Fungi

      This past week in my Biology class we have been learning about Fungi, the strange yet fascinating organisms that are neither plants nor animals which seem to be able to live in any environment. They come in a startling variety of shapes, colours, sizes and species and they are found everywhere!
      Last Friday, our class went on a Fungi Hunt to discover the different types of fungi existing right near our school in British Columbia. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the hunt, so I cannot attest to the nature of those fungi which exist near our school. However, I can share some of the interesting information I learned this past week about these intriguing heterotrophic eukaryotes. But what exactly do those two long words mean about fungi? Fungi are heterotrophic, which means they must acquire their nutrients from outside sources. Unlike plants, they are not photosynthetic. They are also known as eukaryotes, meaning that their cells have nuclei and organelles. I learned many new things this past week about fungi that I never knew before.
      For one, although most people know that mold is caused by spores, it was new to me to learn that mold was actually a type of fungi. When a piece of bread goes moldy, it is best not to eat any part of it because once the fungal spores land on the bread they begin developing hyphae, which are filamentous threads, that make their way all the way into the piece of bread. The black we see on top of the bread is actually the fungus' sporangia cases. Black bread mold, or Rhizopus stolonifer is of the phylum Zygomycota, which brings me to the next new thing I learned.
      There are actually many different phyla within the kingdom fungi. These include the Oomycetes, Ascomycetes, Zygomycetes, Deuteromycetes and Basidiomycetes. The Deuteromycetes are set apart from these other phyla because they are known as 'imperfect fungi'; imperfect meaning that they cannot reproduce sexually like most other fungi. They are infamous for causing fungal infections such as ringworm and athlete's foot.
     Perhaps the most interesting/frightening thing I learned this week was that fungal spores are EVERYWHERE. There are spores in your kitchen, your school, your bedroom, even right under your nose at this very moment. Fungi are so small that most of the time we hardly notice them, but their ecological importance is immeasurable, and it has been enlightening getting to understand their secret lives.

Below are some pictures of fungi native to BC. (from google)