The fungal morphology it is of different types, depending on the species. Fungi are the organisms belonging to the Fungi kingdom. These living beings, made up of cells very similar to those of animals, but at the same time very different, can be unicellular or multicellular..
In the Fungi kingdom all organisms that have a chitin cell wall and are mainly saprophytes (they feed on decomposing organic matter) are classified. Some share many characteristics with animals and plants, but are in turn very different from both groups.
The first thing we imagine when we think of a "mushroom" are usually the "hat" mushrooms, such as mushrooms on pizza. However, this is just one of the many forms of fungi that we can find in nature, since there is an extraordinary diversity of shapes, sizes and colors.
The body of fungi is known as mycelium and is made up of long filaments called hyphae, which can only be observed and detailed through a microscope. Fungi use hyphae to cling and spread throughout the places where they grow.
Generally, what we know as "fungi" are only the fruiting bodies of some species. Through these fruiting bodies, some fungi produce spores to reproduce sexually. The true or, rather, “complete” fungus is much larger than the fruiting body, since it is usually distributed under the surface of the earth..
Fungi are classified taxonomically using many different characteristics. However, observing them only with the naked eye, they can be classified according to their morphology into two large groups: the macromycetes and the micromycetes..
Macromycetes are the typical hat fungi, such as mushrooms, and those that we observe on the forest floor, which develop a visible fruiting body without any magnification. The structure of the fruiting body can be described as composed of the following parts:
- The pileus: representing the "hat" or the upper part of the fruiting body.
- Stem: the “base” of the fruiting body that supports the pileus.
- I returned her: a kind of "veil" or membrane that covers the entire fruiting body and that generally disappears as it matures. On some occasions the remains of this can be observed at the base of the stem, appreciable as scales or remains of membranes.
Micromycetes, as their name implies, are partially microscopic fungi. These do not form visible macroscopic fruiting bodies like those of the hat fungi..
Its shape, if it can be appreciated, can be evidenced as dark colored spots or accumulations, as dust and even as colored balls or mucous drops on any surface..
Viewed under the microscope, micromycetes can be mold-shaped and are also called filamentous fungi or yeasts. These can have sexual dimorphism depending on the species.
Some micromycetes have some structures in their bodies that are different from those found in any other fungus, but this depends mainly on the substrate where they grow or the environmental conditions where they develop..
Mushroom specialists (mycologists) often rely on the physical characteristics of these organisms to determine which species they belong to. Fungi can often be classified in at least 3 different ways:
The entire structure of the fungus composed of hyphae, a product of asexual reproduction, is called mycelium. The mycelium of wild mushrooms can extend for several meters underground.
All subterranean hyphae, that is, those that grow immersed under the substrate, are produced by asexual reproduction. Only the hyphae that emerge to the surface will give rise to specialized structures for sexual reproduction. These hyphae in charge of sexual reproduction are called conidia or conidia.
When observing the mycelium of a fungus under the microscope, the hyphae separated from each other by septa can be detailed, which are nothing more than the cell walls of each of the cells that make up the hyphae..
There are hyphae that generally have 2 nuclei inside; others, on the other hand, have mycelia with coenocytic hyphae, that is, a single hypha contains many nuclei inside.
All fungi with this morphology are more or less spherical or elliptical; they are microscopic and unicellular. Most of the time they reproduce exclusively asexually, either by budding or by excision..
Despite being unicellular, depending on the substrate where they grow, they can produce hyphae or "pseudohyphae", but without true septa. These pseudohyphae are classified as intermediate forms between filamentous fungi and yeast fungi..
In general, all fungi with yeast morphology are monomorphic, that is, the hyphae do not change their shape despite changes in environmental conditions and the sex cells (if they develop them) are morphologically the same as any other cell of the fungus.
Many types of fungi have mycelia that transform, that is, they change shape as their hyphae mature. The 9 main groups are:
They are fungi in which the nuclei of the cells are not separated by membranes or cell walls, but rather all the nuclei are "submerged" in a single mass of cytoplasm and usually have the appearance of a slime or mucoid..
This "slime" or "gelatinous mass" moves like a species of giant amoeba and feeds by internalizing the microorganisms and organic matter that it gets in its path..
Being in adverse conditions, the plasmodium differs into a dry, flat and flat fruiting body on some substrate.
The hyphae of the fungi are grouped in tissues organized in an interlocking manner, as a kind of pseudo-tissue or pseudoparenchyma. They form a smooth layer on the surface of the substrate.
These fungi can penetrate inside plant cells and live as parasites inside them. They feed on plant cells through the branching of their hyphae, which differentiate into a kind of button or sucker to absorb nutrients.
They are frequently observed as dark spots inside the cells of the roots of plants..
They are fungi that project their hyphae through the interior of the tree trunk as if they were interwoven cords, highly branched and with the appearance of roots. These structures are very resistant to the adverse conditions of the interior of the tree trunk.
They are fungi composed of simple hyphae, with a very simple structure, that branch widely until they reach maturity and there develop conidiogenic cells that are responsible for producing conidia..
Conidiogenic cells have the appearance of a feather duster, where at the end of the hypha the conidia are arranged in grouped rows.
They are fungi with septate mycelium and well-branched hyphae, with the particularity that a microphone-shaped bulge called sporangium.
The hyphae develop intertwining and forming a macroscopic pear-shaped structure; these hyphae are specialized for the absorption of nutrients. Inside the structure are the conidia, which are released once the fungus suffers some physical damage.
All hyphae are grouped forming a circular surface, similar to a plate, these hyphae are fertile and are responsible for originating new conidia.
The hyphae reproduce vegetatively and intertwine to form a globose, macroscopic, spongy or velvety-looking body..
These are generally very resistant and can have a large number of different pigments. They are easy to see with the naked eye on high carbohydrate substrates.
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