Exam 31: Fungi

Which of the following cells or structures are associated with asexual reproduction in fungi?

Use the following information to answer the question. There is much discussion in the media about protecting biodiversity. But does biodiversity really matter? Canadian and Swiss researchers wanted to know if the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)was important to the productivity of grasslands (M.G.A. van der Heijden, J. N. Klironomos, M. Ursic, P. Moutoglis, R. Streitwolf-Engel, T. Boler, A. Wiemken, and I. R. Sanders. 1998. Mycorrhizal fungal diversity determines plant biodiversity, ecosystem variability, and productivity. Nature 396:69-72). Specifically, they wanted to know if it mattered which specific AMF species were present, or just that some type of AMF was present. They grew various plants in combination with one of four AMF species (A, B, C, and D), no AMF species (O), or all four AMF species together (A + B + C + D); and they measured plant growth under each set of conditions. All plant species were grown in each plot, so they always competed with each other, with the only difference being which AMF species were present. On the graphs, the x-axis labels indicate the number and identity of AMF species (bar 0 = no fungi; bars A - D = individual AMF species; bar A + B + C + D = all AMF species together). The y-axis indicates the amount (grams)of plant biomass for the species shown in italics above each graph. Examine all four graphs and choose the plant species that grows best with a combination of AMF species.

Fossil fungi date back to the origin and early evolution of plants. What combination of environmental and morphological change is similar in the evolution of both fungi and plants?

Fungi interact with many organisms in mutualistic ways. Which of the following involves a fungus that is mutualistic with another organism?

All fungi are

Use the following information to answer the question. Suzanne Simard and colleagues knew that the same mycorrhizal fungal species could colonize multiple types of trees. They wondered if the same fungal individual would colonize different trees, forming an underground network that potentially could transport carbon and nutrients from one tree to another (S. Simard et al. 1997. Net transfer of carbon between mycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature 388:579-82). Pots containing seedlings of three different tree species were set up and grown under natural conditions for three years (Fig. A). Two of the three species (Douglas fir, birch)could form ectomycorrhizal connections with the same fungal species, but the third species (cedar)could not form an ectomycorrhizal connection with the fungal species. In some of the pots, the researchers placed airtight bags over the Douglas fir and birch seedlings and injected carbon dioxide made from carbon-13 into the bags with the Douglas fir and carbon dioxide made from carbon-14 into the bags with the birch. (13C and 14C are different isotopes of carbon that can be detected and measured by researchers.)As the seedlings photosynthesized, the carbon dioxide was converted into sugars that could be tracked and measured by the researchers. The researchers measured whether the sugars in each plant contained only the carbon isotope that was in the air of their plastic bag or also the carbon isotope from the air around the other plant. Figure A Which of the following results would support Simard et al.'s (1997)hypothesis that fungi can move carbon from one plant to another? [Hypothesis: Sugars made by one plant during photosynthesis can travel through a mycorrhizal fungus and be incorporated into the tissues of another plant.]

Use the information to answer the following question. The figure depicts the outline of a large fairy ring that has appeared overnight in an open meadow, as viewed from above. The fairy ring represents the furthest advance of this mycelium through the soil. Locations A-D are all 0.5 meters below the soil surface. Assume that all four locations are 0.5 meters above the surface. On a breezy day with prevailing winds blowing from left to right, where should one expect to find the highest concentration of free basidiospores in an air sample?

Fungi have an extremely high surface-to-volume ratio. What is the advantage of this characteristic to an organism that gets most of its nutrition through absorption?

It has been hypothesized that fungi and plants have a mutualistic relationship because plants make sugars available for the fungi's use. What is the best evidence in support of this hypothesis?

If haustoria from the fungal partner were to appear within the photosynthetic partner of a lichen, and if the growth rate of the photosynthetic partner consequently slowed substantially, then this would support the claim that ________.

Use the following information to answer the question. Rose-picker's disease is caused by the yeast Sporothrix schenkii (S. schenkii). The yeast grows on the exteriors of rose-bush thorns. If a human gets pricked by such a thorn, the yeasts can be introduced under the skin. The yeasts then assume a hyphal morphology and grow along the interiors of lymphatic vessels until they reach a lymph node. This often results in the accumulation of pus in the lymph node, which subsequently ulcerates through the skin surface and then drains. Humans have immune systems in which lymph nodes are important, because many white blood cells (phagocytes and lymphocytes)reside there. Given that a successful infection by S. schenkii damages lymph nodes themselves, which of the following is most probable?

Use the information to answer the following question. The figure depicts the outline of a large fairy ring that has appeared overnight in an open meadow, as viewed from above. The fairy ring represents the furthest advance of this mycelium through the soil. Locations A-D are all 0.5 meters below the soil surface. Which location is nearest to basidiocarps?

The multicellular condition of animals and fungi seems to have arisen ________.

