Pre-Lab 12 Assessment: Kingdom Fungi and Plantae
Name:
Section:
Please read the lab in its entirety and answer the following questions to the best of your
ability.
1. What is a mycorrhizae?
2. What do fungi eat? Why is this means of consumption so unique?
3. Can fungi be parasitic? If so, provide examples.
4. Name three important uses of fungi.
5. What is the main component of the fungi cell wall?
6. What is the function of the vascular system of plants?
7. Give an example of a nonvascular plant, and explain how it obtains water and nutrients:
8. Plants have a life cycle in which alternation of generations occurs - they alternate between
a haploid stage called the _____________________ , and a diploid stage called the
________________________ .
Laboratory Twelve
Kingdom Fungi and Plantae
Survey
Purpose
The purpose of this laboratory is to learn about Kingdoms Fungi and Plantae through observation
and analysis. You will be observing various organisms, both alive and preserved, and recording
your data. Through analysis and the readings, you will gain a better understanding and
appreciation for organisms in these two kingdoms.
Introduction: Part One
Kingdom Fungi
Fungi are a diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that have many extremely important
biological roles. There are more than 100,000 species of fungi that come in many physical forms.
Unlike humans, fungi have are chemoheterotrophs, meaning they release enzymes that digest
food outside of their body then absorb the digested nutrients. Fungi can consume a variety of
organisms, from plants to bacteria, to microscopic nematodes (e.g. Oyster mushroom). Fungi are
responsible for decomposition, the break down of organic molecules and addition of essential
nutrients back into the environment. In modern medicine, fungi are also a cure! Penicillin,
developed from the Penicillium fungus, is a very important antibiotic that can cure many types of
bacterial infections.
The discovery of penicillin has undoubtedly saved millions of lives
worldwide. Fungi are also used in many cultures as a food source, providing a crucial ingredient
to many cuisines. Examples include portabella mushrooms for consumption and yeast (see
figure 11.5), used for fermentation (e.g. beers, wine, cheese, and bread).
A particularly interesting capability of the fungi is their ability to live in symbiosis with other
organisms, particularly plants. A common symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a plant is
known as mycorrhizae, the relationship between a fungus and the roots of a plant. This
relationship provides an exchange of nutrients between both organisms for survival. Fungi
reproduce via asexual reproduction (e.g. spores and budding) and sexual reproduction (e.g.
fusion of different hyphae-types). When you view a mushroom in nature, you are viewing a
structure that is dedicated to spore distribution. Spores are microscopic structures that are
dispersed via animals, wind, water, etc. Structure wise, fungi are composed of a massive threadlike branching network of hyphae that spread underground. The main function of the hyphae is
to absorb nutrients (also occasionally provide a means of reproduction). Collectively, a network
of hyphae is known as a mycelium. The cell wall of fungi is composed of a material known as
chitin. Please refer to figure 11.4 for the anatomy of a typical mushroom.
Cap
Ring
Gills
Stalk
Figure 11.4 Mushroom anatomy. Adapted from http://commons.wikimedia.org.
Clinically, fungi are also parasites that can range from minor irritations to life-threatening
disorders. Examples of common fungal infections include yeast infections, athlete’s foot, and
ringworm. More clinically dangerous infections include the fungi Blastomyces dermatitidis and
Histoplasma capsulatum. Fungi exist in two forms, either a mold or yeast. The temperature
often dictates which form they convert into (usually either room temperature or internal body
temperature can cause the conversion).
Figure 11.5 Baker’s yeast, viewed using a compound microscope under 1,000X. Courtesy of
Vincent E. Piscitelli, MHS, M(ASCP)CM
Laboratory 12 Part One:
Observing Kingdom Fungi
Materials for the lab group of 2 students:
- Live cultures of Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Aspergillus
- Prepared slide of mold-types
- Baker’s yeast
- Distilled water
- Sucrose
- 100 mL beaker
- Hot plate
- White mushroom
- Dissecting microscope
- Compound microscope
- Clean microscope slide
- Cover slip
- Immersion oil
- Pre-made spore print
- Thermometer
- Glass rod
- Sterile pipette
1. Begin the experiment by obtaining a compound microscope and the “mold types”
prepared slide.
2. Place the “mold types” prepared slide under the microscope. There are three different
types of molds on this slide (you will notice a difference in color: bright pink, purple,
and greenish-blue).
3. Observe each mold type under low, medium, and high magnifications.
4. Obtain the live fungal mold culture of Penicillium.
5. Observe the external features of Penicillium.
6. Obtain a dissecting microscope and observe the Penicillium, paying attention to
various structures of the fungus.
