Phylum Echinodermata - This consists of sea They are typically non-motile.
stars and sea urchins. There are about 6,000 Fungi exhibit the phenomenon of
species. e.g. Asteria, Ophiura. alteration of generation.
The vegetative body of the fungi may be
Phylum Chordata - Animals of this phylum
unicellular or composed of microscopic
have a characteristic feature of presence of
threads called hyphae.
notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord and
The structure of cell wall is similar to
paired pharyngeal gill slits. Within this
plants but chemically the fungi cell wall
phylum advanced group called vertebrates
are composed of chitin.
which include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds
and mammals. Some important groups are listed below.
Plant Kingdom (Plantae) Phylum Ascomycota: Sac Fungi - The sac-
fungi produce spores in small cup-shaped sacs
The Kingdom Plantae can be defined as
called asci, hence the name ascomycota. e.g.
multicellular, autotrophic eukaryotes, which
Aspergillus, Claviceps, Neurospora.
conduct photosynthesis. All member of this
family comprises of true nucleus and advanced Phylum Basidiomycota: Club Fungi -
membrane bound organelles. includes the mushrooms, puff-balls, smuts,
rusts and toadstools. The spores are borne on a
Some important groups are listed below.
club-shaped spore case called basidium. e.g.
Phylum Bryophyta - These are non-vascular Agaricus(mushroom), Ustilago(smut), and
land plants, which do not contain any Puccinia(rust fungus).
conducting tissues. e.g. Mosses, Liverworts,
Phylum Zygomycota: Zygote forming Fungi
Hornworts, etc.
- These fungi are usually found on cheese,
Phylum Pteridophytae – These are seedless bread, and other decaying food. They are
vascular plants, which contain vascular tissues zygote forming fungi, hence the name
but do not produce seeds. e.g. horsetails, ferns zygomycota. The spores are produced in
and club mosses. round-shaped case called sporangium. e.g.
Mucor, Rhizopus (the bread mould) and
Phylum Angiosperms – These are flowering Albugo.
plants, which develops the seeds within a
protective structure. e.g. trees, shrubs, vines Phylum Deuteromycota: Imperfect Fungi -
and flowers. These organisms are known as imperfect fungi
because they lack sexual reproduction. They
Phylum Gymnosperms – These are non- reproduce by asexual spores known as conidia.
flowering plants with undeveloped seeds, Most of the fungi causes diseases to humans
which are present in an enclosed structure. e.g. like ringworm, athlete"s foot. e.g. Alternaria,
palms, carpet lawns, etc. Colletotrichum and Trichoderma.
Fungi Kingdom (Fungi) Protist Kingdom (Protista)
Fungi are eukaryotic organisms. They are single-celled, eukaryotes and
They are non-vascular organisms. mainly aquatic.
They reproduce by means of spores. It includes diatoms, golden algae, euglena
Depending on the species and conditions and protozoans like amoeba, paramecium
both sexual and asexual spores may be Plasmodium, etc.
produced.
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