Question

A fungus with coenocytic mycelium which produces endogenous spores asexually is:

• A. Claviceps
• B. Rhizopus
• C. Aspergillus
• D. Penicillium

Answer 1

The correct option is B Rhizopus

Most of the fungal members have filamentous bodies and their bodies consist of long, slender, threadlike structures called hyphae. A network of these hyphae is known as mycelium. These are usually haploid structures. Mycelium is found to be of different types in different species, There are mainly two types–Aseptate and Septate. Aseptate mycelium is devoid of septa/partitions and is also known as coenocytic mycelium which means it is only one cell which has many nuclei. On the other hand, septate mycelium shows presence of septa like cross walls. This septa divides the mycelium into numerous cells where each a cell has only one nucleus, unlike coenocytic mycelium.Coenocytic mycelium is a characteristic of Phycomycetes class of fungi and example includes Rhizopus.Whereas septate mycelium is seen in other classes of fungi, like in ascomycetes including Aspergillus, Claviceps and Penicillium.

Fungal species reproduce asexually by production of spores. There are mainly 2 types of spores–Exogenous and endogenous. Exogenous spores are the ones that propagate outside the spore forming body–sporangium whereas endogenous spores are produced inside the sporangium.Endogenous spores are a characteristic of phycomycetes and are seen in species of Rhizopus.Coenocytic mycelium is a characteristic of Phycomycetes which produce endogenous spores and example includes Rhizopus.