7. Repeat steps 4 – 6 for Rhizopus and Aspergillus.
8. Once you are finished with your mold observations, please return the materials back to
their proper locations. Please do not stow away the compound microscope, we will
need this for the next experiment.
9. Observe the spore print that is supplied at your table. Notice the intricate pattern that
was created by simply placing a mushroom cap onto a piece of paper and placing a
cover over it. This outline that you see is made from spores.
10. Obtain a white mushroom. Using figure 11.4 identify the anatomy of this mushroom.
11. Once you are finished making observations, place all the materials back to their
designated places and clean up your laboratory bench.
12. Obtain a packet of yeast and a 100 mL beaker.
13. Fill the beaker with 50 mL of distilled water. Heat the water to 32 – 38 °C.
14. Pitch a tablespoon of yeast into the beaker of heated water.
15. Measure approximately a teaspoon of sugar and place the sugar into the
beaker of heated water.
16. Using the glass rod, periodically stir the yeast solution slowly for approximately 5-10
minutes. This is allowing the yeast to become activated.
17. Once the yeast solution starts to become foamy and bubbly, the yeast are activated
and are consuming the sugar. One of the by-products is CO2 (bubbles).
18. Using a sterile pipette, add a drop of yeast solution onto a microscope slide. Place a
coverslip on top.
19. Place the wet-prep slide under a compound microscope and observe under all three
magnifications.
20. When you are done with this lab, please clean your laboratory bench and return all
laboratory materials to their designated locations.
Introduction: Part Two
Kingdom Plantae
Plants are multicellular autotrophs that produce the organic molecules they need for survival
through photosynthesis - they use light energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water
and into glucose and oxygen. Glucose can be converted into a variety of organic molecules, and
oxygen is used by all aerobic organisms on Earth. The light energy that is harvested by
autotrophs and converted to chemical energy is passed on to other organisms when the
autotrophs are consumed or decomposed by heterotrophic organisms.
All plants have a life cycle in which an alternation of generations occurs; they have a
multicellular haploid stage called the gametophyte, which produces the gametes, and a
multicellular diploid stage called the sporophyte, which produces cells that form the
gametophyte (see moss life cycle below).
Plants evolved about 470 million years ago from algal ancestors. Over time, plants accumulated
an increasing number of adaptations for life on land, giving rise to a large number of diverse
species. Today there are over 300,000 species of plants, which can be divided into four main
groups, based on the presence or absence of several key adaptations. One important adaptation
was the evolution of vascular tissue, a system of tubes that carries nutrients, minerals and water
throughout the plant. Most present-day plants have vascular tissue, with the exception of the
Bryophytes, the first group of land plants to evolve.
A. Non-vascular plants (Bryophytes)
The Bryophytes, or non-vascular plants, include the mosses, liverworts (have liver-shaped
gametophytes) and hornworts (have long, horn-like sporophytes). Bryophytes usually live in
moist habitats and grow in dense mats, which allows water to move among the plants by
capillary action. Since they have no vascular system, they cannot grow very tall – they distribute
nutrients throughout the plant primarily by diffusion, which is efficient only over short distances.
In the non-vascular plants the haploid gametophyte is the dominant form of the plant – most of
what you see when observing a moss is the gametophyte. The gametophyte plant produces egg
and sperm cells (gametes) through mitosis. Water must be present for fertilization to occur, as
the sperm must swim to the egg. The fertilized egg (zygote) divides by mitosis to produce the
diploid sporophyte plant. Specialized cells in the sporophyte undergo meiosis to form haploid
spores.
The spores land on the ground, pop open (germinate) and grow into haploid
gametophyte plants. A typical moss life cycle is shown below.
Figure 11.6 Moss life cycle: The haploid gametophyte produces gametes, and the sperm
fertilizes the egg, forming the zygote. The zygote divides to form the sporophyte, which
develops specialized cells that undergo meiosis, producing haploid spores. These divide, forming
the next gametophyte generation. From http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com
Laboratory 12 Part Two:
Observing Kingdom Plantae
Materials for the lab group of 2 students:
prepared slide of moss life cycle
in terrarium:
live moss specimens, some with sporophytes
live Marchantia (a liverwort)
biology atlas
Procedure:
1. Observe the live moss specimens on display and identify the gametophyte portion (green).
Look carefully to see if the sporophyte generation is present – it appears as a stalk with a capsule
at its tip growing up from the green (gametophyte) part of the moss (see moss life cycle above).
