Tag: kingdom monera, protista and fungi

Claviceps purpurea is a fungus that under natural conditions infects rye and triticale and many grasses.

Ergotism is the effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the Claviceps purpurea fungus that infects rye and other cereals, and more recently by the action of a number of ergoline-based drugs.

Heterothallic fungi have sexes that reside in different individuals. The term is applied particularly to distinguish heterothallic fungi, which require two compatible partners to produce sexual spores. Mucor is a heterothallic fungi.

The zygospore of Mucor is covered by a thick wall and is a resting spore which means it undergoes a resting period, to avoid unfavorable environmental conditions

In mucor each meiospore, after liberation, germinates like sporangiospore and forms a new mycelium like the mother thallus.

The essential conditions for the growth of mucor in a piece of bread are having a shaded place with the optimum temperature of $25^o C $ and relative humidity of 95 millibars

Mucor mucedo reproduces asexually. When erect hyphal sporangiophores are formed. The tip of the sporangiophore swells to form a globose sporangium that contains uninucleate, haploid sporangiospores. 

In mucor during sexual reproduction, compatible strains form short, specialized hyphae called gametangia. At the point where two complementary gametangia fuse, a thick-walled, spherical zygosporangium develops. The zygosporangium typically contains a single zygospore.