Glossary of terms

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Acervulus(i):
A mat of hyphae bearing short conidiophores packed closely together.
Achlorophyllous:
Lacking chlorophyll.
Aflatoxins:
A group of carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by some species of Aspergillus.
Agaric:
Common name for any member of the order Agaricales (Basidiomycota).
Anastomosis:
Fusion between hyphae.
Antheridium(a):
Male gametangium.
Aplanospore:
A non-motile spore.
Apothecium(a):
Open, cup-shaped ascocarp produced by some species belonging to the Ascomycota.
Arbuscules:
Minute, tree-like hyphal branching structures produced within host plant cells by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Arbuscular mycorrhizas:
Mycorrhizas formed by fungi belonging to the Glomeromycota.
Arthrospore:
Asexual spore formed by the septation and fragmentation of a hypha.
Ascocarp:
Fruiting body of fungi belonging to the Ascomycota, bearing asci.
Ascogenous hypha(e):
A dikaryotic hypha emerging from an ascogonium after fertilization, which gives rise to asci in fungi belonging to the Ascomycota.
Ascogonium(a):
Female gametangium in fungi of the Ascomycota, which contains cells that are fertilized during sexual reproduction.
Ascospores:
Sexual spores of fungi belonging to the Ascomycota, borne in asci.
Ascostroma(ta):
An ascocarp bearing asci directly in cavities within a compact mass of hyphae.
Ascus(i):
Cell(s) containing ascospores in fungi of the Ascomycota.
Asexual reproduction:
Reproduction NOT involving karyogamy and meiosis.
Basidiocarp:
Fruiting body of fungi of the Basidiomycota, bearing basidia.
Basidiospores:
Sexual spores of fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota.
Basidium(a):
Enlarged terminal cell of a hypha, bearing basidiospores.
Bioremediation:
The use of microorganisms to remove or detoxify toxic or unwanted chemicals in an environment.
Biotrophic:
Obtaining nutrients from living host cells without killing them.
Blastic conidium:
Conidium arising from a yeast cell or hypha as a result of elongation and swelling before separation by a septum.
Chemostat:
Apparatus used in a continuous culture system.
Chlamydospore:
Thick-walled, melanized thallic conidium that develops from an existing hyphal compartment and that functions as a resting spore.
Cleistothecium(a):
A completely closed fruiting body formed by some fungi of the Ascomycota, containing asci.
Colony:
A group of individuals of the same species living in close association; for fungi, usually refers to a group of many yeast cells or a mycelium originating from a single point, cell or spore.
Columella(e):
A curved cross-wall extending from the tip of a sporangiophore into the sporangium.
Conidiophore:
A hypha giving rise to conidia.
Conidium(a):
Asexual spore supported on a hypha, NOT contained in a sporangium.
Coremium(a):
Structure of aggregated hyphae bearing conidia at their tips.
Dikaryon:
A hyphal compartment, mycelium or fungal cell occupied by a pair or pairs of closely associated, genetically different, sexually compatible nuclei.
Dolipore septum:
Septum with elaborate ultrastructure, found in fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota.
Encystment:
Formation of a thick wall, e.g. around a zoospore after it settles and loses its flagellum(a).
Extracellular enzyme:
An enzyme whose action on a substrate takes place outside the cell's protoplasm.
Fairy ring:
A ring of mushrooms produced at the edge of an underground mycelium.
Fertilization tube:
A tube originating from the male gametangium and penetrating the female gametangium; through which the male gametes (nuclei) are transferred.
Fruit(ing) body:
Large spore-bearing structure produced by species belonging to the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.
Gametangium(a):
A structure specialized for the production of gametes during sexual reproduction.
Germ-pore:
A thinner area of spore wall through which a germ-tube emerges.
Germ-tube:
An immature hypha emerging from a spore.
Heterothallism:
The requirement for two compatible mating types for sexual reproduction; self-sterility.
Homothallism:
A second mating type is NOT required for sexual reproduction; self-fertility.