2. Obtain a prepared slide of the moss life cycle and observe it under the light microscope, using
the lowest (4X) magnification. The male gametophyte plants have structures at their tips called
antheridia (see figure below), which produce sperm. The female gametophyte plants have
structures at their tips called archegonia, which produce eggs (see step 1 above in the moss life
cycle). Find the sperm and egg producing structures (examples shown below) on the slide.
Increase the magnification to find the eggs and sperm inside these structures.
Figure 11.7 A. Moss antheridia, each containing sperm. B. Moss archegonia, each
containing an egg. From http://www.studyblue.com and http://www.deanza.edu.
B. Seedless vascular plants
Unlike the Bryophytes, the other three major groups of plants all have vascular tissue. The first
group of vascular plants to evolve were the seedless vascular plants. This group includes the
ferns, club mosses (these are seedless vascular plants, not mosses, despite their name) and
horsetails. Vascular tissue provides structural support and an efficient means for transport of
nutrients throughout the plant. As a result, vascular plants can grow taller than the mosses, an
advantage when competing for access to sunlight.
fern
club moss
horsetail
Figure 11.8 Seedless vascular plants. From http://commons.wikimedia.org.
In the vascular plants the sporophyte generation is the dominant form, while the gametophyte is
quite small. In a fern, for example, the leafy green plant that you see is the sporophyte; the
gametophyte is a tiny, heart-shaped structure that grows on or
below the soil surface.
Materials for the lab group of 2 students:
prepared slides:
fern life cycle
prothallus (fern gametophyte)
young sporophyte
live fern specimens on demonstration
live club moss
fern in plexiglass
biology atlas
Procedure:
1. Observe the live fern specimens on display and identify the sporophyte portion (green) of the
plant. Notice the veins in the fern leaves – these are bundles of vascular tissue. Check the
undersides of the fern’s leaves to see if any brown dots are present – these are the sori, each
containing many sporangia which produce haploid spores through meiosis. When the spores are
mature the sporangia burst, releasing the spores, which will develop into the small gametophyte
plant, called a prothallus. The gametophyte produces the gametes. As in the non-vascular plants,
water must be present for fertilization to occur, as the sperm must swim to the egg. Observe the
live club moss, another example of a seedless vascular plant.
2. Obtain a prepared slide of the fern life cycle and observe it under the light microscope, using
the lowest (4X) magnification. Look for the heart-shaped prothallus (gametophyte), and the
young sporophyte, which may be seen growing from the prothallus.
3. View the prepared slides of the prothallus and young sporophyte under the light microscope.
Draw a fern prothallus and a young sporophyte in the space provided below:
prothallus (gametophyte)
young sporophyte
C. Gymnosperms
About 360 million years ago the first seed plants arose. A seed consists of a plant embryo and
its food supply enclosed within a protective coat. Seeds can remain dormant for long periods of
time, germinating only when conditions become favorable. In contrast, the embryos of
nonvascular and seedless vascular plants are not enclosed within a seed; instead they develop
directly into the sporophyte plant, with no dormant period.
There are two groups of seed plants: the gymnosperms (naked seeds) and the angiosperms,
whose seeds enclosed within a structure called an ovary. All seed plants have a very small
gametophyte stage. In this section we will examine the gymnosperms, the earliest group of seed
plants to evolve. The gymnosperms include the cycads (palm-like plants), the ginkgos and the
largest group, the conifers (cone-bearing plants).
Gymnosperms produce pollen, which contains the male gametophyte. Pollen is dispersed by
wind or animals – in these plants no water is needed for fertilization to occur. Conifers produce
male cones near the bottom of the tree and female cones near the top of the tree – this
arrangement results in cross pollination, as the pollen from the male cones is carried by the wind
to the female cones of other trees. Female cones are large and woody, while male cones are
smaller and not woody. Once the pollen reaches the female gametophyte, sperm is released from
the pollen grain, the egg is fertilized, and a seed develops inside the female cone. You can find
conifer seeds in the grocery store –they are sold as “pine nuts”.
Materials for the lab group of 2 students:
prepared slide of the Pinus life cycle
live white pines
female pine cones
biology atlas
conifers in plexiglass
Procedure:
1. Observe the live gymnosperms on display and identify the sporophyte portion (green) of the
plant. The gametophytes are very small, and not visible to the naked eye; the male gametophyte
is contained within the pollen grain, and the female gametophyte is enclosed within an ovule, a
small structure within the female cone. Note the female cones on display – if the scales of the
cone are open, the seeds have been released.
