BIOL 151 Study Guide - Final Guide: Basidium, Ascus, Mycelium
Document Summary
Fungi comprise a diverse group of (mostly) multicellular eukaryotes. Fungi feed by absorbing nutrients from living or dead organisms. Those that feed on dead organisms are the world"s most important decomposers. Absorb nutrients from their hosts, lowering the hosts" fitness: most fungi that live in association with other organisms benefit their hosts and thus are mutualists. The roots of most land plants are colonized by mutualistic fungi. Fungi living in the shoots of some plants help repel herbivores by producing toxic compounds. Some insects grow gardens of fungi, which they cultivate and feed upon. Fungi can be thought of as the master traders and recyclers in terrestrial ecosystems. Fungi and land plants often have a symbiotic relationship. Several types of symbiosis are found: mutualism. The major destructive impact of fungi on people is through the food supply. Saprophytes are fungi that make their living by digesting dead plant material. The carbon cycle on land has two basic components:
