to another through the formation of anastomoses or fusion of hyphae. Nuclear fusion does not occur in this case. The fusion of nuclei after their transition to another cell is called the parasexual process.
The fungal filaments grow by transverse division (the filaments do not divide along the cell). The cytoplasm of neighboring fungal cells forms a single whole - there are holes in the partitions between the cells.
Nutrition
Most mushrooms look like long threads that absorb nutrients over their entire surface. Fungi absorb the necessary substances from living and dead organisms, from soil moisture and water from natural reservoirs.
Fungi release substances that break organic molecules into pieces that the fungus can absorb.
But under certain conditions, it is more beneficial for the body to be a thread (like a mushroom) rather than a lump (cyst) like a bacterium. Let's check if this is true.
Let's follow the bacteria and the growing thread of the fungus. A strong sugar solution is shown in brown, a weak solution is light brown, and sugar-free water is shown in white.
We can conclude: the filamentous organism, growing, may end up in places rich in food. The longer the thread, the greater the supply of substances that saturated cells can spend on the growth of the fungus. All hyphae behave as parts of one whole, and sections of the fungus, once in places rich in food, feed the entire fungus.
Molds
Molds settle on moist remains of plants and, less commonly, animals. One of the most common molds is mucor, or capitate mold. The mycelium of this fungus in the form of the finest white hyphae can be found on stale bread. Mucor hyphae are not separated by septa. Each hypha is one highly branched cell with several nuclei. Some branches of the cell penetrate into the substrate and absorb nutrients, while others rise upward. At the top of the latter, black round heads are formed - sporangia, in which spores are formed. Ripe spores are spread by air currents or with the help of insects. Once in favorable conditions, the spore grows into a new mycelium (mycelium).
The second representative of mold fungi is penicillium, or blue mold. The mycelium penicillium consists of hyphae divided by transverse partitions into cells. Some hyphae rise upward, and branches resembling brushes are formed at their ends. At the end of these branches, spores are formed, with the help of which penicillium reproduces.
Yeast mushrooms
Yeasts are single-celled, immobile organisms of oval or elongated shape, 8-10 microns in size. True mycelium is not formed. The cell has a nucleus, mitochondria, many substances (organic and inorganic) accumulate in the vacuoles, and redox processes occur in them. Yeast accumulates volutin in cells. Vegetative propagation by budding or division. Sporulation occurs after repeated reproduction by budding or division. It occurs more easily when there is a sharp transition from abundant nutrition to insignificant nutrition, when oxygen is supplied. The number of spores in a cell is paired (usually 4-8). In yeast, the sexual process is also known.
Yeasts, or yeasts, are found on the surface of fruits and on carbohydrate-containing plant residues. Yeast differs from other fungi in that it does not have a mycelium and consists of single, mostly oval cells. In a sugary environment, yeast causes alcoholic fermentation, which results in the release of ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide:
C 6 H 12 O 6 → 2C 2 H 5 OH + 2CO 2 + energy.
This process is enzymatic and occurs with the participation of a complex of enzymes. The released energy is used by yeast cells for vital processes.
Yeast reproduces by budding (some species by division). When budding occurs, a bulge resembling a kidney forms on the cell.
The nucleus of the mother cell divides, and one of the daughter nuclei becomes a bulge. The bulge grows quickly, turns into an independent cell and separates from the mother one. With very rapid budding, the cells do not have time to separate and the result is short, fragile chains.
At least ¾ of all mushrooms are saprophytes. The saprophytic method of nutrition is associated primarily with products of plant origin (the acidic reaction of the environment and the composition of organic substances of plant origin are more favorable for their life).
Symbiont fungi are associated primarily with higher plants, bryophytes, algae, and less often with animals. An example would be lichens and mycorrhiza. Mycorrhiza is the coexistence of a fungus with the roots of a higher plant. The fungus helps the plant to absorb hard-to-reach humus substances, promotes the absorption of mineral nutrition elements, helps with carbohydrate metabolism with its enzymes, activates the enzymes of higher plants, and binds free nitrogen. From a higher plant, the fungus apparently receives nitrogen-free compounds, oxygen and root secretions, which promote the germination of spores. Mycorrhiza is very common among higher plants; it is not found only in sedges, cruciferous plants and aquatic plants.
Ecological groups of fungi
Soil mushrooms
Soil fungi are involved in the mineralization of organic matter, the formation of humus, etc. This group includes fungi that enter the soil only during certain periods of life, and fungi of the rhizosphere of plants that live in the zone of their root system.
