FUNGAL ECOLOGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
1. Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

2. Saprophytic Fungi--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
2.1. Examples of Saprophytic Fungi
2.1.1. Mucor--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
2.1.2. Saccharomyces----------------------------------------------------------------------------5
2.1.3. Penicillium---------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

3. Parasitic Fungi------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
3.1. Plant Parasites and Pathogens-----------------------------------------------------------------7
3.2. Human and Animal Parasites and Pathogens------------------------------------------------8
3.2.1. Superficial mycoses----------------------------------------------------------------------9
3.2.2. Cutaneous mycoses-----------------------------------------------------------------------9
3.2.3. Subcutaneous mycoses-------------------------------------------------------------------9
3.2.4. Dimorphic systemic mycoses-----------------------------------------------------------9
3.2.5. Opportunistic systemic mycoses------------------------------------------------------10

4. Keratinophilic Fungi---------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
4.1. Ecological Role--------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

5. Coprophilous Fungi----------------------------------------------------------------------------------15
5.1. Life Cycle---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

6. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

7. Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18
 FUNGAL ECOLOGY
1. INTRODUCTION
Fungi are single-celled or multicellular eukaryotic organisms that live by absorbing nutrients
from organic matter and they reproduce through spores. Originally fungi were apart of the plant
kingdom and due to similarities in morphology and growth habitats. As molecular techniques
advanced in taxonomy, fungi were given its own kingdom: Kingdom Fungi. Taxonomists
discovered major differences of fungi from plants is that fungi don’t have chlorophyll, unlike
plants, and the cell wall of fungi is made up of chitin instead of cellulose. Yeasts are single-
celled fungi while mushrooms are multicellular fungi.

Fungi plays a crucial role in the balance of ecosystems. They colonize most habitats on earth,
preferring dark, moist conditions. They can thrive in seemingly hostile environments.
However, most members of the Kingdom Fungi grow on the forest floor where the dark and
damp environment is rich in decaying debris from plants and animals. In these environments,
fungi play a major role as decomposers and recyclers, making it possible for members of the
other kingdoms to be supplied with nutrients and to live (Andrew,1992).

The food web would be incomplete without organisms that decompose organic matter. Some
elements, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are required in large quantities by biological
systems; yet, they are not abundant in the environment. The action of fungi releases these
elements from decaying matter, making them available to other living organisms. Trace
elements are essential for growth but are present in low amounts, fungi and bacteria
metabolizes these elements and returns them to the environment (Wardle, 2002).

The ability of fungi to degrade many large and insoluble molecules is due to their mode of
nutrition. Digestion precedes ingestion. Fungi produce a variety of exoenzymes to digest
nutrients. These enzymes are either released into the substrate or remain bound to the outside
of the fungal cell wall. Large molecules are broken down into small molecules, which are
transported into the cell by a system of protein carriers embedded in the cell membrane.
Because the movement of small molecules and enzymes is dependent on the presence of water,
active growth depends on a relatively-high percentage of moisture in the environment.

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Moisture and temperature are two additional ecological factors that are important in
determining the distribution of fungi. Mesophilic species have an optimum growth temperature
of 20–30 °C. Thermophilic species are able to grow at 50 °C or higher but are unable to grow
below 30 °C. Although the optimum temperature for growth of most fungi lies at or above 20
°C, a large number of species are able to grow close to or below 0 °C. Temperature relationships
influence the distribution of various species.

Most species of fungi grow on land and obtain their nutrients from dead organic matter. Some
fungi are symbionts or parasites on other organisms. The majority of species feed by secreting
enzymes, which partially digest the food extracellularly, and then absorbing the partially
digested food to complete digestion internally. As with animals, the major storage carbohydrate
of fungi is glycogen. Fungi lack the complex vascular system found in higher plants, so their
transport of food and water is less efficient.

