Instead, they are heterotrophs and must obtain their food from organic material produced by other organisms. In this respect, fungi are more similar to animals since they must rely on other organisms for their food. Fungi have solved this problem with a rather simple solution. Fungi live in substrates that they can utilize as food. This is why fungi are encountered in our food supplies, on plants as diseases, and even as disease on our skin, in the form of ringworm or athlete's foot.
Fungi obtain food from their substrate through the process of absorption .
This mode of nutrition is found only in fungi and bacteria. The process of absorption is an important concept to understand if we are to appreciate the many ways in which fungi impact our lives. A summary of the events that take place, in a hyphal tip, during absorption is illustrated in Fig. 4. Although this process will appear to you to differ significantly from how animals digest food, it actually is not. Let us compare the sequences of events that occur during during animal and fungal digestion.