Question

In which fungi plasmogamy is followed by karyogamy?

Answer 1

Plasmogamy:

1. It is a stage of sexual reproduction in fungi.
2. It is the fusion of the protoplasm of two-parent cells without the fusion of the two nuclei.
3. It brings the two haploid nuclei in close proximity inside the same cell.

Karyogamy:

1. Plasmogamy is followed by karyogamy where the two nuclei fuse with each other.
2. The resulting cell is diploid and contains only two copies of the genome.
3. The diploid cell called the zygote or zygospore then enters meiosis or can continue to divide through mitosis.

Ascomycetes:

1. They are terrestrial and are mainly saprophytes or parasites.
2. They are haploid in nature.
3. They have mycelium which is composed of branches and septate hyphae.
4. Their cell wall is composed of chitin or fungal cellulose.
5. It produces a sac-like structure called ascus that produces eight haploid ascospores.
6. Asexual reproduction takes place by nonmotile spores such as oidia, chlamydospores, and conidia.
7. Sexual reproduction is by gametangial contact, gametangial copulation, spermatisation, and somatogamy.
8. Fertilization involves plasmogamy followed by karyogamy.
9. Examples include yeast, Penicillium, and Aspergillus.