In addition to their central roles in carbon and nutrient cycling, fungi are also a major
component of terrestrial food webs. Fungal mycelia serve as the primary carbon source in a
number of soil food webs, and fungal fruiting bodies can serve as a significant food source for
large vertebrates, including humans. Some fungi can also act as predators, fungi also trap,
poison, or parasitize and feed on other groups of soil invertebrates, including tardigrades,
collembola, copepods, and rotifers (Thorn & Barron, 1984).
Fungi directly shape the community dynamics of plants, animals, and bacteria through a range
of interactions. They are the most common and important plant pathogens, causing serious crop
loss and shaping the composition and structure of natural plant communities in many
significant but often underappreciated ways (Gilbert, 2002).
While some fungi are clearly parasites, the nature of many fungal interactions is uncertain and
may change depending on the environment in which the interactions occur.

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Figure 1: Fungi are found in areas that have sufficient organic material and moisture to support
their growth. For example, members of the genus Armillaria are often found in forests living
on trees such as hardwoods or conifers.

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There are many different types of fungi, and each classification interacts with its community
or its surrounding species differently. The following are the different substrate groups:

2. SAPROPHYTIC FUNGI
Saprophytic fungi are the largest group of macro fungi, responsible for breaking down and
recycling dead plant and animal material. They are key regulators of nutrient cycling in
terrestrial ecosystems. They are the primary agents of plant litter decomposition and their
hyphal networks, which grow throughout the soil-litter interface, represent highly dynamic
channels through which nutrients are readily distributed. By ingesting hyphae and dispersing
spores, soil invertebrates, including Arthropoda, Oligochaetae and Nematoda, influence
fungal-mediated nutrient distribution within soil.

Saprotrophic fungi are those that obtain their nutrition from non-living organic materials.
Their hyphae allow them to penetrate most solid materials and their extracellular
enzymes allow them digest them. Fungi can attack solid materials like leaves and wood that
are not easily available to the single-celled bacteria. Saprophytic fungi release enzymes to
break down and digest the lignin, cellulose or chitin in this material into simple soluble
compounds that can be absorbed by them, and by plants, as nutrients. This plays a vital role in
reducing the accumulation of dead organic material and in recycling essential nutrients,
particularly carbon and nitrogen.

Most saprotrophic fungi are widely distributed throughout the world, only requiring that their
habitats have sufficient organic content to support their growth. However, some saprotrophs
are strictly tropical and others are strictly temperate zone forms (Dighton, 2007).

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2.1. EXAMPLES OF SAPROTROPHIC FUNGI

2.1.1. MUCOR

Mucor, also called mould, is a very common

saprophytic fungus growing abundantly on
decayed organic matters, particularly on
those rich in carbohydrates-starch and sugar.
Soft white cottony patches of Mucor are
frequently found on rotten bread, vegetables
and dung.

The plant body is a copiously branched

mycelium, which is a collection of slender
non-septate threads called hyphae. The wall
is made, of fungus-cellulose, enclose
cytoplasm with many vacuoles and innu-
Figure 2: Shows Mycelium of Mucor with
merable nuclei.
sporangiophores and sporangia.

2.1.2. SACCHAROMYCES (YEAST)

Yeast is a common saprophytic fungus growing in sugary substances. They are abundantly
present in grape juice, vine-yards, nectarines of flowers and sugary exudates of plants like date-
palm, juice and palmyra-palm juice.

The plant body is very simple. Yeasts are unicellular organisms. Each cell is elliptical or round
in shape having a distinct cell wall. There is granular cytoplasm, a single nucleus and granules
of glycogen and protein and oil globules as reserve food.

Figure 3: One yeast cell Figure 4: Stages of budding in yeast.

(magnified)
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2.1.3. PENICILLIUM

Penicillium is a common saprophytic

fungus growing on decayed organic
matters like bread, jam, jelly, vegetables
and fruits and even on damp shoes and
leather. It is known as green or blue
mould. The spores of this fungus are
abundantly present everywhere and often
cause considerable damage to fruits and
vegetables.

