[ noun ] an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia <noun.plant>
Fungus \Fun"gus\, n.; pl. L. {Fungi}, E. {Funguses}. [L., a mushroom; perh. akin to a doubtful Gr. ? sponge, for ?; if so, cf. E. sponge.] 1. (Bot.) Any one of the {Fungi}, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. See {fungi}.
Note: The fungi are all destitute of chorophyll, and, therefore, to be supplied with elaborated nourishment, must live as saprophytes or parasites. They range in size from single microscopic cells to systems of entangled threads many feet in extent, which develop reproductive bodies as large as a man's head. The vegetative system consists of septate or rarely unseptate filaments called hyph[ae]; the aggregation of hyph[ae] into structures of more or less definite form is known as the mycelium. See {Fungi}, in the Supplement.
2. (Med.) A spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds. --Hoblyn.
Fungi \Fun"gi\ (f[u^]n"j[imac]), n. pl.; sing. {fungus}. (Biol.) A group of thallophytic plant-like organisms of low organization, destitute of chlorophyll, in which reproduction is mainly accomplished by means of asexual spores, which are produced in a great variety of ways, though sexual reproduction is known to occur in certain {Phycomycetes}, or so-called algal fungi. They include the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. In the two-kingdom classification system they were classed with the plants, but in the modern five-kingdom classification, they are not classed as plants, but are classed in their own separate kingdom fungi, which includes the phyla Zygomycota (including simple fungi such as bread molds), Ascomycota (including the yeasts), Basidiomycota (including the mushrooms, smuts, and rusts), and Deuteromycota (the {fungi imperfecti}). Some of the forms, such as the yeasts, appear as single-celled microorganisms, but all of the fungi are are eukaryotic, thus distinguishing them from the prokaryotic microorganisms of the kingdon Monera. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
Note: The Fungi appear to have originated by degeneration from various alg[ae], losing their chlorophyll on assuming a parasitic or saprophytic life. In an earlier classification they were divided into the subclasses {Phycomycetes}, the lower or algal fungi; the {Mesomycetes}, or intermediate fungi; and the {Mycomycetes}, or the higher fungi; by others into the {Phycomycetes}; the {Ascomycetes}, or sac-spore fungi; and the {Basidiomycetes}, or basidial-spore fungi. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
For Merck, Mevacor is the culmination of almost 10 years of research begun with the discovery of a tiny molecule in a bit of fungus back when the importance of fighting cholesterol was still unproved.
Iran began trying to buy the fungus last December when a man identified in intelligence files only as Mr. Moallem got in touch with Dr. H. Bruno Schiefer, director of the toxicology research center at the University of Saskatchewan.
Ma's regime emphasises posture and diet, which includes caterpillar fungus tonics and soft-shelled turtle blood. Distance running has been largely free of drugs because bulk steroids hinder sprinters.
While the fungus that makes aflatoxin is common in many parts of the country, only droughts of this summer's magnitude triggers production.
Aflatoxin is a carcinogen in laboratory rats and is excreted by a soil fungus under droughtlike conditions in corn and peanuts, among other crops.
In the first year, the beneficial fungus infected only about one-half of 1 percent of the stalk rot fungus, Fusarium moniliforme, in the stalks.
In the first year, the beneficial fungus infected only about one-half of 1 percent of the stalk rot fungus, Fusarium moniliforme, in the stalks.
The toxin is a metabolic by-product of the fungus Aspergillus flavus, which primarily affects corn and peanut crops, said Walker Kirby, a plant pathologist at the University of Illinois.
Scientists may have found a potential natural ally in their effort to wipe out the imported melaleuca tree before it takes over the Everglades _ a canker-producing fungus found in dying trees.
The fungus doesn't penetrate below ground and into the roots, so the trees can grow as large as six inches in diameter before the fungus infects and kills them.
The fungus doesn't penetrate below ground and into the roots, so the trees can grow as large as six inches in diameter before the fungus infects and kills them.
Droopy branches are a no-no, as is fungus.
At about the same time, a group of researchers found aflatoxin-producing fungus in a south Georgia house frequented by four people who had developed leukemia.
Spores bump into walls, break their shells, and out pops a fungus creature.
The drug, discovered in 1984, is metabolized from soil fungus found in Japan.
However, he said in a report by the agency, Puerto Rico has been free of black pod fungus, the disease that threatens production in other areas.
The contagious but treatable fungus disease was found in about 700 horses at contractor-operated corrals at Lovelock, Nev., and as many as 100 more at Bloomfield, Neb., bureau spokesman Tim Locke said.
After tainted corn is harvested, the fungus will spread in storage unless the crop is kept cool and dry, Kirby said.
As the fungus grows, it puts out tiny filaments that pierce the grapeskin and begin to feed on the sugars and acids, imparting the honeyed character that makes the wines so distinctive.
But black sigatoka, a fungus disease, spreads rapidly in the wind and can destroy up to half a farmer's crop. Breeders face the problem that bananas do not produce seeds.
The gull droppings combine with soil to make an ideal medium for growing histoplasma capsulatum, a fungus that can cause a lung disease when inhaled.
She said the same fungus probably killed the pests in areas of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New Hamphshire.
What actually kills the trees is the fungus, whose spores ride along on the beetle's back.
Instead they found healthy trees and dead and dying caterpillars infected with the fungus entomophaga maimaiga.
"We weren't really looking for the antibiotics," said Baker. "We were trying to establish a relationship between the soil fungus and a citrus disease." He said the antibiotics can be easily isolated from fermentation broths.
Socks may seem a trivial part of your sportswear wardrobe, until you've rubbed up painful blisters or grown a crop of athlete's foot fungus to put you out of action.
In previous field tests, the fungus in combination with a reduced amount of chemical fumigant reduced wilt disease in eggplant crops by as much as 75 percent.
"You don't want clients contracting a staph infection or a fungus," she says.
Many were red-brown, but their color was as much as product of disease and fungus as of the fire, which had been quite selective in this area.
The research service said its scientists invented and patented the technology for formulating the good fungus - Gliocladium - into easily applied pellets.