Fungi that consist of a continuous mass containing hundreds or thousands of nuclei are known as _____.

coenocytic

The hyphae of parasitic fungi that are modified to penetrate and absorb nutrients from host tissue are called _____.

haustoria

You can buy mycorrhizal fungus to add to soil when you plant trees and other plants. Why would you want to do this?

Mycorrhizal fungi assist plants in the absorption of essential nutrients.

In contrast to plants, the cell walls of fungi are composed of _____.

chitin

Which choice below generally represents the correct order of events in fungal sexual reproduction?

plasmogamy, karyogamy, meiosis, germination

Which of the following statements about fungi is true?

-The haploid nuclei of dikaryotic hyphal cells fuse to form a diploid zygote.
-Many species obtain their nutrients from decaying organic matter.
-Spores germinate and then mitotically divide to form a mycelium.
-The dominant stage of the life cycle is usually haploid.
(All of the listed responses are correct)

What role do pheromones play in fungal sexual reproduction?

Fungi use these chemical signals to determine whether a potential sexual partner is of a suitable mating type.

Hyphae with two nuclei per cell are called _____.

dikaryotic

During what stage of fungal reproduction are diploid cells produced?

karyogamy

Fungal species are classified in a particular phylum based on _____.

the type of sexual structure they form

Molecular evidence suggests that fungi _____.

and animals have a common ancestor

Evidence that mycorrhizae, the mutualistic relationship between plants and fungi, existed from the beginning of the colonization of land comes from _____.

fossils

Which feature below is unique to chytrids?

zoospores (flagellated spores)

Which statement below about zygosporangia is true?

-They are metabolically inactive.
-They are resistant to freezing and drying.
-They are produced through plasmogamy.
-They are multinucleate formations.
(All of the listed responses are correct)

What is the major feature of glomeromycetes?

arbuscules

An ascus is _______.

a saclike structure containing spores

The asexual spores produced by members of the phylum Ascomycota are called _____.

conidia

The mushroom in a basidiomycete life cycle serves the same function as the _____ in the ascomycete life cycle, which is to _____.

ascocarp ... scatter sexually produced spores

While hiking through a forest, you discover a fungus growing on the remains of a decaying tree trunk. You hypothesize that it is a basidiomycete fungus because it resembles a mushroom in shape and size. If your logic is correct, microscopic analysis of the tissue found in the stalk of this fungus will reveal the presence of _____.

dikaryotic cells with diploid nuclei

Fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota are the most important decomposers of wood because of their ability to break down _____.

lignin

What is the importance of the extended dikaryotic stage in the life cycles of basidiomycetes and ascomycetes?

It allows for more genetic recombination

Where and when does fertilization occur in the mushroom life cycle?

in a mushroom, when the nuclei of a dikaryotic cell fuse

Lichens are ________.

symbiotic associations of photosynthesizes and fungi

Lichens are important pioneers in areas that have been burned by fires or destroyed by lava flows because _____.

they are important in the initial stages of soil formation

A dramatic example of the pathogenicity of certain fungi is the dramatic decrease of the American chestnut tree by _____.

an ascomycete

Two of the most common mycoses (fungal infections) in humans are _____.

athlete's foot and yeast infections