Neurospora is a genus of fungi that includes the species N. crassa, which is used as a model organism in biology research. It has septate, branched mycelium and reproduces asexually through macroconidia and microconidia. Sexually, it produces female ascogonia which receive nuclei from conidia via plasmogamy and develop into perithecia containing asci with ascospores. Pleurotus mushrooms are edible fungi that grow on wood. They reproduce asexually through arthroconidia produced on coremia. Sexually, dikaryotic mycelium form the fruiting bodies after karyogamy and meiosis within basidia

1. NAVEENA GIRISH
CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF KERALA
DEPARMENT OF PLANT SCIENCE

2. NEUROSPORA
 SYSTEMATIC POSITION
 Kingdom:Fungi
 Phylum:Ascomycota
 Subphylum:Pezizomycotina
 Class:Ascomycetes
 Order: Sphaeriales
 Family:Sordariaceae

3.  Drosophila of plantkingdom
(N. crassa , N. sitophila )
 N. sitophila is known as
bakery mold / red bread mold
 Neurospra reside on soil,
papaya, burned vegetation etc
 Well branched multicellular
septate mycelium with multi
nucleate and multi pigmented
cells

4. Reproduction
Asexual – by conidia formation
MACROCONIDIA
LARGE , OVAL ,
MULTINUCLEATE
DEVELOP IN
MACROCONIDIOPHO
RE BRANCH TIPS BY
BUDDING
MICROCONIDIA
Uninucleate sticky
and comparetively
small than the
macroconidia
Develop in micro
conidiophores on
terminal or lateral
positions

5. Micro conidia
Macro conidia

6. SEM photograph of N. crassa

7. Sexual reproduction
 Sex organs
 Female - ascogonia ( protoperitheca / bulbils)
 Develop as lateral outgrowth in vegetative hyphae
 The young ascogonium is a coiled , multinucleate and
aseptate strucure, septa are formed in the later stage of
development

8.  Psuedoparenchymatous ball like structure formed
around ascogonium
 The upper cells of the ascogonium give rise to long
tapering trychogyne
 Antheridia are absent in neurospora but both macro
and micro conidia may act as spermatia

9. Plasmogamy
Micro and macroconidia (act as spermatia) come to the
trychogyne of ascogonium
Wall between them dissolve
Nuclei enter to ascogonium
Somatogamous copulation also occurs in some species

10. Development of ascus
 Develops ascogenous hyphae with cells having dikaryon
 Terminal cells curves and forms hook like structure
called crozier
 conjugate division and septation of crozier
 4 nuclei distributed in the way that
 terminal cell – 1 nuclei
 Basal cell – 1 nuclei
 penultimate cell
- dikaryon

11. Fusion of dikaryon
Penultimate cell
Ascus mother with
diploid nucleus
Club or cylindrical
Shaped ascus
meiosis
mitosis
4 nuclei8 nuclei
Ascospore

12.  Wall formation and metamorphosis in to
ascospore
 ascospore arranged in asingle row
 In N. tetra sperma has 4 ascospore per ascus
 Ascospore is dark brown or black in colour
 Ascospore germinate to form new hyphae
 ( can be germinated by furfural and high
temperature )

13.  Mature perithecium is a dark coloured , globose ,
flask shaped and beaked structure
Life cycle – haplontic

15. Pleurotus – oyster mushroom
 Classification
 Domain: Eukarya
 Kingdom: Fungi
 Phylum: Basidiomycota
 Class: Agaricomycetes
 Order: Agaricales
 Family: Pleurotacea
 Genus: Pleurotus
 Economic important ones -Pleurotus ostreatus
,Pleurotus pulmonarius, Pleurotus sajor-caju,Pleurotus
cornucopiae, Pleurotus cystidiosus

16. Pleurotus species are
characterized by the
production of fruit
bodies usually having
an eccentric stalk and a
wide cap shaped like
oyster shell
Pileus: broad, oyster-
shape surface smooth,
white to grey-white in
colour
Habit & Habitat Spring
to autumn. They thrive
on most of all
hardwoods, wood
byproducts such as
coffee grounds, banana
fronds, and waste
cotton often enclosed
by plastic bags and
bottles.

17. Asexual reproduction
 By means of arthroconidia on branched or simple
conidiophores
 P. cystidiosus possess coremia (bundle of hyphae)which
will produce arthroconidia (diploid asexual spores that
produce diploid fruit bodies , ovoid to sub spherical , pale
brown to black and glaborous , with thickened wall)
 Coremium is 800 – 2500μm tall ,150- 400 μm wide with
coremioliquid in which large number of arthroconidia are
released
 Arthroconidia has clamp connection then on maturity it
get separated

18. Development of Coremium
 Aerial hyphae aggregate to form spherical
primordia
 Hyphae grow vertically form stipe and apex
 Coremioliquid formed

19. coremioliquid
Role :- for maturation and
moisturisation
Contents:- D- galactose,
myo – inositol ,L- malic
acid , UTP, oxalic acid
Source :- from cell
orgenelles and conduction
through cytoplasmic flow

20. Sexual reproduction
 Pleurotus is a member of the basidiomycota, meaning
that it bears its spores externally on club shaped
structures called basidia.
 Millions of spores from basidium
 Spore germinate to form haploid
mycelium

21.  compatible mating type undergo plasmogamy
(dikaryotic cell formed )
 The new dikaryotic cell multiplies and divides –
dominant stage
 MUSHROOM
Pleurotus will spend a majority of its life
in this phase while growing and gathering
nutrients.
ENVIRONMENTAL
TRIGGER

22. Dikaryotic basidia that line the surface area of the gills
of mushroom
karyogamy, of nuclei in the basidi (2n nucleus)
four haploid nuclei of different mating types
basidiospore
cycle repeats

23. Life cycle is diplontic