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Sac Fungi, generally gets its name from the fact that they produce spores, called ascospores. These spores are found in special pods or sac like structures called asci. Usually this group of fungi is better known as ascomycetes or ascomycota. The most famous sac fungi, is the Morel mushroom because of its delicious taste. They mainly grow in North America, and are commonly known to have a mouth watering taste. Although they are known worldwide for its taste, it is extremely hard to find Morels. Usually, Morels are in hiding places, which the human eye mistakes for pebbles or tiny rocks. There are different types of Morels, such as the black and the white morel. These two live in different locations as well, while the black morel lives in the forest, the white morel tends to live in urban areas where they hide under leaves. Another group that falls in the ascomycota's are the Cup Fungi. Cup Fungi's have this name because they look like cups or sacs, they rarely have a stalk. Unlike plants, fungi does not make its own food, they generally get their food from dead organic matter. The purpose of fungi is to help decompose dead plants animals, and other organic matter. They serve an immensely important role in ecology. They also release lots of carbon dioxide, and save nitrogen and other important nutrients for the use of plants and other organisms. Another distinct group of sac fungi are yeasts. Yeasts are very beneficial to humans because mostly bakers, vintners, and brewers use this to produce bread, beer, and wine. Clearly, this shows how significant sac fungi is to the human world. Though sac fungi may seem to be completely harmless and helpful, do not be fooled by it. Some Sac Fungi are extremely dangerous to plants and trees. They cause plant disease, killing the plants and trees. A very well known is chestnut blight. Which basically destroyed the american chestnut in the early 1900s. Fungi is divided into four groups, each group has a different way of reproducing. The hyphae of the sac fungi are divided by septa with pores, this means that they have perforated walls between adjacent walls. They produce asexually, producing spores called conidia. These are born on specialized erect hyphae, better known as conidiophores. Also, they can produce sexually. The first step of the process very alike hyphae fuse together. Then the nuclei of the different hyphaes move together into one cell, this forms a dikaryon. After many cell divisions occur which results in several cells with two different haploid nuclei per cell. The process is quite long and complex and in some species like the morels, lots of asci are brought together resulting in the formation of an ascocarp. As mentioned before, sac fungi can be quite beneficial to human specially in the culinary cuisine department. For example, truffles are used by french chefs to compliment their finest cuisine. This elite taste of truffles adds a touch of exquisite dinning. Ceratocystis ulmi is a pathogenic ascomycete which causes Dutch elm disease, a scourge of American elm trees. These various plant disease are characteristics of sac fungi. This is the largest phylum of the kingdom Fungi because there are more than 30,000 species of ascomycetes They can grow so big that they can be visible when they grow above the ground, like cup fungi. There are others that are microscopic, like yeasts. The life cycle includes asexual and sexual reproduction. In asexual reproduction, small spores called conidia form at the tips of specialized hyphae called conidiophores. This name originates from the greek word konis, meaning dust. If the conidium lands in an appropriate enviroment, it will grow into a hapoid mycelium. In sexual reproduction, the haploid hyphae of 2 different meating types (usually positive and negative) grow close together. The N + N hyphae later produce a fruiting body where sexual reproduction continues. Gametangia from the 2 mating types fuse, but the haploid (N) nuclei do not fuse. Instead, this fusion makes hyphae that have haploid nuclei from each of the mating types (N + N). The ascus forms in the fruiting body. 2Ns forms within the ascus when two nuclei of different matching types fuse. The zygote then splits by meiosis, forming 4 haploid cells. In many ascomycetes, meiosis is continued by a cycle of mitosis, so that 8 cells known as ascospores are formed. In a good enviroment for the ascospores, they can germinate and grow into a haploid mycelium. Ascomycota are either single-celled like yeast, or filamentous like hyphal. For instance yeast grows by budding or fission. While hyphae grow apically and branch laterally. Most ascomycota are hiploid, but there are those which could be diploid. Generally though this is very rare. An example of hiploid species is the saccharomyces cerevisiae. In hyphal species, cytoplasmic fusion could not be immediately followed by nuclear fusion, meaning that there could be a shorter dikaryotic phase. There are several names for sac fungi, that is why the name seems to change every time mentioned. The names are ascomycota, sac fungi or ascomycetes. The ascomycota or sac fungi, is monophyletic and accounts for about seventy five percent of all described fungi. Within the ascomycota's as mentioned before they could be asexual or asexual. For example asexual ascomycotas are penicillium or candida species. Overall people should know that sac fungi is very helpful for humans, and are very beneficial for cooking. Truffles, and yeast are commonly used to serve as delicious treats. Though sac fungi could be very harmful. Since it almost destroyed the entire population of chestnut trees in the early 1900s. By the 1940's almost the entire population was completely wiped out. This being said, many should know that sac fungi could be very dangerous towards plants and trees. Mainly seen in northern United States, sac fungi is not common in southern states because of the climate. Most sac fungi's tend to be very small in size. Therefore making it very hard for those who look for sac fungi. Since they are generally found in hiding places, and can be mistaken for many other things, this makes it hard to find these things. To conclude, sac fungi serves many benefits to us humans, while also being very dangerous to plants and trees. Overall, this species of fungi is famous for its ascus, and can reproduces asexually and sexually, being that diverse in its reproduction can lead to lots of overpopulation. That is why there are so many sac fungi, specially in North America.

Annuals, Biennials, & Perennials: The life span of plants is determined by a combination of genetic and enviromental factors. The three of plant life spans are annual, biennial, and perennial. Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one season. Two examples of annuals are marigolds and cucumbers. Biennials are plants that complete their life cycles in 2 years. In the first year, the seed wil sprout and some stems will grow. In the second year, another stem grows and leaves produce. The flowers and seeds follow. One example of a biennial is celery. Perennials are plants that take more than 2 years to complete one life cycle. An example of a perennial is a palm tree. During their first life, they grow stems that die in winter and are replaced in spring. SAC FUNGI

Annual

Biennial Perennial