BIOL1030 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Chitin, Extremophile, Cell Membrane
Lecture 9 notes- Why is biodiversity important?
SOILS FORMATION
- The organic component of soil comes from biodiversity
- It is created through decomposition (metabolic breakdown of materials into simpler
components by living organisms)
ANIMAL, PLANT AND FUNGAL DIVERSITY
KINGDOM FUNGI
What do fungi and plants share?
- Cell walls (but fungi cell walls contain chitin instead of cellulose)
- Both develop by progressive growth (brick wall) unlike animals
- Both reproduce by sexual and asexual means
- Both produce spores
What do fungi and animals share?
- Both cant photosynthesise
- Both digest food outside their cells
- BUT fungi live within their own food supply and simply grow into new food as the local
environment becomes nutrient depleted
Fungi are decomposers- PRIMARY decomposers (marine and terrestrial)
MUTUALISTS- symbiosis
- 90% of plants require symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi to survive
- The tiny filaments (hyphae) encase and extend from plant roots, dramatically increasing
uptake ability of water and nutrients
- In exchange the plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates
PHOTOSYNTHESIS- primary production
Primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds (those containing carbon) from
atmospheric or aqueous CO2 – mainly happens via photosynthesis
Primary producers are called autotrophs
Plants and algae replenish CO2
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Document Summary
The organic component of soil comes from biodiversity. It is created through decomposition (metabolic breakdown of materials into simpler components by living organisms) Cell walls (but fungi cell walls contain chitin instead of cellulose) Both develop by progressive growth (brick wall) unlike animals. Both reproduce by sexual and asexual means. But fungi live within their own food supply and simply grow into new food as the local environment becomes nutrient depleted. Fungi are decomposers- primary decomposers (marine and terrestrial) 90% of plants require symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi to survive. The tiny filaments (hyphae) encase and extend from plant roots, dramatically increasing uptake ability of water and nutrients. In exchange the plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates. Primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds (those containing carbon) from atmospheric or aqueous co2 mainly happens via photosynthesis. Water cycling- plant transpiration transfers ground water to the atmosphere. Role of plant transpiration in controlling soil salinity.
