Mycology Glossary: N - Z
N
- Necrotroph
- a pathogenic fungus that kills its host cells in advance of the hyphae.
- Nuclear arrangement
- hyphae may have one or more haploid nuclei, a diploid nucleus or mixtures in each cell. The number and state at each stage differs with division, class and order.
O
- Oligotrophic
- organic nutrients in poor supply or transiently available, opposite to eutrophic. Common in soil and water.
- Operculum
- cap covering the tip of an ascus, which opens to release the spores.
- Ostiole
- a neck-like structure terminating in a pore surmounting an ascocarp or pycnidium.
P
- Paraphyses
- basally attached hyphae emerging from the hymenium in perithecium and apothecia.
- Parasite
- organism which lives in or on another organism from which it obtains its organic nutrients. may or may not harm its host.
- Pathogen
- organism that causes disease, hence pathology.
- Periphyses
- hair like hyphae that line the ostiole or pore of a stroma.
- Perithecium
- a closed ascocarp with a true wall and an ostiolate opening.
- Phialide
- a particular type of flask-shaped cell that gives rise to conidia in basipetal fashion.
- Plasmogamy
- fusion of two cells.
- Pleomorphy
- capacity of a fungus to exist in different forms, usually spores.
- Pore
- in this case refers to the opening in the primary septum of members of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. May be a simple hole, a series of fine pores or more complex (see dolipore septum).
- Pycnidium
- an asexual fruiting body that is hollow, and partially lined inside with conidiophores.
Q
R
S
- Saprophyte
- organism which obtains its organic nutrients in solution from dead or dying tissues of any other organism.
- Sclerotium (sclerotia)
- a hard, aggregation of hyphae which functions as a resting body. In extreme cases, the body is surrounded by melanised hyphae forming a skin, in other cases, the body tends to be diffuse.
- Septum, Primary (pl. septa)
- a cross-wall formed in association with the mitotic division of a cell, laid down between the cells, usually at regular intervals. Found in septate fungi (see pore).
- Septum, Secondary
- a wall laid down which separates the spore forming apparatus or dead portions of the hypha. Found in all filamentous fungi and sexual stages of yeast-like fungi.
- Seta (Setae)
- a bristle-like hair.
- Somatic
- vegetative phase, structure or function.
- Sporangiolum (Sporangiola)
- small sporangium containing a few sporangiospores.
- Sporangiophore
- hypha that bears a sporangium.
- Sporangiospore
- an asexual spore formed within a sporangium or sac-like structure following the division of the cytoplasm (c.f. conidium)
- Sporangium (pl. Sporangia)
- a sac-like structure in which the cytoplasm is divided by walls to form one to many (usually thousands of ) spores.
- Spore
- a minute propagule lacking a preformed embryo, the smallest being a single cell. May be formed following sexual or asexual processes. Spores are formed in all divisions of the fungi.
- Sporocarp
- a fruiting body containing spores.
- Sporodochium (Sporodochia)
- a cushion-shaped stroma covered by conidiophores.
- Sporophore
- specialised hypha holding a spore forming cell or body
- Sterigma
- pointed projection on the outer surface of basidia from which basidiospores emerge and are dispersed.
- Stroma (pl. stromata)
- a compact somatic structure in or on which reproductive structures form.
- Substrate
- material from which a fungus may extract nutrients.
- Symbiosis
- association between dissimilar organisms in which each gains advantage for at least part of its life-cycle (c.f. commensal). Further Information.
- Synnema (pl. Synnemata)
- a group of conidiophores cemented together forming an elongated structure; often has the appearance of a multihyphal trunk with spore masses on the tip.
T
- Teleomorph
- the sexual stage in the life cycle of a fungus that has sexual and asexual stages (see anamorph).
- Thallus
- the somatic phase of a fungus.
- Thallic
- (with reference to conidia). an asexual spore developing from a wide region of the conidiogenous cell and separated from that cell by a septum. May swell following separation.
U
V
W
- Woronin body
- an electron dense sphere in the hyphae of Ascomycota usually found near the septal pore (see pore).
X
Y
- Yeast
- a single celled fungus that reproduces asexually by budding or fission. May be the only form of the fungus ever found or the form may be induced by environmental conditions. Members of all fungal divisions may form yeasts.
Z
- Zoospore
- motile naked spore formed within a sporangium.
- Zygomycota
- One of four divisions within the Fungal kingdom. Contains two classes, Zygomycetes and Trichomycetes (see classification). Characterised by the formation of zygospores. More information
- Zygophore
- hyphae supporting a zygosporiangium.
- Zygosporangium
- a sporangium containing a zygospore formed following fusion of two gametangia.
- Zygospore
- sexual spore resulting from the conjugation of gametes, found within a zygosporangium, contains a diploid nucleus.
- Zygote
- cell in which two nuclei of opposite mating type have fused.
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