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Classifying Living Things: The Fungus Kingdom
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Mushroom |
What features distinguish fungi from other life
forms?
Fungi are multicellular eukaryotes.
Like plants, their cells are enclosed by a cell wall, although fungal
cell
walls are composed
of a different compound from plant cells, called chitin. This
compound
is very similar to the compound found in the hard skeletons
of insects. Like animals, fungi are unable to make food and thus
require an external
food source. However, instead of ingesting food, fungi take
in
food through absorption. From tiny root-like hairs that penetrate
the surface
of the food, digestive chemicals are secreted onto food sources
outside of the organism. The food is broken down into nutrient
molecules and
is absorbed into fungal cells.
How are fungi important to people?
Fungi are very
important as decomposers in a range of terrestrial ecosystems.
By breaking down dead organisms, fungi serve
to keep important elements, such as nitrogen, cycling in
the environment. Like plants,
fungi are also the source of significant biochemicals.
One of the most important discoveries in medicine is the antibiotic
penicillin,
which
was actually taken from common bread mold!
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the animal kingdom