Fungi

1. Chapter 31 Fungi Questions prepared by Christopher GreggLouisiana State University Ruth BuskirkUniversity of Texas at Austin Michael DiniTexas Tech University

2. Which individual organism in this picture probably has more biomass? • fungus • tree

3. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophs and use enzymes to break down food macromolecules into monomers that their cells can use. What is true about these fungal enzymes that is not generally true of animal enzymes? • Many of them catalyze hydrolysis reactions. • They reduce the activation energy and speed up reactions. • They are proteins that are specific for digesting certain types of molecules. • All of the above

4. Which of the following is a role NOT performed by any fungi? • decomposer • parasite • predator • producer

5. You are presented with several single-celled organisms, including one thought to belong to the kingdom Fungi. What unique feature helps you identify the fungus? • presence of mitochondria • absence of chloroplasts • presence of chitin • presence of nuclei • presence of chitinous cell walls

6. When does meiosis occur in fungi? • during asexual reproduction • following the fusion of nuclei • immediately after the fusion of two fungal cells • after the fusion of cytoplasm but before the fusion of nuclei

7. In animals, an individual consisting of diploid cells is usually in the life stage in which it signals to attract a mate and determines whether the potential mate is compatible. What life stages typically accomplish these functions in fungi? • haploid spores • haploid hyphae • heterokaryon hyphae • diploid hyphae • diploid spores

8. _ _ _ Which phylogenetic tree represents the evolutionary history of the fungi based on the most recent data?

9. Your parents are coming to visit so you immediately run to the pantry to throw away the loaf of bread with the black fuzzy stuff on it. What phylum of fungi did you probably just trash? • Basidiomycota • Ascomycota • Zygomycota • Chytridiomycota

10. You have been given the task of finding living members of the phylum Glomeromycota. Where is the best place to look for these fungi? • the roots of vascular plants • between the toes of someone with athlete's foot • growing on rocks and tree bark • in stagnant freshwater ponds

11. You are given a fungus to identify. It has a fruiting body that contains many structures with eight haploid spores lined up in a row. What kind of fungus is this? • zygomycete • chytrid • deuteromycete • ascomycete

12. Which feature of the chytrids supports the hypothesis that they represent the most primitive fungi? • flagellated spores • the absence of chitin within the cell wall • parasitic lifestyle • formation of resistant zygosporangia

13. Which of the following diagrams represents the defining feature of the Ascomycota? c) a) d) b) e)

14. Neurospora is an ascomycete mold that is an important model organism for genetics research. Researchers carefully open an ascus (sac) and analyze the genes of the eight ascospores contained within it. Why does analysis of spores in an ascus make it easy to study genetic recombination in Neurospora? • The eight ascospores are genetically identical haploid nuclei made by mitosis. • The eight ascospores are four copies each of the two dikaryon nuclei. • The eight ascospores are two copies each of the four haploid products of one meiosis. • The eight ascospores are each genetically different haploid products of one meiosis. • The eight ascospores are genetically identical diploid nuclei made by mitosis.

15. If you analyze the cells of the body of a basidiomycete mushroom, such as those we eat, you would find that most cells contain what nuclei? • one haploid nucleus • two or more genetically identical haploid nuclei • two non identical haploid nuclei • one diploid nucleus • two or more genetically identical diploid nuclei

16. In fields or open areas in woodlands, one can occasionally find a “fairy ring,” a ring of mushroom fruiting bodies arranged roughly in a circle, which can be many meters in diameter. Which is the correct explanation for this? • Mushrooms have grown where a circle of spores was deposited previously. • The circle of mushrooms represents the survivors or “winners” of many fungi that competed with each other. • The circle represents the edge of a large underground feeding mycelium that produced fruiting bodies in many places at once. • The circle represents the outer edge of a good habitat for the mushrooms. • The circle is where fairies have danced in a ring.

17. How many individual fungi are observable in this picture? • 1 • 5 • 46 • 52

18. Which of these is an example of a fungus that initially parasitizes a living organism, and then continues living on it as a decomposer after the organism dies? • black bread mold • yeasts • mycorrhizal fungus • wheat rust • shelf fungus

19. Many fungi produce antibiotics, for example, penicillin, that are effective at stopping bacterial growth. Which do you think is the evolutionary advantage to the fungus of secreting antibacterial chemicals? • defense: preventing bacteria from infecting the fungus • defense: preventing bacteria from killing fungal spores • symbiosis: attracting helpful bacteria • competition: destroying bacteria that compete for their food • predatory: fungus can then consume the bacteria

20. Lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic microbe and are often among the first organisms to grow on bare rock or volcanic deposits. What features of lichens allow them to be so successful as new colonizers on bare rock? • Fungal hyphae have extensive surface area for absorbing runoff water without any soil. • Fungal hyphae secrete weak acids that break down the rock surface and permit attachment. • Some lichen microbes conduct their own nitrogen fixation. • The photosynthetic partners in lichens have little competition for sunlight. • All of the above