The process to disperse spores either asexual or sexually reproduced is by forcible ejection away from their reproductive structures. This ejection not only releases the spores away from the gills or sexual structures but is strong enough to put them to fly in the air and start a journey that may take them to travel long distances.
The fruit body of fungi counts with mechanical and physiological mechanisms as well as spore surface structures like hydrophobins, all designed to enable ejection . For instance, in some ascomycete species the accumulation of substances related to cell volume and fluid balance permits e the explosive discharge of spores into the environment.
The acceleration of this projectile force is of 10,000g and the force sends the spores 0.01 to 0.02 cm away, which is enough to fall from the gills or pores and get in contact with the air.
Other fungi, like the puffballs, rely on alternative mechanisms for spore release, such as external mechanical forces.
The bird's nest fungi use the force of falling water drops to liberate the spores from cup shaped fruiting bodies.
Another strategy is seen in the stinkhorns, a group of fungi with lively colors and putrid odor that attract insects to disperse their spores.
Some fungi, in the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, may exchange genetic material via parasexual processes. This process is known to play a role in intraspecific hybridization and is likely required for hybridization between species, which has been associated with major events in fungal evolution.
Vocabulary
Hydrophobins are a group of small cysteine -rich proteins that are expressed only by filamentous fungi. They are known for their ability to form a hydrophobic (water-repellent) coating on the surface of an object.
parasexual cycle a process peculiar to fungi and single celled organisms, is a nonsexual mechanism for transferring genetic material without meiosis or the development of sexual structures
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