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BIOL 110 Basic Concepts and Biodiversity Learning Guide Tutorial The Biology of Fungi II In this tutorial we will continue our magical mystery ride exploring the fascinating fungi Read the questions below before you begin reading the tutorial Then as you read the tutorial fill in your answers to help you prepare for our class session In addition to the questions below as you read through the tutorial ask yourself what did I learn on this page Before our class session answer the following questions from the online tutorial 1 Fungi comprise a diverse group of mostly multicellular eukaryotes What are the unicellular fungi called hint they are crucial for brewing beer baking bread and making wine Given that they are single celled do they have hyphae 2 How do some ascomycetes have positive effects on other organisms How do some ascomycetes have detrimental effects on other organisms List examples of the diversity of symbioses found in this group 3 What unique reproductive structure is found in ascomycete fungi Can these fungi reproduce asexually 4 What are mycotoxins What types of effects can they have on other organisms 5 List what concepts or ideas from this tutorial are new to you During our class session work with your peers LAs and instructor to answer the following questions 1 Diploid nuclei of the ascomycete Neurospora crassa contain 14 chromosomes A single diploid cell in an ascus will undergo one round of meiosis followed in each of the daughter cells by one round of mitosis producing a total of eight ascospores If a single diploid G2 nucleus in an ascus contains 400 nanograms ng of DNA then a single ascospore nucleus of this species should contain how much DNA ng carried on how many chromosomes 2 Endophytic fungi fungi that live within plant tissue are very common Almost all plants studied have them Some grasses have endophytic fungi that protect plants from being consumed by herbivores What type of symbiotic interaction exists between plants and herbivores A 100 7 B 100 14 C 200 7 D 200 14 E 400 14 A Mutualism B Commensalism C Predation D Parasitism 3 These endophytic fungi are most likely to modify plant herbivore interactions by A Killing the plants reducing the available food for the herbivores B Producing mycotoxins that deter the herbivores from eating the plants C Competing with mycorhizzae reducing plant growth D Interfering with plant reproduction reducing plant population size 4 How do herbivores that eat grass deal with mycotoxins Both moose and reindeer feed on red fescue grass This species of grass has an endophytic fungus Epichloe festucae that lives in its leaves This endophyte produces a mycotoxin that is a vasoconstrictor narrows blood vessels and raises blood pressure How can the moose and reindeer eat this grass without becoming sick 5 These results in the graphic below show that A Reindeer and moose saliva have no effect on the growth of fungal colonies B Moose saliva tends to reduce fungal colony growth more than reindeer saliva but the difference is not significant C Moose saliva significantly reduces fungal colony growth when compared to the control D The longer the time after exposure to saliva the less effect the saliva has on fungal growth Mean radius 95 CIs of E festucae colonies after receiving distilled water n 24 moose saliva n 25 or reindeer saliva n 22 Colonies were recorded every a 12 and b 8 h in separate trials Shading indicates that one or both saliva treatments had slower growth than the control measured by slope between two measurements 6 Referencing the graph below the concentration of the mycotoxin when the grass was cut every two weeks a fortnight is A Significantly lower when exposed to saliva B Significantly lower when diluted with water C Not significantly different than the uncut control for either treatment Mean concentrations of ergovaline ppm 95 CIs in a European mainly Sweden and b southern Ontario derived populations of F rubra infected with E festucae and exposed to simulated herbivory and saliva Lines between points plotted only to highlight interactions 7 Referencing the graph above why is the mycotoxin concentration significantly higher in the two clipped treatments when exposed to water than in the uncut control treatment 8 Bats are critical to proper ecosystem function through their key roles in insect consumption pollination and seed dispersal A single bat can eat thousands of insects including mosquitos Some species of bats drink nectar and in doing so get plant pollen on themselves Thus they are key pollinators Fruit bats plant new rainforests everyday through their spread of seeds in their guano since they fly long distances and digest food quickly Twelve bat species have been confirmed with white nose syndrome in North America White nose syndrome is considered one of the most devastating wildlife diseases in modern times and has killed millions of bats https www whitenosesyndrome org The fungus that causes white nose syndrome attacks the bare skin of bats while they are hibernating As it grows the fungus causes the bats to become active during a time they should be hibernating This causes them to burn the fat reserves they need to survive the winter Bats with white nose syndrome may fly outside in the cold looking for food and water but if there are no insects the bats freeze or starve to death Annual population growth rates of bats affected by white nose syndrome WNS across all regions These data are from published accounts and federal and state government reports The dashed line indicates population stability and the solid lines show annual population growth rates for each species Based on the data in graphic above what bat species is most likely to go extinct because of infection by white nose syndrome A Myotis lucifugus B Myotis septentrionalis C Eptesicus fuscus D Myotis sodalis 9 Fungi are essential to humans for a variety of reasons including decomposition of organic matter nutrient cycling various ecological interactions and human welfare Do a quick google search for how humans use fungi Write a list below summarizing what you and your peers find and discuss At the end of our class session reflect on your learning by answering the following questions 1 What concepts were not clear 2 List questions you can bring to LA or instructor student office hours this week


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PSU BIOL 110 - Learning Guide for Tutorial 12 The Biology of Fungi II

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