Use the following information to answer the question. There is much discussion in the media about protecting biodiversity. But does biodiversity really matter? Canadian and Swiss researchers wanted to know if the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)was important to the productivity of grasslands (M.G.A. van der Heijden, J. N. Klironomos, M. Ursic, P. Moutoglis, R. Streitwolf-Engel, T. Boler, A. Wiemken, and I. R. Sanders. 1998. Mycorrhizal fungal diversity determines plant biodiversity, ecosystem variability, and productivity. Nature 396:69-72). Specifically, they wanted to know if it mattered which specific AMF species were present, or just that some type of AMF was present. They grew various plants in combination with one of four AMF species (A, B, C, and D), no AMF species (O), or all four AMF species together (A + B + C + D); and they measured plant growth under each set of conditions. All plant species were grown in each plot, so they always competed with each other, with the only difference being which AMF species were present. On the graphs, the x-axis labels indicate the number and identity of AMF species (bar 0 = no fungi; bars A - D = individual AMF species; bar A + B + C + D = all AMF species together). The y-axis indicates the amount (grams)of plant biomass for the species shown in italics above each graph. Based on the graphs in the figure, which of the following plant species is most likely not to form mycorrhizal associations?

Use the following information to answer the question. For several decades now, amphibian species worldwide have been in decline. A significant proportion of the decline seems to be due to the spread of the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Chytrid sporangia reside within the epidermal cells of infected animals, animals that consequently show areas of sloughed skin. They can also be lethargic, which is expressed through failure to hide and failure to flee. The infection cycle typically takes four to five days, at the end of which zoospores are released from sporangia into the environment. In some amphibian species, mortality rates approach 100%; other species seem able to survive the infection. However, when adult amphibian skin harbors populations of the bacterium Janthinobacterium lividum (Jl), chytrid infection seems to be inhibited. A researcher took water in which a Jl population had been thriving, filtered the water to remove all bacterial cells, and then applied the water to the skins of adult amphibians to see if there would subsequently be a reduced infection rate by Bd when frog skins were inoculated with Bd. For which of the following hypotheses is the procedure described a potential test?

At which stage of a basidiomycete's life cycle would reproduction be halted if an enzyme that prevented the fusion of hyphae was introduced?

A fungal spore germinates, giving rise to a mycelium that grows outward into the soil surrounding the site where the spore originally landed. Which of the following accounts for the fungal movement, as described here?

There is much discussion in the media about protecting biodiversity. But does biodiversity really matter? Canadian and Swiss researchers wanted to know if the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)was important to the productivity of grasslands (M.G.A. van der Heijden, J. N. Klironomos, M. Ursic, P. Moutoglis, R. Streitwolf-Engel, T. Boler, A. Wiemken, and I. R. Sanders. 1998. Mycorrhizal fungal diversity determines plant biodiversity, ecosystem variability, and productivity. Nature 396:69-72). Specifically, they wanted to know if it mattered which specific AMF species were present, or just that some type of AMF was present. They grew various plants in combination with one of four AMF species (A, B, C, and D), no AMF species (O), or all four AMF species together (A + B + C + D); and they measured plant growth under each set of conditions. All plant species were grown in each plot, so they always competed with each other, with the only difference being which AMF species were present. On the graphs, the x-axis labels indicate the number and identity of AMF species (bar 0 = no fungi; bars A - D = individual AMF species; bar A + B + C + D = all AMF species together). The y-axis indicates the amount (grams)of plant biomass for the species shown in italics above each graph. Examine the effect of AMF species on Sanguisorba officinalis. Which of the following conclusions can be correctly drawn from the data?

Use the following information to answer the question. Along with bacteria and protozoa, some chytrid fungi live in the digestive tracts of cattle and aid in the digestion of plant matter; thus, all three groups represent potential mutualists with cattle. In an experiment designed to test how much of a contribution to cell wall digestion was made by fungi in one part of the stomach (rumen), Lee et al. fed grain to cattle and then removed samples of the rumen contents. They took these samples to the laboratory and experimentally treated them with various chemicals to produce fractions that contained (A)only fungi, (B)only bacteria, (C)only protozoa, and (D)all of the potential mutualists. They then measured the percent of the cell wall that was degraded (see the figure). Degradation rates of cell walls extracted from Orchard grass by the monoculture system to assess the relative contributions of digestion by bacterial (square), protozoan (triangle), and fungal (diamond)systems, and all components (closed circle)as a control. The lowercase letters above the spots indicate statistical significance; mean values with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.05). Which of the following reasons provides the best explanation for the use of a control that contained all potential mutualists? Comparison to a fraction that contained all potential mutualists allowed the researchers to ________.

Truffles are the fruiting bodies of certain fungi whose mycelium grows below ground. The truffle is also underground and can be detected by many mammals, which eat the truffle and expel the spores with their feces. Which of the following statements is likely accurate with respect to this interaction?