The kingdom of fungi is amazingly diverse. Everyone knows its edible representatives - a real decoration of the table. Many people know about the existence of poisonous mushrooms, which are often so well disguised that it can be difficult to distinguish them. Finally, organisms that are simple in structure are heard, for example, mucor, that is, mold. But what are imperfect mushrooms, for which they got their unflattering name? Our article will help you understand the features of their structure, classification and meaning.
Definition
In the kingdom of mushrooms, a special class of imperfect fungi is distinguished, called deuteromycetes, which include higher organisms. For them, only one type of reproduction is inherent - asexual sporulation. These include those organisms that do not have the ability to form a basidium or bag. The class is quite extensive, including more than 25 thousand species. At the same time, some representatives even have sexual sporulation, but it does not play a special role in their development.
Meaning in wildlifesuch organisms are quite specific - they are the causative agents of various plant diseases.
Distinguishing Features
The group of imperfect mushrooms has a number of features by which they can be distinguished from other representatives of the kingdom. Features are:
- Reproduction occurs by special spores - conidia, which are formed in areas of the mycelium that are distinguished by isolation. These offshoots are called conidiophores.
- Propagation may be like cutting hyphae into individual cells.
- Sexual processes in such fungi are usually absent.
Research from the department of imperfect fungi has shown that many representatives are one of the stages of development of marsupial or basidiomycetes.
Most often lead a parasitic way of life, affecting plants, less often - animals. The variety of representatives of imperfect fungi, as well as the lack of material for research, led to confusion. So, in the science of the past, it was customary to attribute deuteromycetes to the department of the kingdom Mushrooms, but now most scientists support the position that this is not a taxonomic group.
Specific structure
Examples of imperfect mushrooms allow us to identify the features inherent in the structure of the group:
- The body consists of multicellular hyphae, dissected. They can be dyed or clear.
- Spores for reproduction - conidia - are located on conidiophores or pycnidia.
- Mycelium is most often multinucleated, witha large number of septa (partitions).
- Conidia are distinguished by a we alth of shapes: most often they are a ball or an ellipse, but they are also found in the form of a thread, a spiral, even an asterisk. The color of such spores is light, sometimes brownish, dark.
- Release from conidia - the very process of getting them into the air - is passive.
Conidiophores can be solitary (this is observed in organisms that are simple in structure), but most often they are collected in groups, bundles. Depending on their location, several types of conidial apparatus are distinguished (bed - an abundance of parallel processes that are not connected to each other, coremia - fused bundles of conidiophores).
The most complex type of conidial sporulation is pycnidia, the conidia in it are located in mucus and can only come to the surface when swollen.
Variety
A large number of mushrooms are imperfect:
- Those with conidial asexual sporulation.
- Reproducing vegetatively, that is, not having sporulation (sterile mycelium).
- Yeast organisms that reproduce by budding.
- Even those organisms that have the ability to reproduce perfectly, but rarely use it because of its low importance in the development process.
There are a huge number of examples of imperfect mushrooms in nature. These can be parasites (most of them) or saprophytes, many individuals are pathogens of serious plant diseases. Their classification will be presented below.brief description and specific examples.
Classification
Imperfect mushrooms can be divided into three orders:
- Pycnidial (spheropsid).
- Hyphal (hyphomycetes).
- Melanconium.
For each order, certain structural features are characteristic.
Pycnidial characteristics
These phytopathogenic fungi are very diverse and can cause plant damage such as:
- rot vegetables, fruits, seeds;
- leaf spot;
- cancer of branches, trunks;
- necrosis.
You can find out about the presence of a pathogen by the appearance of a large number of pycnidia - black dots and tubercles on parts of the plant. These imperfect mushrooms are dangerous for beets, cabbage, lemons, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, corn, and tomatoes. Causative agents of black cancer of the apple tree bring great harm.
Hyphomycetes in brief
Among the imperfect mushrooms, the most common are the hypal ones, which are very different in shape and structure. The mycelium of such organisms is well developed, usually has partitions. It can be located in the substrate or be on its surface. Conidia appear as a result of dissection of the mycelium, and may also form on conidiophores.
They can cause the following crop diseases:
- rotting;
- mold;
- withering;
- educationspots.
So, it is these imperfect fungi that are the causative agents of the following diseases:
- fusarium wilt of flax;
- dry rot of potatoes (tubers);
- pome fruit rot;
- gray rot of individual vegetables, fruits and berries;
- green and blue citrus fruit mold;
- oosporosis (potato scab, tomato rot).
It is often this group of organisms that damages food intended for long-term storage.
However, one should not assume that imperfect mushrooms bring only harm, among them there are several useful species. Their use is manifold:
- Production of antibiotics, organic acids.
- Insect pest control applications.
- Predatory mushrooms are used to destroy phytohelminths.
As we see, this order and its representatives are capable of bringing both benefit and harm to humanity. Among these organisms, many are saprophytes.
Information about melanconium fungi
The Melanconium order includes a small number of imperfect fungi, similar in structure and development. A distinctive feature of the representatives - the conidia are located in the pycnidia. In plants, such fungi cause diseases attributed to anthracnose - small ulcers form on the fruits and seeds of crops, the stems crack, and spotting appears on the leaves.
We give examples of dangerous diseases that damagehuman agricultural activities:
- cucurbita anthracnose;
- bean lesion;
- linen;
- grapes;
- currants.
- brown spot of strawberry leaves.
Some species have very high harmfulness.
Meaning in nature
We looked at what imperfect mushrooms are. What is their role in nature? These living organisms help to destroy the remains of dead plants, that is, they act as decomposers.
However, the vast majority of these fungi are harmful: they not only parasitize cultivated plants, but can also leave toxic substances in food, which become their living environment. A person who consumes such a product may be poisoned.
So, imperfect mushrooms are a very conditional concept, because they include a huge number of species that differ in asexual reproduction. The group includes a large number of representatives, some of which are parasites and cause great damage to agriculture, destroying grain, vegetables, fruit crops and livestock feed intended for storage. Man has learned to use many of the mushrooms for good, using them to produce enzymes, antibiotics and poisons to protect crops from harmful insects.
