GENERAL CHARACTERS OF FUNGI :
I) the cell wall of most of the fungi consist of chitin or other than the cellulose as in plant. occasionally both chitin and cellulose may occur simultaneously.
II) because of lack of chlorophyll fungi are unable to synthesis their own food materials hence it is known as heterotrophic.
III) compare to the plants which are organised into root, stem and leaf, fungi are usually multicellular but they are not differentiated into root, stem and leaf.
IV) they store the food in the form of glycogen or starch.
V) they obtained their food from the surrounding medium in soluble from in a manner similar to that of the prokaryotes.
VI) fungi have chemically and morphologically differentiated ridges during all stages of growth and usually made up of with the chitin.
VII) the fungus shows a distinct growth pattern, in most of the organisms every part of the mycelium for the potential for the growth.
VIII) fungi are a great economic importance a large no. of fungi destroy our food material or resources many of them are causes a disease to the plants, animals and human beings. some of them are used as a food and medicine and some of them used in the production of chemicals and other industrial products.
classification of fungi :
from time to time several system of classification of fungi have been advanced. the earliest system of classification was advanced by echiler in 1886 fallowed by alexopoulous in 1962 he restricted the term fungus to nucleated spore bearing structure. a chlorophyllous organism which generally produced sexually and asexually usually filamentous branched somatic structures are typically surrounded by cell walls containing chitin or cellulose or both.
thus it is included that an ideal classification of fungi is to yet to be found however the classification forwarded by saccardo in his famous book syllowge fonforum is widely accepted. according to his system the fungi are divided into
a) schizomycetes
b) myxomycetes
c) phycomycetes
d)ascomycetes and
e) deutromycetes
echiler in1886 divided thallophytes into two sub division the algae and fungi on the basis of presence and absence of chlorophyll pigment respectively.
for many years bacteria and slime molds and the free fungi where though to be sufficiently closely related to be placed in 2 subdivision of fungi.
most of the modern scientist consider fungi to be distinct from plants and animals they have classified then have a separate kingdom mycetae because of the separate kingdom fact that structural organism and reproduction many member of fungi shows relation to some group of eukaryotic algae.