There are about 80,000 described species of fungi with at least a million additional species as yet undescribed. The vast majority of fungi are multicellular and terrestrial, although about 500 species are marine. Fungi have pronounced effects on human societies, both positive and negative. All fungi are heterotrophs and many are saprobes, which means they acquire nutrients form non-living organic matter. Other taxa acquire nutrients from living sources and form parasitic or mutualistic asociations with other species.
All fungi are non-motile throughout their entire life cycle, and lack cells with cilia or flagella.
Laboratory Exercise Activity 1. Be sure to label all structures and indicate all places where meiosis and mitosis occur. Once you are done with this, compare zygotic meiosis with gametic and sporic meiosis. Using Figure 28.3 in the text, examine the life cycle of a zygomycete, the bread mold Rhizopus. Such multinucleated tissues are said to be coenocytic.