Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Fungus |
FungusNoun1. A parasitic plant lacking chlorophyll and leaves and true stems and roots and reproducing by spores. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "fungus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1792. (references) |
Etymology: Fungus \Fun"gus\, noun; plural Latin Fungi, English Funguses. [Latin, a mushroom; perhaps akin to a doubtful Greek ? sponge, for ?;if so, compare to English sponge.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Environment | Molds, mildews, yeasts, mushrooms, and puffballs, a group of organisms lacking in chlorophyll (i.e. are not photosynthetic) and which are usually non-mobile, filamentous, and multicellular. Some grow in soil, others attach themselves to decaying trees and other plants whence they obtain nutrients. Some are pathogens, others stabilize sewage and digest composted waste. (Fungi). (references) |
Health | A general term used to denote a group of eukaryotic protists, including mushrooms, yeasts, rusts, moulds, smuts, etc., which are characterized by the absence of chlorophyll and by the presence of a rigid cell wall composed of chitin, mannans, and sometimes cellulose. They are usually of simple morphological form or show some reversible cellular specialization, such as the formation of pseudoparenchymatous tissue in the fruiting body of a mushroom. The dimorphic fungi grow, according to environmental conditions, as moulds or yeasts. (references) |
Public Administration | Unicellular or multicellular microorganism which does not contain chlorophyll. In most fungi the vegetative form(thallus)consists of hyphae. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Fungi Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Fungi Divisions Chytridiomycota
Zygomycota
Ascomycota
BasidiomycotaThe Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms, usually ranked as a kingdom in Linnaean taxonomy. They include important decomposers and many parasites. Parasitic fungi infect animals, including humans, other mammals, birds, and insects, with results varying from mild itching to death. Other parasitic fungi infect plants, causing diseases such as butt rot and making trees more vulnerable to toppling. The vast majority of vascular plants are associated with mutualistic fungi, called mycorrhizae, which assist in absorption of nutrients and water. Some fungi are used as food, such as shiitake mushrooms and Mexican corn smut.
Structure
Most fungi have vegetative bodies (called thallus or soma) composed of one-cell-thick filaments called hyphae (singular: hypha). These generally do not coalesce into a visible object, but instead form a microscopic network within the substrate, called the mycelium, through which food is absorbed. The more conspicuous parts of fungi like mushrooms are fruiting bodies, which are reproductive structures that produce spores.
Division of hyphae into cellss is either incomplete, in which case they are called septate and the dividing walls are called septa (singular: septum), or absent, in which case they are called coenocytic. Fungi generally have cell walls made from chitin and other materials. The hyphae may be modified to produce highly specialized cellular-scale structures. For instance, fungi that parasitize plants grow haustoria that pierce their cell walls and digest them from the inside, while some soil-dwelling fungi trap roundworms and other small animals.
Most chytrids, which are generally considered the most primitive group of fungi, do not form hyphae and instead grow directly from spores into multinucleate sporangia. A few other fungi have reverted from a mycelial to a unicellular organization. These are the yeasts, which belong among the ascomycetes, and the Microsporidia, a group of reduced parasites whose relationships to the other fungi are uncertain.
Reproduction
Sexual
Fungal mycelia are typically haploid. When mycelia of different mating types meet, they produce two multinucleate ball-shaped cells, which form a mating bridge. The result is that nuclei move from one mycelium into the other, forming a heterokaryon (meaning different nuclei). This is called plasmogamy. Actual fusion to form diploid nuclei is called karyogamy, and may not occur until sporangia are formed.In the Zygomycota, the heterokaryon produces multiple fruiting bodies, in the form of minuscule stalks with sporangia at the end. Most ascomycetes produce fruiting bodies called ascocarps, composed entirely of hyphae. These are usually bowl- or cup-shaped, but some have sponge-like structures. On the inside of the cup, each hypha terminates in an ascus, which produces eight spores.
In the Basidiomycota, the heterokaryon produces a new mycelium which may live for years without producing a fruiting body. The familiar mushrooms are examples of these. They usually have a stalk, composed mainly of hyphae, and a cap, under which there are sheetlike structures called gills. On the surface of each gill there are numerous hyphal cells called basidia, with several spores on the end of each.
Asexual
Fungi may also reproduce asexually, for instance through the production of spores called conidia (Greek for dust), which form at the tips of specialized hyphae called conidiophores. In some fungi sexual reproduction has been lost, or is unknown. These were originally grouped as the form division Deuteromycota, or the Fungi imperfecti, since the means of sexual reproduction was the primary means of classifying fungi, but are now classified with their ancestral group.Except among the chytrids, where spores are propelled by a posterior flagellum, all fungal spores are non-motile. They develop into new mycelia, which invade some substrate and repeat the life cycle. These may become very large, often several square metres in size; fairy circles are an example.
