Characteristics of fungi
Eukaryotic (Bonus: are they unicellular or multicellular?)
What are yeasts?
Unicellular fungi that are usually non-motile whose colonies resemble bacterial colonies and who reproduce via asexual budding
What are the two types of fungal reproduction?
1. Sexual
2. Asexual
What are protists?
Single-celled eukaryotes that are not fungi, plants, or animals
What is plasmodium?
Obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects
Some cause malariaAre fungi generally motile or nonmotile? Why or why not?
Usually nonmotile due to rigid cell walls made of chitin and polysaccharides
What are molds?
Multicellular, filamentous fungi composed of hyphae that intertwine to form mycelium and reproduce by forming spores
Haploid hyphae meet and nuclei fuse
What is encystment?
A sporulation-like process that protists undergo in harsh environments
What is Trypanosoma spp.
parasitic flagellate, Usually transmitted through vector, usually blood-feeding invertebrate
Yes––and true nuclei
What are dimorphic fungi?
Fungi that can take either a yeast or mold form depending on temperature (hyphae at 25C, yeast at 37C)
What are the three types of fungal asexual reproduction?
1. Spores (haploids are released that grow into new organism)
2. Budding (Cell forms protuberance that enlarges and eventually separates from parent cell)
3. Fragmentation (Piece of mycelium splits off, forms new organism)
What are the three types of protists?
1. Motile heterotrophs (animal-like)
2. Nonmotile autotrophs (plant-like)
3. Nonmotile heterotrophs (fungi-like)
What is Giardia lamblia?
Found in feces-contaminated food, water, and soil
Outer shell protects against chlorine
Causes giardiasis
Are fungi heterotrophs or autotrophs?
Heterotrophs––they do not require light
What are septa? (not a type of fungi, but a part of it)
Porous walls separating hyphae cells to facilitate the movement of nutrition
Describe the burden of protist-related disease
> 60 million chronically have toxoplasmosis in US
- Infections in pregnant women can cause birth defects and fetal death
- Infection in immunocompromised can be deadly
- Giardiasis: about 280 million cases annually, can cause heart failure, death
- 300,000 people living in US with T. cruzi
What is Entamoeba histolytica
Anaerobic amoeba, may invade tissues and cause liver lesions
What environments do fungi prefer?
Moist, acidic environments
Describe the burden of fungal disease
- Most fungal infections are mild but are collectively costly to treat
- Fungal diseases cause > 1 million deaths per year
- Fungal drug resistance is growing
- Fungal infections cause community-acquired infections, healthcare-associated infections, and opportunistic infections
What is Toxoplasma gondii?
Obligate intracellular parasite, causes congenital toxoplasmosis