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What are fungi?

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Fungi:

Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that include microorganisms such as yeasts, moulds and mushrooms. These organisms are classified under kingdom fungi.The organisms found in Kingdom fungi contain a cell wall and are omnipresent. They are classified as heterotrophs among the living organisms

  • They are eukaryotic organisms.
  • These organisms are heterotrophic.
  • Fungi's cell walls are made up of chitin and carbohydrates.
  • They thrive in warm, humid environments.
  • Except for the yeast, all fungi are filamentous (unicellular).
  • Fungi include mushrooms, yeasts, moulds, etc.

Structure of Fungi

The structure of fungi can be explained in the following points:

  1. Almost all the fungi have a filamentous structure, except the yeast cells.
  2. They can be either single-celled or multicellular organisms.
  3. Fungi consist of long thread-like structures known as hyphae. These hyphae together form a mesh-like structure called mycelium.
  4. Fungi possess a cell wall which is made up of chitin and polysaccharides.
  5. The cell wall comprises a protoplast, which is differentiated into other cell parts such as cell membrane, cytoplasm, cell organelles and nuclei.
  6. The nucleus is dense, clear, with chromatin threads. The nucleus is surrounded by a nuclear membrane.

Uses

Yeast is used to making beer and bread. Penicillium is a source of the antibiotic penicillin.

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