Hymenium(a):
The surface of a fruiting body on which sexually produced spores are borne in asci (Ascomycota) or on basidia (Basidiomycota).
Hypha(e):
Filamentous structure which exhibits apical growth and which is the developmental unit of a mycelium.
Isolate:
A strain of a fungus brought into pure culture (i.e. isolated) from a specific environment.
Jelly fungi:
Term sometimes applied to the Tremellales (belonging to the Basidiomycota).
Karyogamy:
The fusion of nuclei, preceding the production of sexual spores.
Lichen:
A symbiotic association between green or blue-green algal cells and fungal hyphae.
Monokaryon:
A hyphal compartment, mycelium or fungal cell occupied by nuclei of a single genotype.
Mycelium(a):
A branching network of hyphae.
Mycobiont:
The fungal component of a lichen.
Mycology:
The study of fungi.
Mycoparasite:
A fungus capable of parasitising another fungus.
Mycoprotein:
Protein of fungal origin, particularly from mycelial species.
Mycorrhiza:
A symbiotic association between a plant root and fungal hyphae.
Mycotoxin:
A general term for a toxin produced by a fungus.
Myxamoeba:
An amoeboid cell, particularly of the Myxomycota.
Necrotroph:
A fungus that kills the cells of a living host and then utilizes those cells as a source of nutrients.
Oidium(a):
A form of asexual spore involved in bringing about dikaryotization in fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota.
Oogonium(a):
A female gametangium.
Oosphere:
A female gamete within an oogonium.
Oospore:
A diploid spore produced by species belonging to the Oomycota.
Perithecium(a):
A flask-shaped fruiting-body produced by some species of the Ascomycota; from the neck of which asci are discharged.
Photobiont:
The algal component of a lichen.
Pileus:
The cap of a mushroom.
Pycnidium(a):
A hollow, flask-shaped structure lined with conidiophores bearing conidia.
Quorn:
The commercial trademark for a range of food products containing mycoprotein.
Radial growth:
Growth from the centre, e.g. of a fungal colony.
Resting spore:
A spore with prolonged survival potential, or a spore that is in a state of dormancy.
Rhizoid:
A fine filamentous structure which grows into the substrate and anchors the cell or surface mycelium.
Saprotrophic:
Using dead organisms as a source of nutrients.
Septum(a):
A cross-wall in a hypha.
Sexual reproduction:
Reproduction involving karyogamy and meiosis.
Sporangiophore:
A hypha which bears a sporangium
Sporangiospore:
An asexual spore borne in a sporangium.
Sporangium(a):
A specialized cell containing sporangiospores.
Sterigma(ta):
A small outgrowth which supports a sporangium, a conidium or a basidiospore.
Stipe:
The stalk of a mushroom or toadstool.
Thallic conidia:
Conidia formed as a result of the septation and fragmentation of a hypha.
Trehalose:
An oligosaccharide from some fungi.
Trichogyne:
The receptive hypha formed during sexual fertilization in fungi belonging to the Ascomycota.
Universal veil:
A thin membrane covering certain types of young mushrooms; as the mushroom expands the veil tears and the remnants may form scales on the pileus and comprise the volva.
Uredospores:
Dikaryotic spores produced by rust fungi (Uredinales).
Volva:
A cup at the base of the stipe of certain mushrooms; a remnant of the universal veil.
Woronin body:
An electron-opaque, spherical, membrane-bound proteinaceous structure found in hyphae of fungi belonging to the Ascomycota and some mitosporic species (formerly Deuteromycota), located near septa.
Xerotolerant fungus:
A fungus capable of growing on substrates possessing a low water potential, i.e. water activities below 0.85.
Yeast:
A unicellular fungus that multiplies asexually by budding or fission.
Zoosporangium(a):
A specialized cell in which zoospores develop, and from which they are released.
Zoospore:
A motile sporangiospore capable of swimming in water by means of one or more flagella.
Zygospore:
A spore formed following fusion of two gametangia in fungi belonging to the Zygomycota.
Zygote:
A diploid cell resulting from the union of two haploid cells followed by karyogamy.

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