The mycelium is composed of much

branched septate hyphae occurring in
tangled masses. They ramify extensively
on the substratum and many of them
penetrate into it to serve as rhizoids. The Figure 5: Depicts Penicillium. A- conidiophore
hyphal cells are multi-nucleate. with branches, sterigmata and conidia in chains. B
& C- antheridia and ascogonia

3. PARASITIC FUNGI

Parasitism describes a symbiotic relationship in which one member of the association benefits
at the expense of the other. Both parasites and pathogens harm the host, however, pathogens
cause diseases, damage to host tissues or physiology, whereas parasites usually do not, but can
cause serious damage and death by competition for nutrients or other resources.

3.1. PLANT PARASITES AND PATHOGENS

In contrast with the saprotrophic fungi, parasitic fungi attack living organisms, penetrate their
outer defences, invade them, and obtain nourishment from living cytoplasm, thereby causing
disease and sometimes death of the host. Most pathogenic fungi are parasites of plants. Most
parasites enter the host through a natural opening, such as a stoma in a leaf, a lenticel in a stem,
a broken plant hair or a hair socket in a fruit, or a wound in the plant.

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Infection of a plant takes place when the spores of a pathogenic fungus fall on the leaves or the
stem of a susceptible host and germinate, each spore producing a germ tube. The tube grows
on the surface of the host until it finds an opening, then the tube enters the host, puts out
branches between the cells of the host, and forms a mycelial network within the invaded tissue.

Many parasitic fungi absorb food from the host cells through the hyphal walls appressed against
the cell walls of the host’s internal tissues. Others produce haustoria that branch off from the
intercellular hyphae and penetrate the cells themselves (Parbery,1980).

Some fungal pathogens include (a) green mould on grapefruit, (b) powdery mildew on a
zinnia, (c) stem rust on a sheaf of barley, and (d) grey rot on grapes. These diseases cause
great damage annually throughout the world, destroying many crops and other sources of
food.

Figure 6: Depicts examples of fungal pathogens

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3.2. HUMAN AND ANIMAL PARASITES AND PATHOGENS

Fungi can affect animals, including humans, in several ways. A mycosis is a fungal disease that
results from infection and direct damage due to the growth and infiltration of the fungus. Fungi
attack animals directly by colonizing and destroying tissues. Mycotoxicosis is the poisoning of
humans (and other animals) by foods contaminated by fungal toxins (mycotoxins).

Mycetismus specifically describes the ingestion of preformed toxins in poisonous mushrooms.

In addition, individuals who display hypersensitivity to moulds and spores may develop strong
and dangerous allergic reactions. Fungal infections are generally very difficult to treat because,
unlike bacteria, fungi are eukaryotes. Antibiotics only target prokaryotic cells, whereas
compounds that kill fungi also harm the eukaryotic animal host (Sexton & Howlett, 2006).

The fungi causing mycoses are often divided into several groups depending upon the site of
infection. These groups are:

3.2.1. Superficial mycoses

These are fungi that grow on the surface of the body or on hair shafts. They do not invade living
tissues and usually cause no symptoms. They may often be present but undetected. One of the
most common of these is Malassezia furfur, a relative of the smut fungi which may cause a
mild dermatitis or discolouration of the skin. It can also be the cause of dandruff.

3.2.2. Cutaneous mycoses

A very common group of fungi found in the outermost layers of dead skin. Although they do
not invade living tissues, they produce enough enzymes and other metabolites in the outer
layers of skin to obtain a response in the host that is usually seen as reddening at the site of
infection. These fungi are called dermatophytes, which are the cause of athlete's foot, ringworm
and nail disorders. Candida albicans, a member of this group that also grows on mucus
membranes in the mouth, anus and vagina can cause more serious infections under certain
conditions.

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3.2.3. Subcutaneous mycoses

This is a group of fungi that are probably not primarily parasitic and only become so if they
enter a wound. Generally, they remain localized and form small masses of hyphae in the
affected tissues. They may at times invade bones. Subcutaneous mycoses may remain on the
host for many years and form leaky swollen lesions.

