Chapter 31

1. List characteristics that distinguish fungi from organisms in other kingdoms.
2. Explain how fungi acquire their nutrients.
3. Explain how non-motile fungi seek new food sources and how they disperse.
4. Describe the basic body plan of a fungus.
5. Distinguish between septate and aseptate (coenocytic) fungi.
6. Describe some advantages to the dikaryotic state.
7. Distinguish among fungi and list some common examples of each.
8. Describe asexual and sexual reproduction in Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota, and the sexual structure that characterizes each group.
9. Explain the difference between conidia and ascospores.
10. Explain why ascomycetes can be useful to geneticists studying genetic recombination.
11. Explain why the Deuteromycota are called imperfect fungi.
12. Describe the anatomy of lichens and explain how they reproduce.
13. Provide evidence for both sides of the debate on whether symbiosis in lichens is parasitic or mutualistic.
14. Describe the ecological importance of lichens.
15. Explain why fungi are ecologically and commercially important.
16. Describe how the mutualistic relationship in mycorrhizae is beneficial to both the fungus and the plant, and explain its importance to natural ecosystems and agriculture.
17. Describe a scenario for fungal phylogeny and list two possible ancestors of Zygomycota.