Most fungi grow as hyphae, which are cylindrical, threadlike
structures 2–10 μm in diameter and up to several centimeters in length.
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| Hyphae |
Hyphae grow at their tips. New hyphae are typically formed by emergence of new tips along existing hyphae by a process called branching, or occasionally growing hyphal tips bifurcate (fork) giving rise to two parallel growing hyphae.
The combination of apical growth and branching/forking leads to the development of a mycelium, an interconnected network of hyphae.
Hyphae can be either septate or coenocytic: septate hyphae are divided into compartments separated by cross walls (internal cell walls, called septa, that are formed at right angles to the cell wall giving the hypha its shape), with each compartment containing one or more nuclei; coenocytic hyphae are not compartmentalized.
Septa have pores that allow cytoplasm, organelles, and sometimes nuclei to pass through; an example is the dolipore septum in the fungi of the phylum Basidiomycota.
Coenocytic hyphae are essentially multinucleate supercells.
Vocabulary
μm. micrometer. one millionth of a meter.
Hypha. Hyphae, in plural is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus, and also of unrelated Actinobacteria. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium; yeasts are unicellular fungi that do not grow as hyphae.
Mycelium. The vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white filaments (hyphae)
Septate. Having or partitioned by a septum or septa.
Septum. A partition separating two chambers, such as that between the nostrils or the chambers of the heart.
Coenocytic. A body of algal or fungal cytoplasm containing several nuclei enclosed in a single membrane.
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