3.2.4. Dimorphic systemic mycoses

Fungi in this group are called dimorphic because they can grow as hyphae or in a single-celled
budding form, depending upon the location. In a petri dish at room temperature they grow as
"normal" hyphal colonies but in living tissue they begin to behave like yeasts and travel through
the body as single cells. They are called systemic because they have the ability to spread to
various organs.

Figure 7: shows Ajellomyces capsulatus, the fungus responsible for histoplasmosis. Left side
shows asexual spores called Histoplasma capsulatum. Right side shows these spores close-up,
the characteristic "spikes" extending out from the surface can be seen.

3.2.5. Opportunistic systemic mycoses

This group includes fungi that are able to invade tissues within the body but are not dimorphic.
They are opportunistic because they normally exist as non- parasitic forms and only become
virulent when the immune system has been compromised in some way. This can occur through
the use of immunosuppressant drugs, chemotheraputic agents, corticosteroids and other
chemicals having a profound effect on the body may also allow them entry. These fungi are
not in any kind of "balance" with the host and can invade rapidly and destructively

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Fungal diseases of humans. (a) Ringworm presents as a red ring on skin; (b) Trichophyton
violaceum, shown in this bright field light micrograph, causes superficial mycoses on the scalp;
(c) Histoplasma capsulatum is an ascomycete that infects airways and causes symptoms
similar to influenza.

Figure 8: shows various fungal diseases in human

Some fungi are parasitic on insects. For example,

Figure 9: Cordyceps militaris invades living insect pupa by drawing

nutrients from the pupa that enable the fungus to grow and generate
spores for reproduction.

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4. KERATINOPHILIC FUNGI

Keratin is a scleroprotein and is mechanically hard and chemically unreactive, owing its
strength to the numerous cross-links of disulfide bonds, which hold together the molecular
chains of this protein. Due to the strength and stability of keratin, very few organisms are able
to break it down and utilize it. Only a few insects, bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi can use
keratin as a resource (English, 1976).

The keratinophilic fungi are of prime importance in regard to various skin diseases prevalent
in various areas. These fungi are able to utilize keratin, a fibrous protein, as sole carbon and
nitrogen source and survive saprophytically in nature. Many keratinophilic fungi frequently
parasitize keratinous tissue, such as, skin, nails and hair in man and animals. Some of them
share certain morphological features, constituting a group called dermatophytes (Gugnani,
2000).

In the Kingdom Eumycota (true fungi), two groups, the Deuteromycetes and the Ascomycetes,
have keratinolytic members that occur commonly in soil as keratin decomposers. Some species
are potential pathogens, and can cause infections in the skin and scalp of mammals (the
dermatophytes). It is thought that dermatophytes were initially saprophytic and lived in the
soil, but due to increasing interactions with animals, they gradually evolved a parasitic lifestyle.
The dermatophytes have been classified into three ecological groups based on their habitat
preference – geophilic (soil loving), zoophilic (animal loving) and anthropophilic (human
loving).

4.1. ECOLOGICAL ROLE

The biological function of keratinolytic fungi in the soil is the degradation of keratinized
materials such as hides, furs, claws, nails and horns of dead animals. In the soil, these fungi
live in their teleomorphic (sexual) stages in the form of cleistothecia, whereas in keratinized
material they live in an anamorphic (asexual) stage in which they develop only a very simple
morphology. When there is ample keratin substrate available in soil, these fungi multiply by
asexual means by producing enormous numbers of conidia (aleuroconidia, arthroconidia).
When the keratin substrate is depleted, however, the fungi reproduce by sexual means and form
characteristic fruiting bodies called ascomata. These ascomata usually have protective peridial
appendages that prevent attacks by mites which feed on them. Each ascoma contains numerous
asci, which in Onygenales are naked (without covering). Onygenaceae are very small, mostly

