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The Growing Fungus pp 3–19Cite as

The Success of the Hypha and Mycelium

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Abstract

Most fungi, through most of their life cycle, consist of hyphae, cylindrical cells that increase in length by growth at one end (Chapters 13–15). A typical fungal life cycle can be thought of as starting when a spore, a cell that has perhaps just arrived after dispersal through the air, or has been lying dormant awaiting favourable conditions, germinates on a suitable substratum. The germ tube that emerges from the spore is a slender hypha. It grows and branches, and the branches in turn branch, to form a radiating system of hyphae known as the mycelium (Chapters 14–15; CR44 and Rayner, 1984). In a Petri dish in the laboratory the mycelium forms a circular colony on the surface of the agar, the colony increasing in diameter at a constant rate and also growing down into the agar. In nature, less uniform conditions give less uniform mycelial growth, but here too the mycelium spreads on surfaces and penetrates the substratum.

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  1. Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks, UK

    M. J. Carlile

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  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

    Neil A. R. Gow

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

    Geoffrey M. Gadd

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© 1995 Neil A.R. Gow and Geoffrey M. Gadd

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Carlile, M.J. (1995). The Success of the Hypha and Mycelium. In: Gow, N.A.R., Gadd, G.M. (eds) The Growing Fungus. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-27576-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-27576-5_1

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