What are the roles of fungi in the environment/biotech/health?
- decomposition of waste
- Food
- Drugs (penicillin)
- Enhanced plant growth
Fungi are primarily pathogens of:
plants
mycorrhizae
symbiotic growths between fungi and plants
What is mycosis?
Disease caused by fungi
What’s notable about the cell wall of fungi?
- outer glycoproteins heavily modified with carbs
- inner glucan layer beta 1,3 glucan carb
- cytoplasmic membrane with ergosterol
What is the importance of carbohydrates to fungi cell wall?
- carbs on outer cell wall
2. glucan and chitin confer cell wall rigidity
Major basis of selectivity of anti-fungal drugs is based on:
Ergosterol
Triazole drugs: How do they work?
Block the synthesis of ergosterol
Amphotericin B (polyene)
Binds to fungi cell wall and perforates it
Flucytosine
Works by preventing replication of DNA
Echinocandins
Prevent the synthesis of glucan
Exogenous vs endogenous fungi
exogenous=pathogen
endogenous=normal flora (candida albicans)
What do fungi grow on?
Survive in acidic environments. Heterotrophs-does not fix carbon
What kind of media do fungi grow on?
sabouraud’s agar
Two basic forms of yeast growth?
Yeast=cell cycle with polarisome turning into bud
hyphae