Specialized soil fungi:
- coprophylls- mushrooms that live on soils rich in humus (dung heaps, places where animal droppings accumulate);
- keratinophylls- fungi that live on hair, horns, hooves;
- xylophytes- fungi that decompose wood, among them there are destroyers of living and dead wood.
House mushrooms
House mushrooms are destroyers of wooden parts of buildings.
Aquatic mushrooms
These include the group of mycorrhizal symbiont fungi.
Fungi growing on industrial materials (metal, paper and products made from them)
Cap mushrooms
Cap mushrooms settle on forest soil rich in humus and obtain water, mineral salts and some organic substances from it. They get some of their organic matter (carbohydrates) from trees.
The mycelium is the main part of every mushroom. Fruiting bodies develop on it. The cap and stem consist of mycelium threads tightly adjacent to each other. In the stem, all the threads are the same, and in the cap they form two layers - the upper one, covered with skin, colored with different pigments, and the lower one.
In some mushrooms, the bottom layer consists of numerous tubes. Such mushrooms are called tubular. In others, the lower layer of the cap consists of radially arranged plates. Such mushrooms are called lamellar. Spores form on the plates and on the walls of the tubes, with the help of which the fungi reproduce.
The hyphae of the mycelium entwine the roots of trees, penetrate them and spread between the cells. A cohabitation that is beneficial for both plants is established between the mycelium and plant roots. The fungus supplies plants with water and mineral salts; By replacing root hairs on the roots, the tree gives up some of its carbohydrates to it. Only with such a close connection of the mycelium with certain tree species is the formation of fruiting bodies in cap mushrooms possible.
Education dispute
Special cells called spores form in the tubes or on the plates of the cap. Ripe small and light spores spill out and are picked up and carried by the wind. They are spread by insects and slugs, as well as squirrels and hares that eat mushrooms. The spores are not digested in the digestive organs of these animals and are thrown out along with the droppings.
In moist, humus-rich soil, fungal spores germinate and mycelium threads develop from them. A mycelium arising from a single spore can form new fruiting bodies only in rare cases. In most species of fungi, fruiting bodies develop on myceliums formed by fused cells of filaments originating from different spores. Therefore, the cells of such a mycelium are binuclear. The mycelium grows slowly, and only after accumulating reserves of nutrients does it form fruiting bodies.
Most species of these fungi are saprophytes. They develop on humus soil, dead plant debris, and some on manure. The vegetative body consists of hyphae that form a mycelium located underground. During development, umbrella-like fruiting bodies grow on the mycelium. The stump and cap consist of dense bundles of mycelium threads.
In some mushrooms, on the underside of the cap, plates diverge radially from the center to the periphery, on which the basidia develop, and in them the spores are hymenophores. Such mushrooms are called lamellar. Some types of fungi have a veil (a film of infertile hyphae) that protects the hymenophores. When the fruiting body ripens, the covering breaks and remains in the form of a fringe along the edges of the cap or a ring on the stem.
In some mushrooms the hymenophore has a tubular shape. These are tubular mushrooms. Their fruiting bodies are fleshy, rot quickly, are easily damaged by insect larvae, and eaten by slugs. Cap mushrooms reproduce by spores and parts of mycelium (mycelium).
Chemical composition of mushrooms
In fresh mushrooms, water makes up 84-94% of the total mass.
Mushroom proteins are absorbed only by 54-85% - worse than proteins from other plant products. Absorption is hampered by poor protein solubility. Fats and carbohydrates are absorbed very well. The chemical composition depends on the age of the mushroom, its condition, type, growing conditions, etc.
The role of mushrooms in nature
Many mushrooms grow together with the roots of trees and grasses. Their cooperation is mutually beneficial. Plants provide sugar and proteins to fungi, and fungi destroy dead plant remains in the soil and absorb water with minerals dissolved in it over the entire surface of the hyphae. Roots fused with fungi are called mycorrhiza. Most trees and grasses form mycorrhizae.
Fungi play the role of destroyers in ecosystems. They destroy dead wood and leaves, plant roots and animal carcasses. They convert all dead remains into carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts - something that plants can absorb. As they feed, the mushrooms gain weight and become food for animals and other mushrooms.