Nutrition and ecology
Fungi are heterotrophic, that is they get their energy by breaking down organic molecules, and cannot synthesize organic molecules from inorganic substances like plants. They feed by secreting exoenzymes into the surrounding substrate. Exoenzymes act like the digestive enzymes of animals, breaking apart large organic molecules, but function outside the organism. The smaller organic molecules are then absorbed.
Two main ecological niches occupied by fungi are that of the decomposer (detritivore) or saprophyte, and that of the parasite. The only difference between detritivorous and parasitic fungi is that the latter grow on living organisms, while the former grow on dead organisms. Many decomposer fungi live as mycorrhizae, in mutualistic relationships with plants. Some of the detritivorous fungi are also considered "facultative parasites," growing on weakened or dying organisms. Among the parasitic fungi are species which are insectivorous or helminthivorous (worm-eating). The insectivorous species produce sticky substances which trap insects, while the worm-eating fungi produce substances which drug and immobilize worms, which are then consumed.
Some fungi, usually ascomycetes, live as lichens. A lichen is a very close mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic microorganism, usually a cyanobacterium or green alga. A lichen behaves in so many ways like a single organism that lichens are actually given genus and species names.
Pathology
Fungal diseases include:
Fungal infections may also be a factor in causing specific replant disease.
- Chestnut blight
- Ergot
- Brown rot
- Texas Root Rot
A fungal infection of the human body is called a mycosis. Mycoses are particularly severe in the case of immunodeficient patients, such as those suffering from AIDS.
Related and similar groups
The water molds, of which potato blight is the best known example, show a hyphal organization and were once considered fungi. However they, and the closely related hypochytrids, are not actually related to the true fungi and instead belong among a group called the stramenopiles, together with the golden algae, diatoms, brown algae and allies. The chytrids were also formerly excluded from the fungi due to the presence of flagellated spores, but are of definite relation to the others and so are now usually treated with them.
Slime molds were also originally placed here, because they produce fruiting bodies, but are now recognized to be several distinct groups of amoeboids.
Fungi are generally believed to have evolved from the same group of flagellates that gave rise to animals and choanoflagellates. Similarities include the structure of motile cells, when present, and the common presence of chitin in some groups.
Miscellaneous
Many orchids require fungus to germinate.
Fungi of the genus Penicillium produce penicillin, the first antibiotic known to modern science. Many bacteria have since become resistant to penicillin, but it is still used against Streptococcus and other very dangerous germs.
Other fungi include:
See also: Mushroom
- Puff-ball
- Yeast
- Aspergillus niger
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Fungus."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Bane | Rust, worm, helminth, moth, moth and rust, fungus, mildew; dry rot; canker, cankerworm; cancer; torpedo; viper; (evil doer); demon. |
Convexity | Pimple, zit; wen, wheel, papula, pustule, pock, proud flesh, growth, sarcoma, caruncle, corn, wart, pappiloma, furuncle, polypus, fungus, fungosity, exostosis, bleb, blister, blain; boil; (disease); airbubble, blob, papule, verruca. |
Vegetable | Bush, jungle, prairie; heath, heather; fern, bracken; furze, gorse, whin; grass, turf; pasture, pasturage; turbary; sedge, rush, weed; fungus, mushroom, toadstool; lichen, moss, conferva, mold; growth; alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan; blow, blowth; floret, petiole; pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I collect spores, molds and fungus. (Ghostbusters; writing credit: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.) He sticks so close he's beginning to grow on me like a fungus. (Strangers on a Train; writing credit: Raymond Chandler; Whitfield Cook) She left him for a Fungus Demon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) Has the foot fungus paid up yet (Osmosis Jones; writing credit: Marc Hyman) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Man Against a Fungus (1955) Fungus the Bogeyman (2003) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Histopathology of histoplasmosis showing yeast forms of Histoplasma capsulatum. This fungus shows thermal dimorphism: mold form at 25°C and yeast form at 37°C. Credit: CDC. |  | This microscopic fungus, seen here using Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) microscopy, is arguably the most important cause of pneumonia in the immunocompromised host, such as an individual with AIDS. Credit: CDC. |
