Question

Difference between apothecium and perithecium.

Answer 1

Hint: Fungi show different fruiting body structure in different ascomycetous fungi. It consists of an opening for pores and asci. And depending on its development it is classified into different shapes.

Complete Answer:
Ascocarp is the fruiting body of ascomycetes. It is composed of tight interwoven hyphae that may bear millions of asci, each of them consists of four to eight ascospores.
The ascocarps seem like bowl-shaped but they also form flask-like or spherical shapes. The apocarps may have openings to release spores or do not have any opening. It is classified on the basis of its development, if it develops above the ground it is termed as epigeous and if it develops under the ground it is termed as hypogeous.
They are of many types; apothecium, cleistothecium, perithecium, gymnoecium, and pseudothecium.

Sl.No	Apothecium	Perithecium
1.	The apothecium is a cup shaped fruiting structure.	The perithecium is a flask-shaped fruiting structure.
2.	It consists of asci forms a proper hymenium layer on the upper surface.	It consists of apical opening termed as ostiole.
3.	The apothecium layer remains exposed.	In perithecium asci is found in parallel structure on the floor and the basal sides of the flask-shaped portion.

Note: The cleistothecium has no opening to the outside. They have a ascometal wall that is pyridium and consists of interwoven hyphae. The gymnothecium has structural similarity with cleistothecium that is pear shaped.