Introduction to the Biodiversity

of Fungi

Mariusz Tadych
Department of Plant Biology and Pathology
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
ICBG Central Asian Program
 What is biodiversity?

Biological diversity or biodiversity means the

variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other
aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of
which they are part; this includes diversity within
species and between species, and the diversity of
ecosystems

Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
 Basic terms
• Fungus, pl. fungi, (Lat. fungus, original sfungus from
Gr. sphongis - a sponge)

Fungi are a group of organisms united by their mode

of nutrition

• Mycology - the study of fungi; mycetology;

(Gr. mykes = mushroom + logos = discourse)

• Mycologist - one who studies fungi or mycology

Phylogenetic position of organisms studied by mycologists*
Organisms Kingdom Domain
Fungi Fungi
Microsporidia ?Microsporidia
Metazoa Animalia
Dictyosteliidae
Myxogastridae Protozoa
Lobosa
Angiospermae
Chlorophyceae
Rhodophyta
Plantae Eukaryota
Glaucophyta
Oomycetes
Phaeophyceae
Straminipila
Ciliophora
Apicomplexa
Knietoplastida
Euglenoidae
Protozoa
Acrasidae
Vahlkampfiidae
* - Bold text. The tree is unrooted; based on Baldauf et al., 2000
Selected distinguishing characteristics of three
kingdoms

Character Straminipila Fungi Protozoa

Nutrition Autotrophic Heterotrophic Heterotrophic
(photosynthetic and (absorptive/osmotrophic) (phagotrophic) or
absorptive) autotrophic
(photosynthetic)
Cell wall Often cellulose; chitin Chitin and β-glucans Absent when trophic;
and β-glucans absent various when present

Mitochondrial Tubular Flattened Tubular

cristae

Flagellar Tubular Absent Not tubular

mastigonemes
 Fungi (overview)
• Structure
– eukaryotic
– pleomorphic - dimorphic (Penicillium marneffei, Histoplasma sp.)
- polymorphic (Puccinia graminis)

Spermogonium Aecia Uredia Telium

– Chitin and β-glucans (wall)

• Reproduction
– sexual (teleomorph, meiosporic fungi)
– asexual (somatic; anamorph, mitosporic fungi)
• Usually filamentous bodies enclosed by cell walls
– hyphae
 Fungi (overview)

• Nonmotile (except those in Chytridiomycota)

• Heterotrophic (without chlorophyll)
• Temperature (range from 10 to 50°C)
• pH (range from 3 to 10)
Zoospore
• Habitats preferred:
– dark, moist habitats containing organic material
• Ecological types of fungi
Members of the Kingdom Fungi
Basidiomycota (rusts, smuts, mushrooms, etc.)

Ascomycota (sac fungi, yeasts, Penicillium, etc.)

Glomeromycota (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi)

Zygomycota (saprophytes, ectomycorrhizal fungi) Fungi

Chytridiomycota
(Blastocladiales)
Chytridiomycota (zoosporic fungi)
(Monoblepharidales)
Chytridiomycota
(Chytridiales, Neocallimastigales
Spizellomycetales, Basidiobolus)

Microsporidia (outgroup)
Chytridiomycota
Basidiomycota
Ascomycota
(outgroup)
Glomeromycota
Zygomycota
Spizellomycetales

Neocallimastigales

Chytridiales
Chytridiomycota
Basidiobolus

Monoblepharidales

Blastocladiales
Synchytrium endobioticum
Zygomycota
Harpellales Rhizopus stolonifer

Kickxellales

Zoopogales

Endogonales
Zygomycota
Mucorales

Entomophthorales
Dimargalitales
Ecrinales

Asellariales Endogone maritima

Chytridiomycota (outgroup)
 Glomeromycota

Glomerales

Diversisporales Glomus multiforum

Glomeromycota
Archeosporales

Paraglomerales

S. persica

Ascomycota, Basidiomycota (outgroup)

Acaulospora bireticulata Glomus clarum Glomus deserticola Glomus multiforum Entrophospora baltica
 Ascomycota

Pezizomycotina

Saccharomycotina Ascomycota

Taphrinomycotina

Basidiomycota (outgroup)
Podosphaera aucuparia

Rhytisma acerinum Sclerotina sp. Taphrina deformans Venturia inaequalis

 Basidiomycota

Hymenomycetes

Ustilaginomycetes Basidiomycota

Uredinomycetes

Ascomycota
(outgroup)
Tilletia laevis Ustilago trichophora

Rust on Bellis perennis Phragmidium tuberculatum Lycoperdon sp. Boletus sp.

