Question

What is the mode of nutrition in fungi?
A. Saprophytic
B. Holozoic
C. Parasitic
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Fungi are heterotrophic organisms that cannot synthesize their own food due to lack of chlorophylls and therefore depend on carbon obtained from the other organism for metabolism and nutrition.

Complete answer:
Fungi obtain their nutrition by absorbing organic compounds from the environment. There are three different ways to get nutrients in fungi –
Saprophytes: Saprophytic fungi obtain their food from dead organic matter of plant and animal origin. The fungi directly absorb the food via vegetative hyphae. Saprophytic fungi secrets exo-enzymes that digest the complex organic matter into simpler compounds in the substratum. Examples of saprophytic fungi include Mucor, Rhizopus, Penicillium, and Aspergillus.
Parasites: Parasitic fungi obtain their food from living plants or animals. These fungi absorb the nutrients from the host via a specialized absorptive structure known as haustoria. The size and shape of haustoria differ in different fungal groups. The examples include Fusarium, Pythium Taphrina, etc.
Symbionts: Symbiotic fungi grow on or with other living organisms and both of them are mutually benefited. Fungal hyphae are modified for efficient absorption of nutrients from their environment because they have a high surface to volume ratio.

So, the correct answer is ‘all of the above’.

Notes: Lichens are the symbiotic association between algae and fungi in which algae synthesizes food while fungi provide shelter for algae.
mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a higher plant. In this association, the fungus colonizes on the roots of a host plant by either growing directly into the root cells or by growing around the root cells. The roots of the higher plant provide the nutrients to the fungus however, the mycelia of the fungus increases the surface area of the plant’s root system.