How are mushrooms, molds, and yeasts similar? How are they different?

Question

I have to make a Venn diagram for a 9th grade Biology project that shows how mushrooms, molds, and yeast are similar and different. Any info would be greatly apprecitated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Kingdom Fungi: mushrooms, rusts, smuts, puffballs, truffles, morels, molds, and yeasts

Wherever adequate moisture, temperature, and organic substrates are available, fungi are present. Although we normally think of fungi as growing in warm, moist forests, many species occur in habitats that are cold, periodically arid, or otherwise seemingly inhospitable.

5 things you didn't know about mushrooms:



Margo Kraus, a registered dietitian and consultant for The Mushroom Council, advises:



1. 20 calories: Just a handful of mushrooms may be nature's hidden treasure for healthier meals. Mushrooms have essential nutrients that are good for heart health and help boost immunity. With just 20 calories per serving, they have fewer calories than a rice cake.



2. Flavor: Mushrooms have umami -- the fifth taste. They add savory flavor when paired with other foods.



3. Vitamin D: Mushrooms contain 4 percent of the daily value of vitamin D. No other fresh vegetable or fruit has vitamin D.



4. Good for you: Mushrooms' antioxidant capacity is comparable to that of brightly colored vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, red peppers and broccoli.



5. Hold the burger: Data suggests if men substituted a 4-ounce grilled portabello mushroom for a 4-ounce grilled hamburger over the course of a year and didn't change anything else, they could save more than 18,000 calories and nearly 3,000 grams of fat. That's the equivalent of 5.3 pounds, or 30 sticks of butter.



[image: Enoki Mushrooms]

Enoki Mushrooms [image: Caesar's Mushroom]

Caesar's Mushroom [image: Giant Puffball]

Giant Puffball

The Kingdom Fungi includes some of the most important organisms, both in terms of their ecological and economic roles. By breaking down dead organic material, they continue the cycle of nutrients through ecosystems. In addition, most vascular plants could not grow without the symbiotic fungi, or mycorrhizae, that inhabit their roots and supply essential nutrients. Other fungi provide numerous drugs (such as penicillin and other antibiotics), foods like mushrooms, truffles and morels, and the bubbles in bread, champagne, and beer.

   [Image: Morel Mushroom]

Morel Mushroom [image: Sulphur Shelf Fungus]

Sulphur Shelf

Fungi also cause a number of plant and animal diseases: in humans, ringworm, athlete's foot, and several more serious diseases are caused by fungi. Because fungi are more chemically and genetically similar to animals than other organisms, this makes fungal diseases very difficult to treat. Plant diseases caused by fungi include rusts, smuts, and leaf, root, and stem rots, and may cause severe damage to crops. However, a number of fungi, in particular the yeasts, are important "model organisms" for studying problems in genetics and molecular biology.

  

  

  

[Image: Morel Mushroom]

Morel Mushroom

Although Fungi were once considered to be part of the plant kingdom, most experts now consider them to be a separate Kingdom or phylum. There are estimated to be over 100,000 different fungi, most of which form only tiny threads (Hypha) that can only be seen through a microscope. Of these, about 20,000 are considered to be high fungi or macro fungi, i.e. those that produce visible fruiting bodies. Only these are of any interest to the fungi enthusiast and covered in any detail, mostly of which belong to the subdivision Ascomycotina and Basidiomycotina.

Species of fungi are divided into the following three categories

1 - Mycorrhizal fungi form a partnership with some plants,but mostly with living trees.

2 - Parasitic fungi prefer the living host; this category is fairly small.

3 - Saprophytic fungi prefer dead and decaying material.

Answer 2

Au contraire- molds are classified as protists because they move and engulf food similar to ameobas. Fungus has no chlorophyll and can not make its own food although they do have cell walls. Yeast is an example of fungi.

Molds have features of both protists and fungi. Molds have eukaryotic cells which means the nucleus has a membrane around the hereditary material. Some mold acts like protozoas.

In fungi the spore is the reproductive cell that forms without fertilization.