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 spherical and variously ornamented. The peculiar shape and surface features including thick
walls of ascospores help the fungus to survive in soil under dry conditions. There is a
succession of the fungi that grows on natural keratin substrates in nature since these natural
substrates are not solely made of keratin but also contain some non-keratin components. First
the non-specialists colonize. These species do not actually utilize the keratin portion but rather
the non-keratin fatty part of the substrate. Once all the non-keratin portion is exhausted, true
keratinophilic fungi or the keratinolytic species colonize. Finally, mites feed upon these fungi.
Thus, apart from few insects, bacteria and actinomycetes these fungi are an integral part of the
keratin cycling machinery in the ecosystem, a process which would otherwise have been
difficult due to high stability of the keratin protein (Kushwaha & Guarro, 2000).

Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton tonsurans are two common dermatophytes.

T. rubrum is known to be one of the most prominent anthrophilic species of dermatophtyes, a

fungus commonly causing skin diseases, appearing in various shades of white, yellow, brown,
and red. It may also be found in various textures, being waxy, cottony, or smooth.

Figure 10: Microscopic Figure 11: shows a fungal disease caused by T. rubrum on
image of T. rubrum toenails.

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T.tonsurans causes tinea capitis infection. The modes of dispersal are unclear, though it is
associated with homes, schools and other institutions, and barbershops. Transmission can
occur through direct transfer, or through the use of shared resources and facilities such as
pillows, couches, rugs, and pets. once the fungal infection has been contracted, it invades
hairs and sporulates in the hair shaft, causing it to burst and curl, creating a black dot on the
scalp. These two species are usually transmitted from person to person.

Figure 12: Microscopic Figure 13: Tinea capitis infection of the scalp caused by
image of T.tonsurans T.tonsurans

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5. COPROPHILOUS FUNGI

Coprophilous fungi are a type of saprobic fungi that grow on animal dung. The hardy spores
of coprophilous species are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation, and are
excreted along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish in the faeces, before releasing
their spores to the surrounding area.

5.1. LIFE CYCLE

Coprophilous fungi release their spores to the surrounding vegetation, which is then eaten
by herbivores. The spores then remain in the animal as the plants are digested, pass through
the animal's intestines and are finally defecated. The fruiting bodies of the fungi then grow
from the animal faeces. It is essential that the spores of the species then reach new plant
material, spores remaining in the faeces will produce nothing. As such, some species have
developed means of discharging spores a large distance.

Figure 14: Spore dispersal in coprophilous fungi.

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Animal faeces provide an environment rich in nitrogenous material as well as various enzymes
from the animal’s digestive system. Coprophilous fungi exhibit some very distinctive adaptions
to the environment which can be readily demonstrated. The diet of herbivores will include
many fungi which are coprophiles but few of these will fruit upon voided dung. This is because
many will be inactivated by the high temperatures and enzymes in the digestive tract of the
herbivore. The spores of coprophilous fungi however, are frequently coated with a gelatinous
substance in addition to having a thick wall which prevents germination until these layers are
softened by the action of the digestive juices of the herbivore. This measure perhaps serves to
prevent the spores from germinating immediately they are discharged onto wet vegetation. In
addition, most fungi grow best when the pH is around 7, which is the average pH of dung. This
factor may disincline other fungi from the soil and elsewhere from colonising the dung after it
has been voided by the animal (Blackwell & Malloch, 1991).

The sequential fruiting of coprophilous fungi on animal dung after deposition, particularly that
of herbivores, is an example of succession. succession is the sequence of observation of fungi,
as identified by their fruiting. It is an example of diversity in time, with a sequential occurrence
of different species of fungi appearing on dung, in the field or on incubation in controlled
conditions.

The well-known sequence of phycomycetes ("sugar fungi"), ascomycetes and basidiomycetes

has often been explained by the ability of these different fungi to use successively more
complex substrates. Lodha (1974) suggests, however, that it has less to do with the "run-down"
of nutrients, and can be better explained by the time taken for each fungus to produce its fruiting
structures from a simultaneous start to growth when the dung is deposited. All in all, dung is a
complex environment and the interactions between all these organisms and the weather will
also influence the appearance of fruiting bodies.

