BIOL 226 Chapter Notes - Chapter 31: Lichen, Soredium, Commensalism
3 May 2016
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They are also essential for the well-being of most ecosystems. They break down organic material and recycle nutrients, allowing other organisms to assimilate essential chemical nutrients. Fungi are heterotrophs: they cannot make their own food. A fungus absorbs nutrients from the environment outside of its body by secreting powerful hydrolytic enzyme into their surroundings. Other fungi use enzymes to penetrate the walls of cells, enabling the fungi to absorb nutrients from the cells. Different species living as decomposers, parasites or mutualists. Decomposer fungi break down and absorb nutrients from non-living organic material, such as fallen logs, animal corpses and the wastes of living organisms. Parasitic fungi absorb nutrients from the cells of living hosts. Mutualistic fungi also absorb nutrient from a host organism, but they reciprocate with actions that benefit the host. The most common fungal body structures are multicellular filaments and single cells (yeasts).
