Question

What role do spores play in the reproduction of fungi?

Answer 1

Hint: The reproduction in fungi takes place by three methods like vegetative, asexual and sexual. In vegetative reproduction, fragmentation and budding or common whereas asexual and sexual reproduction takes place by spores and gametes.

Complete answer:
The spores in fungi help in asexual reproduction which is small, single-celled, motile and may be nonmotile. In fungi, spores get to produce by two processes one by mitosis and one by meiosis. The spores produced by mitosis are mitospores whereas the spore that gets produced by meiosis is meiospore. The mitospore possesses the same set of chromosomes as the parent body and the meiospores to show genetic variation and helps the species for their adaptation. The meiospores include zoospores, sporangiospores, conidia, oidia, chlamydospores, ascospores, basidiospores and binucleate spores.

Additional Information:
In vegetative reproduction, fragmentation takes place by the breakdown of mycelium into small fragments and this fragment later gets developed into a new fungal filament. The process of budding takes place when a small bud projects out from the parent cell and this process takes place in an oidium state.
In sexual reproduction, different groups of fungi reproduce by different methods like planogametic copulation, gametangial contact, gametangial copulation, spermatogamy and somatogamy. From the lower to the higher form of fungi there is a reduction in sexual reproduction takes place and in fungi imperfection, there is the absence of sexual reproduction observed and in that types of organisms reproduction takes place by asexual spores by fragmentation.

Note:
The vegetative reproduction in fungi also takes place by special conditions like sclerotia and rhizomorphs. In sclerotia, the vegetative mycelium helps in perennation while the rhizomorphs can grow in unfavourable conditions in the dormant stage.