 Biogeography of fungi

• Biogeography is a study of the geographical distribution of

living organisms (both past and present), their habitats and
the reasons for those distributions; biogeography of fungi is
called mycogeography
• Mycogeographical analysis requires:

1. Understanding of the past 2. Knowledge of species

– Geological changes
– Climatological changes
– Biological changes
– Fossil evidence
– Trading patterns
– Human migration
– Distinguishing macro- and
microscopic features
– Current distribution
– Preferred habitats and climatic
conditions
– Plants or animals associated with
fungi
Conditions governing the distribution of
species
Different fungi have different habitats, substrates or hosts requirements

• Factors influencing occurrence of fungal

species
– organic substrate/soil type
– moisture/rainfall pattern
– temperature
– plant community composition
– host or partner present
 Distribution of fungi

Fungi because of their osmotrophic mode of nutrition are able to utilize almost
an unlimited diversity of nutritional microniches

Podaxis pistllaris – widespread fungus in subtropical dry areas of the world

Anthracobia sp. – phoenicoid fungi (after the Phoenix - a mythical bird that arose
afresh from a fire every 500 years), fungi growing among the
ashes of former fires. Species are found only in burnt ground
(obligately inhabiting burnt areas)
Trichomaris sp. – found on the carapace of crabs
Ascobolus sp. – coprophilous fungi, fungi that inhabit or are associate with the dung
of animals, including soil contaminated with dung
Xeromyces sp. – osmophilic fungi, growing under conditions of high osmotic
pressure
Neocallimastix frontalis – anaerobic, saprobic fungi occurring in the guts of
herbivores (rumen inhabiting chytrids)

Knowledge of distribution and abundance of the known fungal species is poor

 Important questions that need to be
answered about fungi
• A baseline needs to be developed to measure
changes and abundance of species at particular
sites in response to natural or human-induced
environmental perturbations (e.g., global
warming, air, water, and soil pollution as well as
forest fragmentation)
Because of destruction of ecosystems numerous fungal species will never be
described

• We need to understand fungal:

• diversity
• role in nature
• potential utility
 Number of fungi
• Fungi are one of the most diverse groups on Earth

1500000

1000000

500000

0
Described Estimated 1
80000 1500000

At the current rate of description it will take more than 800 years before
all taxa are named
1)
Hawksworth, 1991
 Where are the undescribed fungi?
• fungi in tropical forests
– fungi of little-studied host plants
– fungi in special ecological niches
– mycorrhizal fungi associated with leguminous tropical tree
– wood decay corticioid and polyporoid fungi
– endophytes
• fungi in unexplored habitats
– hypogeous fungi
– lichenicolous fungi
– fungi associated with insects
– poorly studied plants
– nonpathogenic fungi
• lost or hidden species
– approximately 20 000 already collected fungal species worldwide are
awaiting formal description2

2)
Hawksworth and Rossman, 1997
 Economic value of fungi
• Medicinal use:
– antibiotics such as penicillin (Penicillium chrysogenum)
– immunosuppressants like cyclosporine (Tolypocladium nivenum)
– cholesterol-reducing lovastatin, (Monascus ruber, Aspergillus
terreus)
– antifungal drug/agents like griseofulvin (Penicillium griseofulvum)
– Oriental herbal medicines (Cordyceps sinensis)
• Recycling organic matter (plant debris) by saprophytic fungi
• Mycorrhizal fungi:
– associated with roots of 90% of all vascular plants such as
arbuscular mycorrhizae in crops (Glomus sp., Gigaspora sp.), and
ectomycorrhizae in most woody plants (Lactarius sp., Laccaria sp.)
• Edible fungi:
– edible mushrooms, cultivated or wild (Boletus edulis, Morchella sp.,
Tuber sp., Lentinula edodes, Agaricus bisporus)
vesicles

