Portal:Fungi

The Fungi Portal

A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and further specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.

Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.

More about fungi...

Selected article

Amanita phalloides (generally /æməˈnaɪtə fəˈlɔɪdiːz/), commonly known as the death cap, is a poisonous basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Widely distributed across Europe, A. phalloides associates with various deciduous trees. In some cases, death cap has been accidentally introduced to new regions with the cultivation of non-native species of oak, chestnut, and pine. The large fruiting bodies (i.e., the mushrooms) appear in summer and autumn; the caps are generally greenish in colour, with a white stipe and gills.

Coincidentally, these toxic mushrooms resemble several edible species (most notably the straw mushroom) commonly consumed by humans, increasing the risk of accidental poisoning. A. phalloides is one of the most poisonous of all known toadstools. It has been involved in the majority of human deaths from mushroom poisoning, possibly including the deaths of Roman Emperor Claudius and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. It has been the subject of much research, and many of its biologically active agents have been isolated. The principal toxic constituent is α-amanitin, which damages the liver and kidneys, often fatally. No definitive antidote is known.

Selected species

Mycena vitilis, commonly known as the snapping bonnet, is a species of inedible mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. It is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on the ground among leaves in damp places, especially under alder. The small pale gray to whitish fruit bodies are usually attached to small sticks buried in the leaves and detritus. They are distinguished by their long, slender stems that root into the ground, and by the grooved cap that reaches diameters of up to 2.2 cm (0.9 in). The grayish-white gills on the underside of the cap are distantly spaced, and adnately attached to the stem. M. vitilis contains Strobilurin B, a fungicidal compound with potential use in agriculture.

Things to do

If you want to help Wikipedia to improve its coverage of fungi, here are some things you can do...

Assess some fungi articles.
Join Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi or ask on the talk page.
Join the lichen task force.
Review, improve, expand or clean some of the newly created fungi-related articles.
Expand some high priority fungus stubs.
Expand or sort other fungi-related stubs.
Add images to articles in the list of unillustrated fungi articles, or add more articles to the list.
Write fungi-related articles from scratch. For ideas of needed articles, see the redlinks on-
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi/List of unwritten articles (high priority)
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/Skysmith's list of missing articles/Biology/Fungi
- Members of Category:Lists of fungal species
Review the fungi articles flagged as needing attention.

WikiProjects

WikiProjects related to fungi:

WikiProject Science
- WikiProject Biology
  - WikiProject Tree of Life
    - WikiProject Fungi
WikiProject Medicine
WikiProject Food

What are WikiProjects?

Selected picture

An illustration of various species of Lichen, from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur.

Did you know?

... that Spinellus fusiger is a pin mold that parasitizes several species of mushrooms?
... that the mushrooms Boletus zelleri, B. mirabilis, Suillus americanus, S. brevipes, S. lakei, and Leccinum manzanitae are all examples of edible boletes?
... that application of iron salts will turn a white coral green?
... that despite its name, the edibility of the rhubarb bolete is unknown?
... that the mica cap mushroom has glistening particles on top that are remnants of a universal veil?

General images -

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 2Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 3The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 4Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, commonly known as the "flowerpot parasol", at various stages of development (from Mushroom)
Image 5
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
Image 6Agaricus bisporus, a cultivated edible mushroom with various names including "button mushroom", "portobello" and "champignon" (from Mushroom)
Image 7Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 8Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 9Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 10Lycoperdon perlatum (the "common puffball") has a glebal hymenium; when young, the interior is white, but it becomes brown containing powdery spores as the fungus matures. (from Mushroom)
Image 11Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 12There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 13Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 14Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 15Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 16Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
Image 17Mature Mycena leaiana, a kind of Mushroom, in Mount Field National Park. (from Mycology)
Image 18Close-up cross section of mushroom gills (from Mushroom)
Image 19Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 20Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 21
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 22Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 23
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
Image 24Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 25Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey. This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 26Amanita muscaria, a psychotropic mushroom commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 27Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 28Pholiota squarrosa growing at the base of a tree (from Mushroom)
Image 29Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 30Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 31Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 32The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 33Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 34Coprinopsis atramentaria, commonly known as the "ink cap" (from Mushroom)
Image 35Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 36Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 37Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 38Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 39
Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)
Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
Image 40A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 41The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 42Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 43Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 44Agaricus bitorquis (the "pavement mushroom") emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 45A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 46Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
Image 47Workup algorithm of fungal infection at a microbiology lab at a New England community hospital. (from Fungal infection)