 | P. carinii is the causal agent of a severe pneumonitis, resulting from the proliferation of this fungus in the lungs of immunocompromised patients. Pneumocystis carinii is a major cause of death in AIDS patients. Credit: CDC. |  | Diseased white fur requiring thinning due to a fungus which effects the health of the forest. Chamas, New Mexico. Credit: Jeff Vanuga. |
 | Plant pathologist Tim Widmer sprays a fungus isolated from yellow starthistle on a seedling of the same plant species. The fungus is harmless to humans. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |  | Microbiologist Mark Jackson checks dried spore preparations of the fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseusafter removal from a small, commercial-scale freeze-dryer. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller.. |
 | Near Pullman, Washington, (left to right) Kurtis Schroeder, Linda Thomashow, Jim Cook, and David Weller examine healthy wheat thriving in a filed infected by the fungus that causes wheat take-all. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Jack Dykinga.. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Fungus" by Helen Mc Commentary: "While you may not think fungus is attractive, this did have a sense of natural beauty...in a strange kind of way ." | "Fungus at Yellow Breeches Cree" by Brian Corll Commentary: "Fungus at base of sycamore tree, Yellow Breeches Creek, Boiling Springs, PA." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Thrush is an infection caused by a fungus that grows in the mouth. (references) | |
Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. (references) | ||
The patients are unable to defend themselves against the Candida fungus. (references) | ||
Economic History | Costa Rica | Tropical agricultural diseases, such as sigatoka (in bananas), fungus, nematodes, and other diseases also affect crops. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Fungus" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.28% of the time. "Fungus" is used about 277 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.28% | 275 | 17,685 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.36% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Noun (common) | 0.36% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 277 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "fungus": ascomycetous fungus ♦ beefsteak fungus ♦ black root rot fungus ♦ blue mold fungus ♦ bottom rot fungus ♦ bracket fungus ♦ brown root rot fungus ♦ carrion fungus ♦ cinnamon fungus ♦ club fungus ♦ clubroot fungus ♦ coffee fungus ♦ coral fungus ♦ cup fungus ♦ damping off fungus ♦ decay fungus ♦ dutch elm fungus ♦ ear fungus ♦ face fungus ♦ felt fungus ♦ flag smut fungus ♦ flax rust fungus ♦ Fly fungus ♦ fungus disease ♦ fungus family ♦ fungus genus ♦ fungus gnat ♦ fungus kingdom ♦ fungus order ♦ gill fungus ♦ Grape fungus ♦ green smut fungus ♦ honey fungus ♦ jelly fungus ♦ leak fungus ♦ mould fungus ♦ orange peel fungus ♦ oyster fungus ♦ pink disease fungus ♦ pore fungus ♦ potato fungus ♦ potato wart fungus ♦ ring rot fungus ♦ rot fungus ♦ rust fungus ♦ sac fungus ♦ shelf fungus ♦ shoestring fungus ♦ smut fungus ♦ tinder fungus ♦ tooth fungus ♦ true fungus ♦ urn fungus ♦ white fungus ♦ yellow spot fungus. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "fungus": fungus-based, fungus-breath, fungus-covered, fungus-farming, fungus-growing, fungus-infected, fungus-like, fungus-resistant, fungus-toxic. | |
Ending with "fungus": anti-fungus, black-fungus, rust-fungus. | |
Containing "fungus": face-fungus-clad. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
nail fungus | 788 | cousin fungus | 32 |
toenail fungus | 750 | artillery fungus | 32 |
fungus | 735 | fungus picture | 30 |
foot fungus | 315 | fungus mulch | 29 |
skin fungus | 252 | fungus home remedy toenail | 26 |
toe nail fungus | 240 | ear fungus | 26 |
fungus toe | 205 | fungus garden | 25 |
lawn fungus | 159 | toe nail fungus cure | 24 |
fingernail fungus | 99 | toenail fungus picture | 24 |
tree fungus | 70 | foot fungus picture | 24 |
fungus grass | 61 | fungus home nail remedy | 23 |
nail fungus treatment | 59 | lung fungus | 22 |
fungus gnat | 58 | fungus yellow | 22 |
fungus infection | 50 | fungus rose | 20 |
fungus plant | 49 | treatment for toe nail fungus | 19 |
cure for toenail fungus | 41 | fish fungus | 18 |
toenail fungus treatment | 39 | fungus nail picture | 18 |
fungus red thread | 38 | roof fungus | 18 |
nail fungus cure | 37 | finger nail fungus | 17 |
fungus scalp | 34 | fungus link | 17 |
athlete foot fungus | 17 | ||
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "fungus"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | sëmundje kërpudhore e lëkurës, këpurdhë (mushroom, toadstool). (various references) | |
