Mycelium is the scientific name for mycelium. It consists of many thin filaments that make up the body of fungi and some bacteria. Function - attachment to the substrate or reproduction. There are several types of mycelium, differing in structure.
Mycelium structure
The mycelium is the vegetative body of fungi and actinomycetes. Actinomycetes are a type of bacteria. The mycelium contains many very thin, densely branched filaments called hyphae. The mycelium forms both in the substrate in which the organism lives and on the surface. Under natural conditions, the mycelium of fungi can reach as much as 35 km in length.
Mycelium grows exclusively due to cell division in the apex area. Fungal mycelium can be non-cellular or cellular. Acellular mycelium has no partitions between cells and is itself one large cell with many nuclei. There are partitions between the cells only for the separation of the reproductive organs. Such mycelium is found in zygomycetes, one of the departments of the kingdom of the Mushrooms.
The cellular mycelium in fungi is characterized by the presence of many intercellular septa. Each cell can have one or several nuclei. In actinomycetes, the mycelium is completely nuclear-free; it can either divide into cells or remain intact. There are simple or complex pores in the intercellular partitions of the mycelium. Simple ones are found in Ascomycetes, a division of the kingdom of fungi, whose representatives have specific reproductive organs.
With complex pores, there are often buckles - outgrowths in the form of hooks that connect to one cell and fit into another. In this case, the cell has two nuclei. Buckles are essential for cell division. This structure is found in Ascomycetes and another department - Basidiomycetes. The body of basidiomycetes consists of false tissue, which is actually formed by the plexus of mycelium hyphae. Mycelium grows in only one direction, but real tissue can grow in three. But such a fruiting body is perennial, and in other mushrooms it is annual.
Mycelium forms
There are several forms of mycelium. The mycelium in the form of films is a dense flat weave of hyphae, which have different sizes. The thickness and color are also different. This mycelium breaks down and absorbs cellulose. Cords are hyphae fused together. They are short or long, strongly branched.
Rhizomorphs are cords up to 5 meters in length, they are made up of dense hyphae threads. Inside, the fruit body is looser and lighter in color. Rhizoctonia are thin air cords. Sclerotia are interweaving of hyphae of increased density. Stromas are flat dense accretions with the tissue of the host plant. They are needed to keep the dispute alive. The fruiting body is the form of mycelium necessary for sporulation.