2. Observe the prepared slide of the Pinus life cycle using the dissecting scope. The largest
structure visible on the slide is a longitudinal section of a female cone – at the base of each scale
is an ovule, which contains the egg. The smaller structure on the slide is a longitudinal section of
a male cone, in which the pollen sacs, filled with pollen grains, are visible.
pollen
grains
ovule
male cone
female cone
Figure 11.9 Male and female cones. Adapted from http://commons.wikimedia.org.
D. Angiosperms
The angiosperms, or flowering plants, are seed plants with two notable adaptations - flowers and
fruit. The angiosperms are the largest and most diverse group of plants on Earth today, with over
250,000 species. This group of plants has flowers to attract animals, most notably insects.
Flowers are a means to spread pollen (the male gametes) from one plant to another by attracting
an insect or other pollinator to the plant’s reproductive organs. The insect gets covered with the
pollen and when it visits another flower of the same species, pollen gets deposited on the stigma
of the plant, resulting in fertilization of the egg. This is one of the most notable examples of
plant- animal coevolution. The plants have adopted extensive strategies for attracting insects
including pheromones (scent), distinct showy shapes (some orchids look like female insects of a
specific species) and nectar guides in the center of the flower (areas which do not reflect UV
light - insects see in the UV range). In return insects obtain nutrients (nectar and pollen), and in
some cases shelter and mating sites, from the plant.
Once the egg is fertilized, the ovary surrounding the seed develops into a fruit. The fruit
protects the seed and serves as a means of seed dispersal. Many fruits are edible, and when eaten,
are digested, but the seed passes through the animal’s digestive tract unharmed, and is deposited
in a new location in the animal’s feces.
Other, non-edible types of fruit are specialized for dispersal by wind, water or passing animals.
Burrs hitch rides on furry animals, the “wings” (fruit) of maple seeds catch the wind as they
helicopter to the ground, fluffy parachutes like those of a dandelion blow for miles in the wind,
and a coconut’s shell (fruit) carries it across the ocean, to land on a beach where it can sprout and
grow into a coconut palm.
Materials for the lab group of 2 students:
fresh flowers
live angiosperms in terrarium
scalpel
biology atlas
Procedure:
1. Observe the live angiosperms on display in the terrarium.
2. Obtain a flower from the front of the room, and use Figure 11.10 below as a guide to the parts
of a flower.
3. Identify the colorful petals, which help the plant to attract pollinators.
4. Carefully remove the petals from the flower.
5. Look at the male parts of the flower, the stamens. A stamen has a long filament, at the top of
which is the anther, which produces pollen.
6. Now observe the female part of the flower, the pistil, which consists of an ovary at the base of
the flower, from which a stalk-like style extends, with a structure called a stigma at its tip. Cut
the ovary in half lengthwise and look for ovules, in which the eggs develop.
Figure 11.10. Parts of a flower. Courtesy of Pearson Education, Inc.
When a pollen grain reaches the stigma, a pollen tube grows from the pollen grain all the way
down to the egg inside the ovary. Two sperm nuclei then pass down the pollen tube from the
pollen grain. One sperm cell fertilizes the egg, while the other combines with two cells in the
ovule – this triploid cell will give rise to the endosperm, which provides food for the embryo.
Figure 11.11. Pollination and double fertilization in angiosperms. Courtesy of Pearson Education, Inc.
Post-Lab 12 Assessment: Kingdom Fungi and Plantae
Name:
Section:
After completing the laboratory assignment, please re-read the lab in its entirety and
answer the following questions to the best of your ability.
1. What is the main function of the mushroom?
2. Did you notice any differences between the three different types of molds on the
“mold types” slide? If so, please explain.
3. Name three ways fungal spores can get from one location to another?
4. Why do we use sugar in the yeast solution?
5. Name an important use of yeast.
6. What are some of the benefits of a vascular system for a plant?
7. What is a seed, and what is its function?
For each of the adaptations listed below (questions 8-11), briefly explain its function in a
plant:
8. Flowers:
9. Fruit:
10. Pollen:
11. Which groups of plants need water in order for the sperm to swim to the egg? How
might this limit the types of habitats in which they can live?
References
Cdc.gov
Commons.wikimedia.org
Gunstream, S. (2012). Explorations in Basic Biology. (12th Ed.).San Francisco, CA: Pearson
Education.
Rydene, H. (2010). Introduction to Biology Lab Procedures (and other important
information). (5th ed.). New York, NY: Freeman Custom Publishing.
Simon, E., Dickey, J., & Reece, J. (2013). Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology.
(4th Edition). Pearson Education.