Arabic | فطري (congenital, connate, fungoid, fungous, habitual, inborn, inbred, indigenous, inherent, innate, native, natural, primitive, radical), فطر (breakfast, champignon, mushroom), ناميي إسفنجية. (various references) | |
Bavarian | schwammal (mushroom). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | гъбест израстък, гъба (agaric, mushroom, sponge, toadstool), гъбичка, нещо което се разраства бързо, плесен (mildew, mould, must, rot, smut). (various references) | |
Catalan | bolet (mushroom). (various references) | |
Chinese | 菌類 , 苓 (tuber), 真菌 (Fungi, fungous, Funguses). (various references) | |
Czech | houba (ergot). (various references) | |
Danish | svamp (mushroom, sponge), fungus. (various references) | |
Dutch | zwam (mushroom, punk, tinder), paddestoel (mushroom), fungus. (various references) | |
Esperanto | fungo (mushroom). (various references) | |
Faeroese | soppur (mushroom, sponge, tuft), hundaland (mushroom). (various references) | |
Finnish | sieni (fungus mushroom, mushroom, sponge, toadstool). (various references) | |
French | fongus (m), fongus (fungating tumor), fongueux (fungous), mycélium, champignon. (various references) | |
Frisian | poddestoel (mushroom). (various references) | |
German | pilz (fungi, Mold, mushroom, toadstool), fungus, Schmarotzerpilz. (various references) | |
Greek | μύκησ (mushroom), μύκητες (fungi), μύκητασ, μύκητας, μύκης, μούχλα (mildew, moldiness, mould, mouldiness, mustiness). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פטריה (agaric, mushroom, mycete), עובש (moldiness, mould, must), עבוש (mildew, mould). (various references) | |
Hungarian | gombaféle, tapló (Amadou, German tinder, punk, spunk, tinder, Touchwood). (various references) | |
Indonesian | jamur (mildew, mushroom, toadstool), cendawan (mildew, moth, mushroom, toadstool). (various references) | |
Italian | fungo (mushroom). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 菌類 (fungi). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | しんきん (a relative, credit union, familiarity, fungi, heart muscle, myocardium, protractor muscle), きんるい (fungi). (various references) | |
Korean | 균류 (Fungi, Funguses). (various references) | |
Manx | fungys. (various references) | |
Norwegian | sopp (mushroom). (various references) | |
Papiamen | djipopo (mushroom). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ungusfay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | fungo (bunting, mushroom). (various references) | |
Russian | грибок (athlete's foot, fungi). (various references) | |
Scottish | lìrean (a species of marine fungus), arc (fungus on decayed wood). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | gljiva (mushroom). (various references) | |
Spanish | seta (mushroom), hongo (billycock, mushroom). (various references) | |
Sranan | todoprasoro (mushroom). (various references) | |
Swedish | svamp (boletus, mushroom, sponge). (various references) | |
Thai | เชื้อรา. (various references) | |
Turkish | sakal (barb, beard, beaver, pogono-, whiskers), mantar hastalığı (mycosis, ringworm, ring-worm), mantar (athlete's foot, blight, brand, Cork, Corky, fungal, fungoid, fungous, mushroom, myco-). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | цвіль (fade, mildew, mould, must), гриб (fungal, mushroom), пліснява (mildew, moldiness, mouldiness, mustiness). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | fungi, fungus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "fungus": funguses. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "fungus": microfungus. (additional references) | |
Words containing "fungus": microfunguses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Fungus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: fangas, fangu, fenghuo, Fengu, fenrus, Fingas, fogus, fongus, fugis, fungas, fungo, fungul, funus, Fyneux, Yungas. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "fungus" (pronounced fu"nggus) |
| 4 | -ng g u s | dingus, humongous. |
| 3 | -g u s | analogous, Argus, asparagus, bodegas, bogus, Degas, esophagus, heterozygous, homologous, homozygous, Negus, sarcophagus. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "f-g-n-s-u-u" | |
-1 letter: fugus. | |
-2 letters: fugs, fugu, funs, gnus, guns, snug, sung. | |
-3 letters: fug, fun, gnu, gun, nus, sun, uns. | |
-4 letters: nu, un, us. | |
| Words containing the letters "f-g-n-s-u-u" | |
+1 letter: fungous. | |
+2 letters: funguses, lungfuls. | |
+3 letters: suffusing, sulfuring. | |
+4 letters: fuliginous, nidifugous. | |
+5 letters: desulfuring, ferruginous, microfungus, sulfureting, sulfurizing, unconfusing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Translations: Ancient 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
