Life Science Dictionary12 terms

Mycology Terms

Mycology is the study of fungi, from single-celled yeasts and molds to mushrooms. These terms cover how fungi are built from hyphae that form a mycelium, how they reproduce by spores, partnerships such as lichens and mycorrhizae, and fungal infections.

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C

ChitinEntomologyChitin is a tough, nitrogen-containing polysaccharide built from N-acetylglucosamine units that forms arthropod exoskeletons and fungal cell walls.

D

DecomposerEcologyA decomposer is an organism, mainly a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down dead organisms and wastes and returns their nutrients to the environment.

F

FungusMycologyA fungus is a eukaryote, such as a yeast, mold or mushroom, that has chitin in its cell walls and feeds by absorbing nutrients from its surroundings.

H

HyphaMycologyA hypha is one of the long, branching threads that make up the body of most fungi; a tangled mass of hyphae forms a mycelium.

L

LichenMycologyA lichen is a composite organism formed by a fungus living in close partnership with a photosynthetic alga or cyanobacterium, or sometimes both.

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S

SporeMycologyA spore is a small, hardy reproductive cell made by fungi, plants and some microbes that can spread widely and grow into a new organism on its own.

Y

YeastMycologyA yeast is a single-celled fungus that usually reproduces by budding; baker's yeast ferments sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

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