Figure 15: Panaeolus semiovatus growing from animal

dung

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6. CONCLUSION

Fungi provide a vital role in releasing scarce, yet biologically-essential elements, such as
nitrogen and phosphorus, from decaying matter. Aiding the survival of species from other
kingdoms through the supply of nutrients, fungi play a major role as decomposers and recyclers
in the wide variety of habitats in which they exist. Their mode of nutrition, which involves
digestion before ingestion, allows fungi to degrade many large and insoluble molecules that
would otherwise remain trapped in a habitat.

Saprophytic fungi are the largest group of fungi, they grow on dead organic matter. These fungi
have enzymes that digest the cellulose and lignin found in the organic matter. Without their
digestive activities, organic material would continue to accumulate until the forest became a
huge rubbish dump of dead leaves and trees.

Parasitic fungi are the second largest group, of whose members do a lot of serious damage.
Rather than obtaining their food from dead animals or plants, they prefer a living host, often
attacking and killing, it then living on as a saprophytic fungus.

Keratinophilic fungi are ecologically important group as they play a significant role in the
natural degradation of keratin substrate and residues. Occur with the variable distribution
patterns, these are dependent on factors like human and animal presence. This group of
microorganisms utilize keratin present in the soil

Coprophilous fungi are fungi that inhabit or are associated with the dung of animals, including
soil contaminated with dung. Most of these fungi are found on mammalian dung from
domesticated farm animals, such as cattle, horses, and sheep; from wild mammals, both
herbivorous and carnivorous; and from birds.

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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Andrew, J.H. (1992). Fungal life-history strategies. In The Fungal Community: Its
Organization and Role in the Ecosystem. In G.C. Carrol and D.T. Wicklow (Eds.). (pp.119-
145). New York: Marcel Dekker

Blackwell, M., & Malloch, D. (1991). Life History and Arthropod Dispersal of a Coprophilous
Stylopage. Mycologia, 83(3), p.360.

Dighton, J. (2007). Nutrient cycling by saprotrophic fungi in terrestrial habitats. In: The Mycota
IV Environmental and Microbial Relationships, 2nd Edn., ed. C.P. Kubicek and I.S.Druzhinina
(pp. 287-300). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

English, M. P. (1976). Destruction of hair by two species of Chrysosporium. Journal of Trans

Brit MycolSoc, 5, 357-358.

Gilbert, G.S. (2002). Evolutionary ecology of plant diseases in natural ecosystems. Annual
Review of Phytopathology 40, 13–43.

Gugnani, H. C. (2000). Nondermatophytic filamentous keratinophilic fungi and their

role in human infection. RevistaIberoamericana de MicologíaApdo. 1: 101-113.

Kushwaha, R.K.S., & Guarro, J. (2000). Biology of dermatophytes and other keratinophilic
fungi, Rermta1beroamicana deMicologia, Bilbao, Spain

Lodha, B.C. (1974). Decomposition of digested litter. In: Biology of Plant Litter
Decomposition. In C.H. Dickinson and G.J.F. Pugh (Eds). (pp. 213-241). London: Academic
Press.

Parbery, I.H. (1980). Plant parasitic fungi: introduction, In J.F.Brown. (ed.). Plant
Protection. (pp. 7 l-82). Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee, Canberra.

Sexton, A.C., & Howlett, B.J. (2006). Parallels in fungal pathogenesis on plant and animal
hosts. Eukaryotic Cell 5: 1941–1949

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Thorn, R.G., & Barron, G.L. (1984). A meta-analysis of mycorrhizal responses to nitrogen,
phosphorus, and atmospheric CO2 in field studies: Carnivorous mushrooms. (pp. 347–355)
Treseder KK: New Phytologist

Wardle, D.A. (2002). Communities and Ecosystems: Linking the Aboveground and
Belowground Components. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press.

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