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Name ________________________________________
General Mycology – BOT 4723/5723
Midterm Exam 1 -- 100 points
26 September 2012
Total:______/100
Part I: True-false. Circle "true" or "false" for each statement. If you circle false, please explain why
the statement is false. Note that it is not sufficient to just say the opposite; you must explain
specifically what is wrong with the statement (12 points total).
1. True
false
Most of the fungi growing on your CMA and PDA plates were
considered obligate biotrophs because they were originally
isolated from organic substrates.
2. True
false
Ted Kaufman from J-M Farms told us that white button
mushrooms, crimini (brown) mushrooms, and portabella
mushrooms are all the same species.
3. True
false
If you want to sample the “freshest” hyphae with the smallest
vacuoles and fewest lipid droplets, you’d sample from the outer
edge of a colony.
4. True
false
Cornmeal agar and potato dextrose agar are both examples of
defined media.
Part II: Multiple choice / matching. Unless otherwise noted, choose the single best answer for each
question (12 pts total).
1. According to Scott Schaeffer from Oklahoma Poison Center, there are no:
a. national databases that track poisonings
d. deadly poisonous fungi
b. mushrooms that can be consumed with alcohol
e. old, bold mushroom hunters
b. fungi that are perfectly safe to eat
c. deadly poisonous fungi
2. Which of the following differentiates fungi from bacteria?
a. Bacteria will grow on culture media; fungi will not.
b. Bacteria are always heterotrophs; fungi can be autotrophs or heterotrophs.
c. Bacteria may cause human diseases; fungi only cause plant diseases.
d. Bacterial cells lack a nucleus; fungal cells contain a nucleus.
Total points (this page): __________________
3. The closest relatives to fungi are:
a. bacteria
b. viruses
c. archaea
d. plants
e. animals
4. Within a typical ascus, every ascospore is genetically identical to:
a. one other ascospore in the ascus
d. the dikaryotic cell that produced the ascus
b. all of the other ascospores in the ascus
e. the diploid cell that underwent meiosis
c. none of the other ascospores in the ascus
5. Which of the following statements about aflatoxins is FALSE?
a. Aflatoxins typically cause cancer in humans, not immediate death.
b. Aspergillus fungi growing on stored grains are a common source of aflatoxins.
c. Aflatoxins were the most deadly of the toxins that Scott Schaeffer from Oklahoma Poison
Center talked about.
d. Multiple types of aflatoxins exist.
6. In the Shen and Royse paper on maitake production, the biggest effect of altering the nutrient
supplements was on:
a. mushroom quality
d. the number of basidia formed
b. the number of primordia formed
e. the moisture content of the substrate
c. biological efficiency
Part III: Compare and Contrast. For each pair, explain one similarity and one difference between
the two terms or phrases (16 points total).
Diploid cell – dikaryotic cell
Zygomycete – glomeromycete
Spawn run – fruiting body development
Septate hypha – aseptate hypha
Total points (this page): __________________
Part IV: Short answer. (60 points)
1. Let’s say you plan to document the species of fungi living in your garden soil. If you want to see the
greatest possible diversity of species, what combination of environmental conditions would you
use to grow your fungi (6 points)? [Hint: think of your moist chambers and the environmental
factors that influence fungal growth.]
2. Describe the range and types of symptoms that poisonous fungi can cause, ranging from mild to
intermediate severity to the worst case scenario (5 points).
3. List and describe five reasons why fungi are important (5 points).
4. a. In the space below, sketch a typical zygospore, an ascus with ascospores, and a basidium with
basidiospores (6 points).
b. How does a typical ascus acquire the number of spores that it does? (3 points)
c. Are ascospores haploid, diploid, or dikaryotic? (2 points)
Total points (this page): __________________
5. a. What differences did you predict when you subcultured the same fungi to CMA (corn meal agar)
and PDA (potato dextrose agar)? (2 points)
b. How did what you observed compare to your predictions? (2 points)
c. Choose one of your observations and explain how it relates to the difference in nutrient
availability between CMA and PDA (2 points).
6. Describe two reasons that fungi that produce spores (4 points).
7. In the Shen and Royse paper on growing maitake mushrooms, they measured biological efficiency
(BE). Explain the components of the biological efficiency equation and use that equation to explain
one strategy that a grower might use to increase BE (6 points).
8. a. Describe the overall process J-M Farms uses to grow mushrooms. Include the source of the
mushroom compost, the source of spawn, what happens during the spawn run, how they control
the environment to promote fruiting, and what happens during the harvest (5 points).
Total points (this page): __________________
b. Describe one of the biological, logistical, technical, or economic challenges that J-M Farms
faces (2 points).
9. a. Donovan and Max both presented papers on aflatoxins; Donovan’s was on immunochips, and
Max’s was about rice. What were the two main objectives of Max’s paper, and what is one
specific finding related to each objective? (4 points)
b. What were the researchers in Donovan’s paper trying to achieve? Describe the extent to which
they succeeded (4 points)
c. Speculate on a possible connection between the research in these two papers (2 points).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That’s it!
Total points (this page): __________________