arbuscule

Glomus aggregatum Glomus sp. Glomus sp. Boletus sp. Saprophytic fungi
 Economic value of fungi (cont.)
• Production of food in agriculture and the food-processing
industry
– Candida krusei, Geotrichum sp., Penicillium camemberti,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• Use in biological control of insects, nematodes,
pathogenic fungi, and weeds A. quisqualis

– Ampelomyces quisqualis, Cordyceps sinensis, Nematophthora

gynophila, Verticillium chlamydosporium, Phlebia gigantea,
Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp.
• Use in ecology as indicators of vegetational or
atmospherical changes
– Lichens (association of a fungus and an alga) Eudarluca caricis

• Source of natural dyes

– Macromycetes (Boletus spp., Cortinarius spp., Hygrocybe spp.)
– Lichens (Roccella spp. Ochrolechia tartarea, Parmelia saxatilis)
• Source of commercially important enzymes and natural
products
– Trichoderma reesei, Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp.
Economic value of fungi (cont.)
Cladosporium sp.
• Cause of human and animal mycoses
– Candida albicans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Rhizopus arrhizus,
Microsporum canis, Penicillium marneffei.
• Fungal spores causing allergic responses
– Alternaria sp., Aspergillus sp., Candida albicans, Cladosporium
sp., Penicillium sp.
• Plant pathogenic fungi
– Phytophthora sp., Puccinia sp., Fusarium sp.
(about 80% of plant diseases are caused by fungi)
Microsphaera sp.
• Fungi causing food spoilage
– Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sp.
• Fungi producing toxic substances (mycotoxins)
– Ochratoxins – Aspergillus ochraceus, Penicillium viridicatum (on
cereal grains)
– Aflatoxins – Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus (on various nuts
and grains)
 Reasons for conservation of fungi
Biodiversity of fungi throughout the world needs to be
conserved
• Ecological roles of fungi
- vital importance in ecosystem maintenance
- saprophytic fungi as natural recyclers
- mycorrhizal fungi as important symbionts with plants
• Effect of fungi on humans and human-related
activities
650 Macrofungi were Reported as Extinct / Missing or Threatened with
Extinction in European Red Data Lists3

3)
Lizon, 1993
 Fungal Conservation Groups

• International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources (IUCN)
• International Mycological Association
• European Council for the Conservation of Fungi
• European Mycological Association
• Mycological Society of America
• British Mycological Society
• Forest Mycology Team
• The Endangered Species Unit (ESU) of Australian
National Parks and Wildlife Service
 Legislation for Fungal Protection

• Red Data Lists of Fungi (26 European countries)

• List of Fungi Protected by Law (Poland)
• Projects involving the production of databases
on fungal distribution (Canada, USA)
• The Priority Flora List of the Department of
Conservation and Land Management (Australia)
• New Zealand Threat Classification System Lists
• Committee for Fungi of the IUCN-Species
Survival Commission
 The diversity of fungi is immense, and
their importance, variety, and numbers
mandate their inclusion in
conservation and biodiversity projects

Photos, from left top to right bottom: (1) Robert Puschendorf, Anthony G. Miller, John E. Randall, Jack Jeffrey Photography, Dai G. Herbert, Troy Inman,
(2) Rebecca Cairns-Wicks, Tony Palliser, Andrew G. Duthie, John S. Donaldson, Suzanna León-Yánez, Christoph Scheidegger, (3) Anna Lushchekina,
Marlon Machado, Malcolm Pym Photography, Shedd Aquarium (photo by Edward G. Lines, Jr.), Farah Ishtiaq, Ross Alford, (4) Bill Konstant, Wendy
Strahm, Sun International Resorts, Inc., Craig Hilton-Taylor, Michael Franzen, Tony Palliser, Dada Gottelii