Section 17
Fungi
By Boundless
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Fungi, latin for mushroom, are eukaryotes which are responsible for decomposition and nutrient cycling through the environment.
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From crop and food spoilage to severe infections in animal species, fungal parasites and pathogens are wide spread and difficult to treat.
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Fungi are the major decomposers of nature; they break down organic matter which would otherwise not be recycled.
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Chytrids are the most primitive group of fungi and the only group that possess gametes with flagella.
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Zygomycota, a small group in the fungi kingdom, can reproduce asexually or sexually, in a process called conjugation.
Glomeromycetes are an important group of fungi that live in close symbiotic association with the roots of trees and plants.
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Most fungi belong to the Phylum Ascomycota, which uniquely forms of an ascus, a sac-like structure that contains haploid ascospores.
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The basidiomycota are mushroom-producing fungi with developing, club-shaped fruiting bodies called basidia on the gills under its cap.