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Mushroom mycelium
A mycelium is a complex infrastructure on which all the plants in the world are located. In ten cubic centimeters of soil you can find eight kilometers of its webs. The human foot is covered with about half a million kilometers of closely spaced webs. - Paul Stamets, mycologist What's going on in those webs? In the early 1990s, the idea first emerged that the network of these webs not only transferred food and chemicals, but was also a smart and self-learning communication network. Looking at even small sections of this network, it is easy to recognize a familiar structure. Internet graphics look exactly the same. The network branches, and if one of the branches fails, it is quickly replaced by workarounds. Its nodes, located in strategic areas, are better supplied with power due to less active places, and are enlarged. These webs have sensitivity. And each web can transmit information to the entire network. And there is no “central server”. Each web is independent, and the information it collects can be transmitted to the network in all directions. Thus, the basic model of the Internet has existed at all times, only it was hidden in the ground. The network itself seems to be able to grow indefinitely. For example, in Michigan, a mycelium was found that had grown underground over an area of nine square kilometers. It is estimated to be about 2000 years old.
When does a network decide to grow mushrooms?
Sometimes the reason is a danger to the future of the network. If the forest feeding the network burns, the mycelium stops receiving sugars from tree roots. Then she germinates mushrooms at her outermost ends so that they spread mushroom spores, “freeing” her genes and giving them the opportunity to find a new place. This is how the expression “mushrooms after the rain” appeared. Rain washes organic rot out of the ground and, in essence, deprives the network of its source of nutrition - then the network sends “rescue teams” with spores in search of a new refuge.
“Searching for a new home” is another thing that distinguishes mushrooms from the animal and plant kingdoms. There are fungi that spread their spores much like fruits spread their seeds. Others produce pheromones that cause living things to compulsively crave them. Collectors of white truffles use them to search for pigs, as the smell of these mushrooms is similar to the smell of alpha boar. However, there are more complex and cruel ways of spreading mushrooms. Observations of West African ants of the species Megaloponera foetens recorded that they annually climb tall trees and plunge their jaws into the trunk with such force that after this they cannot free themselves and die. Previously, cases of mass suicide of ants have not been observed.
It turned out that the insects act against their will, and someone else sends them to their death. The reason is the smallest spores of the fungus, which sometimes manage to get into the mouths of ants. Once in the insect's head, the spore sends chemicals to its brain. After this, the ant begins to climb the nearest tree and sinks its jaws into its bark. Here, as if waking up from a nightmare, he begins to try to free himself and, in the end, exhausted, he dies. After about two weeks, mushrooms sprout from his head.
On trees in Cameroon you can see hundreds of mushrooms growing from the bodies of ants. For fungi, this power over the brain is a means of reproduction: they use the ant's legs to climb a tree, and the height helps the wind disperse their spores; this is how they find new homes and... new ants. The Thai "zombie mushroom" Ophiocordyceps unilateralis encourages the ants that feed on it to climb the leaves of some plants. The distance that infected ants travel for this purpose significantly exceeds the distances in their normal life, and therefore, having reached the leaves, the insects die of fatigue and hunger, and two weeks later mushrooms sprout from their bodies.
These mushrooms are perhaps the most amazing creatures, as they produce chemicals similar to LSD, but we have yet to find a drug that causes behavior that suits someone's interests. And Professor David Hughes discovered fungi that control the brains of spiders, lice and flies. This is not a coincidence, natural selection, or a side effect of another process. These insects are sent against their will to places where they shouldn’t be, but the mushrooms like them. When the researchers transferred the infected ants to other leaves, the mushrooms simply did not germinate....
A mysterious species of living organisms that has not been fully studied today is mushrooms. Living on our planet for more than a billion years, they number about a million species, of which man has been able to explore, classify and describe only 5% - 70,000 species. One of the very first inhabitants of planet Earth has amazing healing properties. Few people know that the medicine that saved millions of lives is an antibiotic, which is a product of its vital activity. The most interesting fact: residents of villages near Opochka (Pskov region) have never suffered from cancer. They are saved by the mushroom fungus, whose polysaccharides produce perforin, which is capable of making holes in the membrane of cancer cells. And the latter simply die off.
kingdom of mushrooms
The superkingdom of eukaryotes unites the kingdom of plants, the kingdom of animals and... the kingdom of fungi. Yes, due to their special properties, mushrooms belong to the kingdom of mushrooms. They cannot be called animals, but neither can they be called plants.
Fungi share common characteristics with plants:
- presence of a cell wall;
- ability to synthesize vitamins;
- immobility in a vegetative state;
- reproduction by spores;
- absorption of food by adsorption (absorption).
But there are also features in common with animals:
- absence of chloroplasts and photosynthetic pigments;
- heterotrophy;
- accumulation of glycogen as a reserve substance;
- the presence of a chitin cell wall, which is characteristic of the skeleton of arthropods;
- formation and release of urea.
