The study of the life cycle of fungi, including how they reproduce and how they grow.
Fungal taxonomy: The classification of fungi based on their morphological, physiological, and molecular characteristics.
Fungal morphology: The study of the physical appearance of fungi, such as their shape, color, and structure.
Fungal physiology: The study of how fungi grow, reproduce, and respond to their environment.
Fungal ecology: The study of how fungi interact with other organisms and their environment.
Fungal genetics: The study of the genetic material and processes of fungi, including the mechanisms of gene expression, regulation, and mutation.
Fungal evolution: The study of the origin and diversification of fungi over time.
Fungal pathology: The study of the diseases caused by fungi and their effects on humans, animals, and plants.
Fungal biotechnology: The application of fungi in various industrial processes, including bioremediation, food and beverage production, and pharmaceuticals.
Fungal symbiosis: The study of the beneficial and sometimes obligatory relationships between fungi and other organisms, such as mycorrhizae and lichens.
Fungal genomics: The study of the entire genetic makeup of fungi, including their genome sequences, gene functions, and comparative analyses.
Homothallic: In Homothallic or Self-fertilizing fungi, the sexual system has both male and female components within the same organism.
Heterothallic: Heterothallic fungi exhibit sexual reproduction between two different mating types. They can be either bipolar, with two mating types represented in a single organism or unipolar, with each organism representing a single mating type.
Amphimictic: In Amphimictic fungi, the sexual system involves the fusion of two haploid nuclei derived from the opposite sexes.
Apomictic: Apomixis fungi are asexual and reproduce without fertilization.
Anisogamous: In anisogamous fungi, two different sex cells are involved in the reproductive process: a smaller male cell and a larger female cell.
Heterogenetic: A single fungal species that exhibits both sexual and asexual reproduction.
Paired: Paired fungi reproduce through the process of conjugation and produce diploid cells.
Asexual: As the name suggests, Asexual fungi do not require sexual reproduction and are capable of reproducing through mitosis.
Teleomorphic: Teleomorphic fungi involve the fusion of two haploid cells forming a spore-forming unit called a fruiting body. Once the fruiting body has formed, meiosis occurs to produce haploid cells.
Parasexual: Parasexual fungi reproduce through mitosis, but they exchange genetic material through a process called non-Mendelian recombination, a process that occurs when cells undergo rigorous mitotic division.