Asexual spores come in many forms. There are conidiospores that can be multicellular or unicellular and that are directly released from the tip or side of the hyphae. Others will bud off from the vegetative part of the organism. Those spores that are released from a sporangium are called sporangiospores.
ECOLOGY OF FUNGI Fungi have an important role to play in ecology as they are the major decomposers in nature. Organic matter is broken down that would otherwise be unable to be recycled because no other organism type can recycle these nutrients. Fungi prefer dark and moist conditions and live in hostile environments that other organisms can’t. The forest floor is a common place for them, where there is a lot of decaying debris. As mentioned, they send out exoenzymes that decompose many structures to make nutrients that other organisms can use. Two main elements, nitrogen and phosphorus are necessary for life and yet are not readily available to many organisms without the action of fungal organisms. The way that fungi participate most in the cycle of nutrients is through the action of their exoenzymes. These are released into the environment to break down cell walls and other nutrients of decaying matter. This requires water so the presence of water and damp environments is crucial to their digestive process. The mutualistic relationship to other organisms includes relationships between plants, animals, and cyanobacteria. Mutualistic relationships are also called symbiotic relationships when both members in the relationship receive benefit from the others. As mentioned, mycorrhizae are extremely common, affecting 90 percent of terrestrial plants. In this association, the hyphae branch out and come in contact with the soil in order to channel minerals and water toward the plant, increasing the ability of plants to take up nutrients. The tradeoff is that the fungi benefit from the products of photosynthesis coming from the plants. Mycorrhizae do not diversify much as they do not participate in sexual reproduction. In many ways, they are quite primitive and cannot live outside of the mycorrhizae. There
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