Variety of mushrooms
Fungi are divided into higher fungi, lower fungi and fungi-like organisms. The higher fungi include the following classes: ascomycetes, zygomycetes, deuteromycetes and basidiomycetes. They are also called true mushrooms. They have completely lost the flagellar stages; a specific polysaccharide, chitosan, is part of the cell membranes. The cells also contain glucose polymers and chitin.
Tubular mushrooms include
- Porcini.
- Butter.
- boletus
- Boletuses.
Mushrooms that have a typical stalk and cap, the lower part of which consists of small holes and produces spores. Among the tubular mushrooms there are no poisonous mushrooms, but there are conditionally edible ones that require preliminary preparation before consumption. They can only be found in wooded areas; they do not grow in open areas.
Lamellar mushrooms include milk mushrooms, saffron milk caps, champignons, honey mushrooms and others. Their main difference from tubular ones is the presence of plates in the lower part of the cap, where spores are formed. The color of the spore powder often helps to identify the type of mushroom - edible or poisonous.
Poisonous mushrooms include
- Fly agarics.
- Pale toadstool (absolutely poisonous mushrooms).
- Morels
- Satanic mushroom
- False honey mushrooms (toxicity can be reduced by cooking).
The mushrooms listed above are divided into separate subspecies of mushrooms. They have become toxic due to unfavorable environmental conditions.
There are 32 species of poisonous mushrooms in total. The most harmless of them - poisonous champignon, undercooked honey mushroom - can cause upset an hour after eating. The second group - hallucinogens - is characterized by stomach upset, sweating, nausea and vomiting, which occurs 2 hours after eating. It is also possible to experience bouts of laughter, crying, etc. The third group - pale toadstool, sulfur-yellow honey fungus - cause damage to the liver, kidneys and other important organs, provoking irreversible processes.
Considering that the world of mushrooms is very poorly studied, the definitions of what mushrooms belong to are quite arbitrary and unstable. Perhaps tomorrow another discovery will change our understanding of them.
Incredible facts
The Egyptian pharaohs believed that mushrooms had magical powers, and perhaps this is true. Making up a whole kingdom, they are often associated with something mystical and incomprehensible to us. So, let's figure out what mushrooms are and what role they play.
1. Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals
For years, scientists classified mushrooms as plants. However, upon closer examination, they discovered that fungi have more in common with animals than with plants. Mushrooms lack chlorophyll, so they cannot get their food from sunlight like plants. But they also don't have a stomach to digest food like animals. They belong to a separate kingdom - the kingdom of mushrooms.
2. Mushrooms live at the expense of others
Conversely, in symbiosis with plants, they supply them with minerals in exchange for carbohydrates and other substances that mushrooms cannot produce.
3. We eat mushrooms every day
We use mushroom products every day without even realizing it. For example, yeast, which belongs to the group of fungi, is used in the preparation of bread, wine and beer. Medicines derived from mushrooms treat diseases and prevent the rejection of transplanted hearts and other organs. Mushrooms are also grown in huge quantities to produce flavorings for cooking, vitamins and enzymes for removing stains.
4. Mushrooms are important for the environment
Fungi play an important ecological role by decomposing organic matter and returning important nutrients to the ecosystem. Fungi digest organic matter in rotting wood and lawns. Many plants require fungi to survive, as fungi extract minerals and water from the soil to the plant, while plants provide sugar compounds to the fungi.
5. A huge number of mushrooms
There are about 1 million species of mushrooms in the world, ranging from huge mushrooms Termitonyces titanicus, more than one meter wide, to microscopic mold fungi Penicillium notatum, from which penicillin is extracted. However, to date only 10 percent of the mushrooms have been registered.
6. Mushrooms strengthen the immune system
Mushrooms (edible, of course) have the remarkable ability to strengthen a weakened immune system. They can also curb an overactive immune system, as is the case with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and allergies. In Chinese traditional medicine, mushrooms are used as a universal remedy for many ailments, ranging from coughs to impotence.
7. Mushrooms and vitamins
Mushrooms, like humans, can produce vitamin D, an important nutrient for the body and bones, when they are exposed to sunlight.
Mushrooms are also the only non-animal source of vitamin B12.
8. Mushrooms have a fifth taste
9. The most poisonous mushroom
There are more than 100 types of mushrooms that can kill. Pale toadstool is one of the most dangerous, poisonous mushrooms in the world.
This mushroom is famous because it has caused more fatal poisonings than any other mushroom.
10. Mushrooms make us better people
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have shown that people who use magic mushrooms in the right amounts can derive long-term benefits from them.
So the latest research says that when consumed correctly, these mushrooms can make you calmer, happier and kinder.