BLG 144 Chapter Notes - Chapter 31: Motility, Coenocyte, Endophyte
27 Dec 2017
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Without fungi, dead tree tru(cid:374)ks a(cid:374)d ra(cid:374)(cid:272)hes would pile up o(cid:374) earth"s surfa(cid:272)e, while the (cid:374)utrie(cid:374)ts (cid:271)ou(cid:374)d withi(cid:374) the(cid:373) would be unavailable to primary producers. It is common for species to have a long-lived dikaryotic stage, in which cells contain haploid nuclei from two different individuals. Although most species reproduce sexually, few species produce gametes. Fungi are eukaryotes that grow as single cells or as large, branching networks of multicellular filaments. Fungi is one of three major lineages of large, multicellular eukaryotes that occupy terrestrial environments. Mutualism a symbiotic relationship between two organisms (mutualists) that benefits both. In exchange for sugars from the host plant, fungi provide the plant with water and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus (without this, plants would grow much slower). Because fungi recycle key elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and because they transfer key nutrients to plants, fungi have a profound influence on productivity and biodiversity.
