Question

Differentiate between holocarpic and Eucarpic fungi

Answer 1

Hint: Fungus are the group of eukaryotic organisms which are heterotrophs. Some important fungi are yeast, bread mould etc. They reproduce by budding and fission and spore formation. They are filamentous, non-vascular and non-motile.

Complete answer:
The body of the fungi is known as thallus. The thallus is made up of filaments and cell plates which varies in size from a unicellular structure to a complex tree-like form. This helps in colonising the substrate and obtain food. These filaments are called hyphae. The function of the thallus is to store food or helps in asexual reproduction. Mycelium is the vegetative part of the fungi. It contains fine filaments called the hyphae which absorbs the nutrient from the substratum.

The thallus takes part in reproduction. Depending on the type of conversion of the thallus, the fungi are of two types holocarpic and eucarpic.

Holocarpic	Eucarpic
In case of holocarpic, the thallus gets converted into reproductive structure sporangium on maturation	The fungus in which the thallus is differentiated into vegetative structures and reproductive structures is called eucarpic.
The entire thallus is converted into a reproductive cell.	The reproductive cells attach to the substratum.
Example- Chytridiomycota	Eg- Most of the fungus are eucarpic.

Note: The spores are the basic units of reproduction. They can be both sexual and asexual. Till the fruiting bodies are developed, mycelium remains hidden. The spores are released from the thallus. They are released from outside or inside the special reproductive sac called sporangium. Sporangium help in asexual reproduction.